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Parafly 08-30-2010 12:35 PM

Layout for a Day Care
 
Hey everyone,

My wife signed up here a while ago. She is a school teacher and we plan on having kids in the next year or so, and unfortunately there is no way my salary will support both of us plus kids :) so we have been discussing for a few months now starting up an in-home daycare to supplement our income when we have our children.

Well, me being the guy, I've got the manly task of finishing out our basement to turn it into DayCare Central, lol. I was looking for some tips, advice, and had a few questions on it as well.

First off: we have walkout basement. I started planning using Google Sketchup, and this is basically what it looks like down there today:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...empty_plan.png

Center stairwell. i still have to add in the mechanical equipment to the drawing but 90% of it is along the left wall that will probably remain a utility and storage area.

I did a real quick draft of kind of what I'm thinking about:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...ing/simple.png

What I'm wondering is; we have some exercise equipment thtat we actually do use regularly. (2 treadmills / weight bench. I'm thining about putting those in a corner behind a half-height wall. I could put up some of that indoor fencing people use to keep it "off limits" during the day. This would make the day care space about 28' by 14' (400 sq feet). I'd also add a half bath in that little room in the stairway nook to keep it all "downstairs", basically.

We only hope to start with a few kids (like 2 - 4 max) .. that would be enough to keep us afloat and afford everything - but who knows I might want to add more kids later. Is this enough area? What does your space look like?

I've got > 1 year to do this work, just trying to get my planning in order. Thanks all!

Nick:lol:

Michael 08-30-2010 12:40 PM

Welcome Nick. Great job!

marniewon 08-30-2010 12:54 PM

I would check your state's regulations to see how much space you need at a minimum. In MI, we need 35sq ft per child (which on paper sounds good, but in reality, that's not a lot of room!! LOL). I'd also see about incorporating an "entry" area where coats, boots/shoes, backpacks, etc can stay. Also, my regs say you have to have a changing area near a source of water to wash hands, so you might want to think about that when creating your half bath. Another tip (trying to think of what I would want if I could create my own dc space!) is to create a kitchen area (even if it's just a hot plate and microwave and sink). As long as you are creating this, it would be helpful to have separate sleeping rooms. I don't mean each child has their own, just something separate from play areas (for the younger ones who take morning naps, so they can sleep while olders are playing). That's all I can think of for now. Good luck on your adventure!

Parafly 08-30-2010 01:00 PM

Thanks for the tips Marnie. I'm trying as much as possible to contain the entire thing in the basement of our house. It's actually pretty decent because we have a walkout; so we get a lot of light down there (especially in the afternoon when the sun is on that side of the house).

Im' thinking long term too - eventually when our kids get old enough and go back to school, my wife will probably go back to teaching too (although who knows, she might love daycare so much and continue doing that) so of course I want to have the place built out so that it an eventually become a bar area or something. I would love to do a full blow wet bar / "day care food prep and cold bottle storage area" (hehe) but not sure where to put it. I might be able to bump the wall on the left back more but my well pressure tank is over there so I can probably only gain a few feet more.

Closet space is probably going to be under the staircase, but I might try to add in some more somewhere else along a wall.

Fun fun fun!

DCMomOf3 08-30-2010 01:01 PM

Do you need that whole space to the left for utilities? I'd work a bathroom in there that's accessable to the daycare space if you can, and if you are doing walls, I'd make a room for cribs if she is going to do infants. Also think about eating. Are you ok with the daycare eating in your dining room during the day?

My ideal space would have a bathroom, kitchenette, crib room, and playroom/eating area. i would go with hard floors with some rugs, not carpet.

Parafly 08-30-2010 01:06 PM

Looks like MA has a similar 35 sq ft rule:

http://www.machildcare.com/lfdc.html

So my 400 square feet should technically cut it.i'm gonna keep playing with my layouts and see what I can come up with that is conducive.

