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Well, nomenclature-wise a "split level" is not the same as a "high-ranch" ... at least not here on LI. I've seen the term used interchangeably in other parts of the country though.
Splits do often have a partial basement. I've never seen a true high-ranch with an actual basement ...meaning a fully enclosed room that is entirely below grade and below the level of the lower (garage level) floor of the structure. I have seen high-ranches where part of the back wall of the lower level is a couple of feet below grade though.
I'm really curious, where was the neighborhood where the high-ranches have an actual basement? I'd like to google and see if any are for sale and have pics on Zillow etc.
This was decades ago. And I believe the basement was the full footprint of the house.
What is the technical difference between a split and a high-ranch? (because I see them used interchangeably...)
This was decades ago. And I believe the basement was the full footprint of the house.
What is the technical difference between a split and a high-ranch? (because I see them used interchangeably...)
High ranch is 500000x worse than a split.
High ranch generally you walk in and 2 staircases 5-6 steps each smack you in the face. One goes downstairs generally this is partially underground and one upstairs to the main part of the house. There is no actually basement in the majority of high ranches.
Split is equally as idiotic as a high ranch but better. The one I lived you walked in the front door and had lr/dr/kitchen. You had 6 steps to the 3br's and 2.5 baths. another set of stairs down to the den and 1/2 bath with access to the backyard and garage. Below that was a 3/4 basement.
I have massive hate for capes they are aesthetically the ugliest homes ever built, when they have dormers even worse. The high ranch and split, well I don't know who ever thought they where good ideas. When I lived in my split for 3 years, I would always think, why the hell didn't they just drop the kitchen lr/dr onto the same level as the den. Have one bigger staircase and then you have a colonial. This would of meant excavating the basement 5 feet deeper.
There is a reason why only colonials are built today and when land permits in other parts of the country large ranches, they are functional and not these chopped up layouts that homes from the 50-70's had. I won't even get into the all time worst style home ever the SPLANCH.
@Nonchalance: In a high-ranch you have two levels of living space, lower and upper. The lower level is (typically) on grade and contains the garage, a family room, a secondary room (sometimes the party wall is removed so that it's one big room), and usually a bathroom and/or a laundry area. The upper level has the bedrooms, living room, dining area, kitchen, and either one or two bathrooms. You need to walk up several (4 - 6) steps from ground/driveway level to get to the front door, which is placed at roughly the same height as the ceiling of the lower level (about a foot lower.) From the front-door landing you must go directly either up to the second level or down to the lower level.
Split-level layouts can vary somewhat. Sometimes the front door is located at ground level (on grade), sometimes it's only a couple of steps up, and sometimes it's almost as high as a high-ranch. From the front door you usually come into one end of a single room, then go up some steps to a landing off of which is another single room (in some layouts this is the kitchen and dining room area) and then up more steps to the level where the bedrooms are. Sometimes one of the levels is a bit lower than the front door. Unlike the high-ranch, the stairs within a split-level are usually separate; they are not physically connected to each other.
So a high-ranch has two levels (lower and upper) both accessed from a midpoint landing, but a split-level has three (lower, middle, and upper) and the access steps/stairs are often separate.
The partial basement in a split-level is often located beneath the middle level but I have seen some that have crawl spaces instead of a basement. It depends on how high off the ground that middle level is.
Last edited by BBCjunkie; 08-09-2018 at 11:15 AM..
I won't even get into the all time worst style home ever the SPLANCH.
That's true, I didn't get into the techy differences between a split-level and a splanch. And you sometimes see splanches described as splits, and vice versa. (Is "splanch" even a word in places outside of Long Island? LOL) And then we've got the catch-all "post-modern" which I guess is meant to cover anything that doesn't fall into the category of cape, ranch, farm ranch, colonial, high-ranch, split, or splanch.
Re: the grade situation of high-ranches, whether it is slab-on-grade or partially-sunk depends a lot on the area. In my experience the south shore tends to have more slab-on-grade models, especially south of 27A where there is often a high water table. It is harder to find a slab-on-grade high-ranch on the north shore.
