Technical > Home Improvement > one story vs two story houses - pos vs neg?

one story vs two story houses - pos vs neg?

To some degree this is driven by regional preferences.

I grew up outside Chicago where ranch style is popular. Here in New England 2 story capes are the most common style of home. When we built our house designed it as a cape.

Two stories provide isolation between "public" and private space. We have a three bedroom home where all three bedrooms are on the 2nd floor.

Two story homes are more energy efficient, less square footage exposed to the elements.

For a given amount of floor space, basement or at least the foundation is half the size.

One of the major downsides is if a family member is infirm getting to the second floor is difficult.

Something else to think about is the basement. We built on hilly terrain so we could have a walk out basement. That vastly improves quality of basement living. In addition we heat with wood and the stove is in the basement. That keeps a lot of dirt out of the main part of the house.

On balance having lived in both I prefer 2 story Capes at least until I get too inform to walk up/down stairs.

/tom

reply to inGearX
Ranch. 1 floor. As you age you will appreciate no stairs.

reply to inGearX
If you spend all your time in the basement, it doesn't matter.

reply to inGearX
The first question in my mind is how old are you? Reason being that falls on stairs are a very common cause of debilitating injury for those in their retirement years. The wife and I made it a requirement when we moved that our new house have no stairs as it is the house we intend to retire in. My wife is a nurse and one of the things learned over the years is that the average life expectancy of a senior over the age of 80 after a fall that breaks a major bone like a hip or pelvis is 1-2 years. So that should be a big consideration. After that it is the physical condition of the prospective occupants and then your personal preferences.

+1 to Mark910
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Gadgets

reply to inGearX
2 story houses take less land space so many times a person has no choice if they need a house of a certain square footage and the zoning limits size based on lot size. They are also cheaper to build and heat/cool. As previously stated, stairs can be a problem. If I were to build a two story I would make sure there was one nice sized bedroom on the first floor so that a person or couple can live on the one floor if health conditions change. I would also design the house with aligning closets first and second so that a small elevator could be added if needed. Interesting that for most people, when you say two story they think three as there is a basement. Here in Texas if it's single story, that exactly what you get -- a single story (and many times no attic space for storage either).

reply to tschmidt

reply to inGearX
We bought a ranch-style home on 1/3 acre last year here in NJ... and I love it!

Very easy to work on - all of the plumbing, wiring, etc. is easy access from the full basement.

The basement is split in two - the front 2/3 or so is a finished area, and the back is 'unfinished' - the washer/dryer, a half bath, my home office, and a workout room are back there, as well as storage space underneath the master bedroom.

I'm in love with this house design. Also has a full attic overhead but I don't have any items in there for storage - managed to get all my crap to fit in the garage and the basement. Trying not to put anything up there if I can help it.

The disadvantage I see thus far is a) The interior is somewhat 'boring' - no fancy staircases, etc. No big deal to me.
And b) when I'm going to need a new roof, it's going to cost more $$ than a 2-story house since it's just, well, bigger.

Overall though, we're thrilled!

reply to inGearX
Some areas of consideration:
How many pathways (stairways) to access the second floor? Is one enough?

Are the stairwells large enough to easily accommodate large furniture?

Fire safety. Escape ladders for second story bedroom escape.

Zoned (i.e. dual) air conditioning/heating give you more parts to maintain, but the benefits of extra control.

Consider designing in a dumb waiter if building on your own. (I would not have thought of that if I had not recently been a guest in a house that had one. Was great to get the luggage upstairs.)
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reply to GadgetsRme

reply to robbin

reply to inGearX
I grew up in a single floor house and bought myself a two story house. I can definitively see how elderly people would hate the stairs, but that's pretty much it.

The reason I bought a 2 story house is because we're a young family.

I remember several down sides to the single story house when I was growing up:

- When I'd be going to sleep, I could still hear my parents watching TV in the living room (they were far from each others, but linked by a straight corridor).

- People staying in the bedrooms (studying, tired, sick, sleeping late) were not "isolated" enough from those active at the same time (Living room, kitchen).

- When I became a teenager, I wanted more privacy. My bedroom had my computer, a TV, you know, my little bachelor's pad. However it'd still "feel" my parents in the living room or kitchen.

My father pretty much had the basement finished because he needed that same isolation for his man cave.

All in all, aside from antisocial behavior, it's really about noise isolation. When you're sleeping upstairs, you don't hear the TV as much, you don't feel the floor vibration if someone is jumping/running around.

reply to inGearX
We bought/had built what is known as a raised ranch floorplan back in 1975. It's essentially a three-bedroom, living room, kitchen, dining room, and bath on the second floor, with the garage, utility room, and family room at ground level... on a slab. It's probably the most efficient plan to heat or cool, and my wife refers to it as our "tree house"! As wives sometimes do with their neighborhood girlfriends, when comparing heating and cooling costs, we always have the lowest ones in the area. The slab is 26x40' so we end up with about 1,465 sq ft of living space plus a double garage.