Michael 08-30-2010 01:09 PM

Here is a pdf file that gives some great ideas and guidelines from the U.S. General Services Administration entitled "Child Care Center Design Guide".

http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/pbs/designguidesmall.pdf

Parafly 08-30-2010 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by Quincy:
Do you need that whole space to the left for utilities? I'd work a bathroom in there that's accessable to the daycare space if you can, and if you are doing walls, I'd make a room for cribs if she is going to do infants. Also think about eating. Are you ok with the daycare eating in your dining room during the day?

My ideal space would have a bathroom, kitchenette, crib room, and playroom/eating area. i would go with hard floors with some rugs, not carpet.

Thanks - I was planning on doing laminate flooring with throw rugs.

I need some storage space too for boxes and stuff.... not sure what I can work in on the left. I have to add in my utilities. There is an oil tank basically in that corner and the water heater, plus the manifold for all the house's piping.

Parafly 08-30-2010 01:12 PM

Originally Posted by Michael:
Here is a pdf file that gives some great ideas and guidelines from the U.S. General Services Administration entitled "Child Care Center Design Guide".

http://www.gsa.gov/graphics/pbs/designguidesmall.pdf

Wow, that is a heck of a document! I'll spin through it later - thanks!

countrymom 08-30-2010 02:48 PM

I would defin. suggest a kitchen, this way it would be easier for meals than running upstairs, oh and a bathroom. I find if you can seperate the rooms with a door that will be great too so when kids nap you can seperate them

melskids 08-30-2010 03:05 PM

i dont have any advice, but i just wanted to give you props for being such a supportive husband!!!!! :D


oh, there was one thing in our regs (in my state, anyway) about the ceiling having to be 7 or 8 feet high, so you might want to check your states regs on that.....

Abigail 09-12-2010 12:34 AM

I would make sure you have a half bath for sure. I would use the same table for art projects/table activities as I would for meals...it just makes sense! Have an entry area near your entrance/exit door you plan on using that has hooks for each child's coat and a rug underneath like a runner for everyone's shoes. This is inexpensive and easy to wash when needed. I would put your kitchen area (fridge next to two complete sets of cupboards to create a long counter space and put a sink at the end) The kitchen area should also have a microwave and you can heat up a coffee mug with an inch of water in it for a minute before warming a baby's bottle.

You can install upper cabinets above the lower cabinets for food and necessary items. One cupboard just for food. The other upper cabinet for plates, bowls, cups, and small baskets with each infant's labeled bottles.
You'll usually have two drawers above the bottom set of two cupboards. Use one just for flatware items. Use the other one for the "Junk Drawer" for pens and pencils and adult scissors and tape and a phone book or other things you may often need. The bottom cupboards can store art supplies, board games, coloring books, etc. I would put up a shelf on the wall or use cubbies for additional clothing and make sure you have space near the diaper changing area for additional diapering items for those not potty trained.

If I had the choice, I would do the laminate flooring over the entrance and kitchen area and table, but have carpet on the other half. Think about how much space you'll have to sweep and wash vs. less is you can just vacuum daily and shampoo once or twice a year! Also, do you want your kids in an area with no carpet or soft areas besides a reading zone? If you make a reading zone with a book shelf and child-sized pillows or furniture, put that closer to the infant napping zone as that is a quiet reading zone. Make sure to have a bulletin board around the entrance corner or near the kitchen counter space for sign in and display necessary items on the wall for parents to read.

Make sure to have low toy shelves in the center of the room and put sleeping areas closer to the bathroom area as you'll hear "Can I go the bathroom?" over and over and don't have to worry about them walking far to get there. A partial wall no-taller than 4 feet high and adding curtains from the ceiling to block out extra sounds should be added for the infant sleeping zone. Usually this is just until 12 months of age when they're old enough to sleep on the mat or cot on the floor. Make sure you have enough space in this infant sleeping zone though for two cribs which need to be 2 feet apart from each other. So many rules, I know!

Whatever you decide to do, I'ld like to see the finished product! If you're going to get licensed, their is something about having a separate sink that is not used after changing diapers to use before meals unless it's cleaned. That would mean to put in a sink on the other end of the kitchen counter for everyone to wash their hands before meals?


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