Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
i have personally always lived in 2 story houses my entire life. the separation is great. however, now as i am looking to buy a new house in a new area, 80%+ (if you think about that stat it's really high) of the houses are 1 story. i have no idea why the % is so large. i've been looking for for 4 months now.
what are everyone's thoughts? how is the space/noise separation on just 1 floor? anyone hate it?
//EDIT: quick background - i am a young adult. i have no health problems. i am in texas. i am looking for a house to raise a family
Last edited by unknown00; 03-26-2015 at 05:12 PM..
We moved from a raised ranch with a basement level living area, to a one level house. There are only the two of us. I like one story living very well, quite honestly. I think you are making too much of the noise level thing. If the house is zoned properly, this should not be a problem.
There are at least two threads of people agreeing and disagreeing about open floor plans on the home decorating forum. You might read some of those posts to get an idea of how some newer houses are laid out, and why some people don't like them.
One of the arguments for a single story is that, as one ages, it's easier to deal with as everything is on one level.
Even though I am in fairly good health and have no real knee/hip/ankle issues (well my one ankle is questionable) I find some nights I'm damn near too tired to climb the stairs to go to bed. That actually was what led to the discovery of my having high blood pressure several years ago, I was so beat I could barely climb the stairs.
i have personally always lived in 2 story houses my entire life. the separation is great. however, now as i am looking to buy a new house in a new area, 80%+ (if you think about that stat it's really high) of the houses are 1 story. i have no idea why the % is so large.
It really just depends on the area, the demand, and the price of land. In your case, I'd surmise that land is cheap and abundant, and the demand is for single story homes.
i've been looking for for 4 months now.
what are everyone's thoughts? how is the space/noise separation on just 1 floor? anyone hate it?
Space/noise is all about the design. The most common design today is a "split living" arrangement (secondary bedrooms are on one side of the common areas, master suite on the other). Another factor that can help is a common hall that connects the secondary bedrooms to the common areas- instead of them opening directly into the common area or a small vestibule. Master's can be "isolated" with a vestibule.
I've built ranches in just about every conceivible design, but the one I liked the most was something like what I previously mentioned.
After having owned and lived in several two story homes over the years, and now living in a one story home, I would never again own a two story. I lived in Orange County Calif, where RE is expensive, so in order to get a large home it had to be two story. I retired and moved to an area where property isn't so expensive and purchased a large (4000+ sq ft) single story. I'm now sold on the virtues of single story living.
Our daughter is half our age and lives in a two story condo, where we visit frequently. She hates dealing with the stairs and is now searching for a single story home. Stairs suck, and then they get worse..! Not only the daily climbing, but moving furniture, or anything for that matter... Not for me, never again...
I've always had a real affection for a somewhat sprawling, well designed and built ranch house with some land around it. Maybe it is because they remind me of a couple wonderful '50s houses surrounded by big yards in California that I lived in when I was a kid.
These days -what with property values the way they are- lots are typically tiny and houses are almost always two-story designs with three car garages taking up most of the lot and so single storys are fairly rare around here unless you are talking about the small '20s Bungalows of my neighborhood. Two story houses (apples to apples) are cheaper to build so that's another reason they are so common.
I do like the separation of spaces that are more easily achieved with a two story- we have a compact house that is a mostly one story, 2br 2ba, with a lower level walkout den with kitchenette, bedroom and bath that is super flexible; in fact I am just welcoming my brother, SIL and nephew for a long weekend and have allowed them to commandeer that space allowing all of us some privacy. But as K'ledgeBldr points out, that is mostly a function of design more than the number of floors.
Each configuration has its pluses and minuses. As long as you have one, decent sized bedroom suite on each level you can't go wrong with most two-story designs but I still have a real affinity for a classic ranch, maybe with a walkout lower level just to make it perfect.
One of the arguments for a single story is that, as one ages, it's easier to deal with as everything is on one level.
i am young, my knees are fine
Quote:
Originally Posted by K'ledgeBldr
It really just depends on the area, the demand, and the price of land. In your case, I'd surmise that land is cheap and abundant, and the demand is for single story homes.
Space/noise is all about the design. The most common design today is a "split living" arrangement (secondary bedrooms are on one side of the common areas, master suite on the other). Another factor that can help is a common hall that connects the secondary bedrooms to the common areas- instead of them opening directly into the common area or a small vestibule. Master's can be "isolated" with a vestibule.
I've built ranches in just about every conceivible design, but the one I liked the most was something like what I previously mentioned.
i am looking in texas, where land is big and cheap compared to others
i'd agree that 'split living' could work to avoid the space/noise problems. however, most houses that i saw that are 1 floor don't have that type of design. for example, when you open the master bedroom door you go straight to the kitchen, makes no sense
i am looking in texas, where land is big and cheap compared to others
i'd agree that 'split living' could work to avoid the space/noise problems. however, most houses that i saw that are 1 floor don't have that type of design. for example, when you open the master bedroom door you go straight to the kitchen, makes no sense
I figured you were in TX- ranch homes still live pretty supreme there.
As for design, just keep looking. There were tons of "split-living" designs in the HEB area- I was a Super for a lot of them.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