When we were in our younger years, the stairs were no big deal. Now that my wife and I are well into our sixties, and she has rheumatoid arthritis... and I have developed some osteoarthritis in my lower back, the stairs are a royal pain in the ass. Doing the laundry downstairs, and bringing the groceries up to the kitchen can be quite a chore. If I had the opportunity to relive my choice of home plan, I'd certainly build a ranch with a basement. Lack of general storage space has been a problem for years, resulting in outdoor storage buildings. Plus I'd like a little corner of the basement to use as a "shop" for various projects.

When we were young, it was no big deal... but with advancing age... it's beginning to be a problem.

We didn't plan on being in this home for the rest of our lives, but it seems to be turning out that way. We like where we're at and have no desire to relocate, even though my two oldest daughters have been trying to convince us to move to Arizona since I retired in 2002. As a starter home for someone with one or two kids, it's really practical. As a retirement abode for a couple of semi-infirmed old farts... it sucks!

Just an aside... when I replaced my old furnace some years ago, the HVAC salesman asked to see our heating/cooling bills for a period of time. Based on his assessment of our heating costs he tried veru hard to dissuade us from purchasing a high-efficiency Carrier furnace due to its inherently higher cost. He admitted that he could usually state the the unit would pay for itself in so many years due to reduced operating costs, but since ours were so low to begin with, he hesitated to use that as a selling point as it was pretty much a moot point.
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Keep your eye on the ball, your shoulder to the wheel, your nose to the grindstone, and your ear to the ground. Now, try to work in that position!!!

reply to inGearX
I agree with tschmidt. And what people wanted changed over time.

Interestingly, a much older relative of mine grew up just outside Chicago and during a recent visit to his family home, we talked about this. He moved in during the 1950's as a little kid. The houses were mostly all multistory houses (plus full or half basement) in various styles, most built in the early 1900's through the 1930's. (No central air, electricity added afterwards, detached garages, etc. His house had a coal chute and he showed me where gas lights were originally located. His house has 60-amp service to this day.)

Past the end of his block north, for almost a half mile to the nearest east-west road was empty fields. He and the neighborhood kids used it as their playground. Starting in the early 60's, all of that land was cut up into subdivisions covered in single story (plus basement) ranchers. He said that everyone was extolling the virtues of ranchers with all of the modern conveniences (central air, wall-to-wall carpets, upgraded appliances, attached garages, etc).

By the 70's, all of the open land was gone, and multistory houses made a comeback. People started tearing down some of the old houses and even some of the not-so-old ranchers and built multistory houses again.

Last, of course, came the McMansions. Most lots were about .25 acre, but some areas had larger lots. Some folks bought 2 houses side-by-side, tore them down and built a really big house. (Until the local city government decided they didn't want that trend growing and started throwing up zoning roadblocks.)

reply to inGearX
As someone who grew up in a ranch style and now live in a two story I am surprised as to how hot the upstairs gets on the top floor as compaired to the main floor.

reply to inGearX
When the wife and me bought this house (a 2400 sq ft singlestory contemporary), we were in our mid - late 30's. We like having the large rooms- but it also makes doing home improvement projects rather expensive - replacing our roof was a $10000 investment. Doing the interior rooms will be similarly expensive (which is why we haven't done very much).

On the plus side - it's a piece of cake to run plumbing / wiring as necessary, with easy access crawlspace and attic. We have a single unit heatpump / propane furnace - a 4 ton heat pump and a similarly sized furnace in the crawlspace. As we get older, I appreciate not having the stairs.

reply to inGearX
Might also look at 1.5 story houses. Thats what we ended up building. Gives the kids the upper story as there domain, with the master on the main floor.

I may just lock the kids upstairs and shove food to them once in a while through the door. Kills 2 birds with 1 stone. 1. our main floor will stay looking great. 2. I will not have to worry about grubby boyfriends. :P

reply to inGearX
I would say a big factor for me would be land costs. Where I am, to purchase a lot would be expensive enough and I would want as much outdoor space as possible, so I would give 2 story.

While I understand the when we get older argument in favour of a bungalow, I have a long way to go yet. I would probably want to downsize from my next home into my "retirement " home too.

To have the land for a one story would mean being out of town, (or paying a fortune) so more driving, and at an advanced age I would see that as less desirable. If I were custom building I would make sure the stairs are wide enough to accommodate a lift if necessary.

reply to inGearX
I have lived in all all types. Capes,ranches,2 story and split levels.
1st I hated hated hated the split. UPstairs just seemd like a small ranch. the large stairwell to the lower level just made it seem wide open to it. there never was any privacy. My ranch had privacy because of the addition of a den off of the kitchen dining room wall.
I did not think I would like the 2 story. It has turned out to be one of my favs. I like having the 2nd story and looking out over the back yard. The Upstairs has quite a bit of privacy. The wife has some major studying to do last year and was able to do it while I watched tv (and wasted time here) downstairs. The most amount of living space for your roof area.
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-Plenty Coups, Chief of the Crow”

reply to inGearX
I agree with many of the others. I only offer one other suggestion. if you do get/build a two story home, try to put the laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms. Carrying baskets of clothes up and down the stairs get old real fast.
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