Ask the Architect

How many floors do we have?

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Q. We’ve lived in our split-level house for 40 years, and never had this kind of trouble. My insurance company says I have a basement and my house has four floors. They want to call our first floor a basement so they don’t have to pay if it gets flooded, but it’s really right on the ground (level). And our survey says we have a two-story split, so how did it become four stories? They want to raise our insurance by making it seem like a skyscraper! Can you help us straighten this mess out, please?

A. Well, only because you said “please.” This comes up more than you want to know, and it really comes down to who is the authority in such matters. I believe that building codes cover issues related to buildings, and that jurisdictions give the descriptions — not banks, not insurance companies, not salespeople, not you or me. The answer is really simple. If your home has any portion that is below ground level, the current code (which actually does change by a little every year) says that the portion below ground level is a basement. If your house is at ground level, it’s a first floor. If the house is a split-level and there’s no floor below ground level, then you have a lower first floor and an upper first floor. Above each of these levels you have a second-floor lower level and a second-floor upper level. So the top level isn’t a fourth floor, it’s the upper second floor.

The code has other descriptions, all with consequences, for what level changes must be provided with. For example, if a floor you thought was a first floor is 6 feet or more above the adjacent ground, it isn’t a first floor; it’s a second floor, even if the area below isn’t even large enough to stand up in. And once we’ve determined that the floor isn’t a first floor, but a second floor, and there truly was another floor above that, it would be considered a third floor. A third floor level in a wood-framed, single-family dwelling is then required to have a full indoor sprinkler system, and if the system goes off on Thanksgiving because someone forgot to defrost the turkey and burns it in the oven, the sprinkler soaks everything and you have to buy dinner for all your guests at the one fancy restaurant where you were lucky enough to get a table. Talk about consequences!

So tell your insurance company that you follow the state building code, not some made-up story by someone who makes things up, or something like that. The motive to not insure your property can also be taken up with the state attorney general’s office if you believe your insurance company isn’t acting properly. Happy (very early) Thanksgiving, and good luck!


© 2015 Monte Leeper. Readers are encouraged to send questions to yourhousedr@aol.com, with “Herald question” in the subject line, or to Herald Homes, 2 Endo Blvd., Garden City, NY 11530, Attn: Monte Leeper,
architect.