We are looking for our forever house and while I would prefer a walkout basement, they're not super common.
An "English basement" (half above ground/half below) is more common. Curious what others do to move games in and out.
I've seen people take out windows and have high lift carts, this seems a little crazy.
Curious if anyone has any advise as to adding in a staircase/drainage or what the best approach would be.
Thanks!
Most common is probably just using stairs down through the house, since those are usually in-place. Some people have stair climbing hand trucks, others just muscle it with two people.
I've seen some people post about small freight lift or dumb waiter system of some sort, rather than a fully fledged commercial elevator.
I've also seen some people knock out space for doorway in one of the basement walls and add on a walk-out section or bilco doors with stairs. The downside for that is winter weather may make access difficult.
Do these "English Basements" not have an exterior door to access them? By definition an English Basement is a walkout basement meaning you can directly access it without going through the main part of the house, so a door and some stairs should be there by default.
The question then may be is the doorway wide/tall enough to get a pinball machine through and do the existing stairs give you enough maneuverability. I lived in an old house in the English Basement and it was like 3 stairs leading directly to a door with no landing to get into the house. It would have been difficult if not impossible to get a pin through that entry.
I have a basement like what you’re describing. We just bring the pin through the front door and muscle it down the stairs. Gravity is your friend.
Haven’t had to move one up the stairs yet but shouldn’t be an impossible task with enough muscle.
Last house I was in had only one stairwell to basement and door was too narrow for pins. Had to take head off every time. Monumental pain in the ass and hampered the whole hobby. If pinball is really important to you try your damnedest to find a place with a good pinball situation. I know that’s easier said than done. Good luck!
(When I moved out I was so fed up I took a sawz all to the door frame and moved the pins out whole. We were doing fixes to house so I just added “fix the door frame”. Hah!)
If you can't get a game down the stairs within the house a basement egress may be an option. It's a fairly big job, not sure on pricing but probably over $10k.
Welp we got the new house. Pins can barely slide through the window, I definitely want the stairs. I’m at a loss of who to contact to get quotes. Can one contractor do everything? Or get one to dig, one to saw the foundation and install the door, and another to pour the steps?
EBF6295F-2CB6-4154-A675-F760C7D0797E (resized).jpegI’m confused, how do you get into your basement yourself? Don’t you have interior stairs already? Why is that not an option?
Quoted from Geeterman1:I’m confused, how do you get into your basement yourself? Don’t you have interior stairs already? Why is that not an option?
New house, many more stairs to go internal on carpet where I don’t trust the Escalara. Also don’t want the dolly dirtying up my floors. I want a walkout basement
Quoted from dudah:Welp we got the new house. Pins can barely slide through the window, I definitely want the stairs. I’m at a loss of who to contact to get quotes. Can one contractor do everything? Or get one to dig, one to saw the foundation and install the door, and another to pour the steps?
[quoted image]
There is a possibility of all of the glass panels of that window might be made to lift out the window frame. Giving you more room to push a game through the window.
Quoted from Darcy:There is a possibility of all of the glass panels of that window might be made to lift out the window frame. Giving you more room to push a game through the window.
Might be a good idea if you ever plan to get a wide body pin.
Quoted from dudah:Welp we got the new house. Pins can barely slide through the window, I definitely want the stairs. ...
Ha my buddy got a new house and this is how he does it now. Windows a little bigger though, he was able to get Godzilla with the box
You already have a nice wide window there, so there's a nice wide header above it that can become a doorway. Not a huge job to dig out in front of it and put a door. You just have to get the waterproofing right. Probably $3-5k around here. Call up some local contractors and get a few quotes and go from there.
Easy solution: Just have a custom window made that one side is larger. Same overall dimensions as the current window - so no framing needed.
Still may need to take the head off.
Idea, if available...
Just replace the window, with one that is single pane approx 48" wide, that allows you to temporarily remove the entire glass panel. This maybe tall enough to allow the folded head down to be inserted as well.
My ability to read fast is inversely related to my dyslexia at times. As I was scrolling by this thread I thought it said “English Patient” and opened it up thinking that’s an odd IP for a pinball machine and where is Ralph Finnes.
So, now that I’m on the right sheet of music - I can still say where is Ralph Finnes? Maybe he can help put in a door?
Idea, if available...
Just replace the window, with one that is single pane approx 48" wide, that allows you to temporarily remove the entire glass panel. This maybe tall enough to allow the folded head down to be inserted as well.
Something like this that would swing all the way open at approx $567
Thanks everybody! I was also optimistic the window would work better, maybe replace it with a single pane one, etc. but I feel I really need to go the full staircase route. Going to get a few quotes and take it from there!
Quoted from Jrotten:So why didn’t you get a house with a walkout basement like you wanted? Not available?
The housing market is still red hot, very short supply, we were looking for over 18 months and lost a few great houses.
We were lucky to get the house we did, let alone at the price we did.
Walkouts are not very common around here, I wasn't hellbent on making it a requirement so long as I could put in a good solution.
At the price we got the house for, I have budget to add one 
Quoted from Darcy:There is a possibility of all of the glass panels of that window might be made to lift out the window frame. Giving you more room to push a game through the window.
Got em out! 34"h 52"w. Thinking up a little wood platform I'll lay down to slide games in and catch it on the escalara.
Folded down game is 30".
Thinking these furniture movers will be a good option, or just cardboard 
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BQBPKTQ7/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1
pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).pngAdded a sheet of 3/4" subfloor, leveled it out with some bricks underneath. Laid it down on some cardboard, lifted those little wheel blocks under, pushes very easy! Wife pushed from outside while I received on the forks. The center of gravity is near the top on these Midway gun games, once I felt like I was there I secured it to the fork with a tie-down strap. I used the wheels on the Escalara to rotate it past the window and into the basement. Crank it down, tilt it up and bam! Listing some pins for sale soon we will see how getting them out goes. I'm optimistic it'll be a little easier as these gun games are BEASTS.
Beats the $10K+ for egress stairs.
pasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).pngpasted_image (resized).png
I have a half basement in ground and half out we builded it in 2005 just for the pinballs and as the time I put in a walk out for that reason plus 40” door because I know how hard it is to get in and out thank god I did happy I did ,we are thinking on moving soon and I might have to do it again u can always add a walk out
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Algonquin, IL
Victoria, BC