I don't like the partially below grade high ranches at all because the lower level can often be damp. That problem is rarely seen in the slab-on-grade models unless the builder was an idiot and didn't install a vapor barrier when pouring the slab (or was an idiot and ran water lines inside the slab and they eventually leaked, which they almost inevitably will as the lime in the concrete corrodes the copper.)
There's also the "Farm ranch" which can be handy depending on one's situation. That's the usual one-level ranch but with an upper room that's accessed by a staircase, usually off the kitchen. All the farm ranches I've seen have only had one room on that second level but I can see where a larger model could have a room plus a bath. A friend of mine had one and used the upper room for a study/workroom that was secluded from the rest of the house. Another friend used it as a storage room because her model was on a slab.
Last edited by BBCjunkie; 08-09-2018 at 11:17 AM..
Then, there's the weird type of split where the master bedroom is on the top floor, all by itself. These are in Oceanside. Forgot what that area is called.
@Nonchalance: In a high-ranch you have two levels of living space, lower and upper. The lower level is (typically) on grade and contains the garage, a family room, a secondary room (sometimes the party wall is removed so that it's one big room), and usually a bathroom and/or a laundry area. The upper level has the bedrooms, living room, dining area, kitchen, and either one or two bathrooms. You need to walk up several (4 - 6) steps from ground/driveway level to get to the front door, which is placed at roughly the same height as the ceiling of the lower level (about a foot lower.) From the front-door landing you must go directly either up to the second level or down to the lower level.
Split-level layouts can vary somewhat. Sometimes the front door is located at ground level (on grade), sometimes it's only a couple of steps up, and sometimes it's almost as high as a high-ranch. From the front door you usually come into one end of a single room, then go up some steps to a landing off of which is another single room (in some layouts this is the kitchen and dining room area) and then up more steps to the level where the bedrooms are. Sometimes one of the levels is a bit lower than the front door. Unlike the high-ranch, the stairs within a split-level are usually separate; they are not physically connected to each other.
So a high-ranch has two levels (lower and upper) both accessed from a midpoint landing, but a split-level has three (lower, middle, and upper) and the access steps/stairs are often separate.
The partial basement in a split-level is often located beneath the middle level but I have seen some that have crawl spaces instead of a basement. It depends on how high off the ground that middle level is.
If I remember the layout correctly, there were three flights of stairs: you walked in and saw a half-flight of stairs leading to the living room, dining room, and kitchen. Another half-flight at right angles to the first set of stairs led to the bedrooms and bath. (The other flight of stairs led to the basement).
The first floor was adjacent to the garage and had a family room and half-bath. Yikes, that was complicated. So this was...a split level?
[quote=BBCjunkie;52751392]That's true, I didn't get into the techy differences between a split-level and a splanch. And you sometimes see splanches described as splits, and vice versa. (Is "splanch" even a word in places outside of Long Island? LOL) And then we've got the catch-all "post-modern" which I guess is meant to cover anything that doesn't fall into the category of cape, ranch, farm ranch, colonial, high-ranch, split, or splanch.
"post modern" is a colonial, I am actually building one right now. All post modern really means, is that when you walk in there is a 2 story entrance where you can see all the way up to the second floor. They almost always have a huge window on the 2nd floor above the front door. It's just a term to differentiate for the 80-90s colonials and the center hall. 99% of the time a post modern has the family room open to the kitchen.
I'm really curious, where was the neighborhood where the high-ranches have an actual basement? I'd like to google and see if any are for sale and have pics on Zillow etc.
A friend of mine owns a couple in Woodbury and is thinking of maybe selling.
The basement is huge, with high ceilings and an outside entrance. These hi-ranches are larger than the "normal" ones.
I dont know where this thread has gone lol. I dont have a splanch or high ranch. I have a ranch and am debating making it a bigger ranch or to basically make a colonial house.
wondering if more people in a colonial wish they had a ranch or vice versa.
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