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The presence of a basement, walk out or not, is mostly a function of your geography and irrelevant to the what you'd call the house.
Turn it around and think of it this way: The house I grew up in is a 2 story Colonial Revival. Where it is, it has a full basement. If you built the house in Dallas TX, you wouldn't have a basement at all. Across the street, a very similar home has a finished walkout basement because the lot slopes. It's still a 2 story colonial revival.
My .02 a ranch is a house where all the living space is on the same plane. Finished or not I wouldn't consider the basement in the equation, no different than the garage or carport.
Your points are very much location and local market specific.
Our local market in the Southeast differs widely from yours.
Ranch houses on concrete slabs or crawlspaces are not at all uncommon here. There are some basements, but they are not at all the rule in any style of home.
Sunken living rooms, a bizarre pox on common sense in design, are not uncommon here in 1970's, 1980's, and 1990's houses, whether one or two stories.
Yours is local market specific also.
FULLY HALF of the US is in the East.
Sunken living rooms were not popular in the 70s and 90s. It was the 40s through 60s. Originally am Art Deco feature, it morphed into an MCM feature. It added some drama to the layout.
In certain areas, it took away any "modular - mobile home"
My father's last house in North Carolina had a raised dining room. One step up. It is still a ranch.
My great aunt's Manhatten apartment built in the 30s, had a sunken living room. It was NOT a "doplex".
Also, the Southeast IS in the Eastern part of the United States.
Sunken living rooms were not popular in the 70s and 90s. It was the 40s through 60s. Originally am Art Deco feature, it morphed into an MCM feature. It added some drama to the layout.
In certain areas, it took away any "modular - mobile home"
My father's last house in North Carolina had a raised dining room. One step up. It is still a ranch.
My great aunt's Manhatten apartment built in the 30s, had a sunken living room. It was NOT a "doplex".
Also, the Southeast IS in the Eastern part of the United States.
Look, it's all a bunch of marketeering terms anyway.
"Ranch" generally means one story, long low and sprawling (which is why those pokey little double-wide-looking things up in New England aren't "Ranch" style to me, but try to tell a real estate agent that).
Cape Cod cottage, center entry colonial, saltbox, Minimal Traditional, these all have generally accepted meanings. But if you have a one story house and you're trying to figure out "is it ranch style or not" - you've probably been hoodwinked by the giant real estate marketeering industry into thinking it matters. It doesn't.
Look, it's all a bunch of marketeering terms anyway.
"Ranch" generally means one story, long low and sprawling (which is why those pokey little double-wide-looking things up in New England aren't "Ranch" style to me, but try to tell a real estate agent that).
Cape Cod cottage, center entry colonial, saltbox, Minimal Traditional, these all have generally accepted meanings. But if you have a one story house and you're trying to figure out "is it ranch style or not" - you've probably been hoodwinked by the giant real estate marketeering industry into thinking it matters. It doesn't.
Long, low and sprawling, exactly what I think of when it comes to ranch style.
Here in Ontario, they are bungalows. If you enter on a landing with a few steps up or down, it’s a raised bungalow.
Long, low and sprawling, exactly what I think of when it comes to ranch style.
Here in Ontario, they are bungalows. If you enter on a landing with a few steps up or down, it’s a raised bungalow.
To me, a Bungalow implies a roof covered porch and often dormers in the roof/attic. Where I grew up (Chicago) it was typically raised in that you stepped up to the porch. The house had a basement but the main level was probably two-three feet above grade.
To me, a "rancher" resembles a double-wide. About 65-70 feet long. LOL!
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