Oak Landing Home Featured in Gulf Coast Woman Magazine!

Our Blog

A One-Story vs. A Two-story Home

August 17, 2019

Which of these will best suit your family’s needs?

When thinking about buying or building a home, one of the factors you need to consider is whether a one-story or two-story fits your needs better. Are you are a growing family looking for something larger to build your dreams in or are you empty nesters wanting to downsize your house? It’s essential to weigh the choices to decide the best fit for you.

One-Story Plans (The Ranch)

With everything on one floor, these homes tend to make things easier, such as cleaning and laundry. Let’s weigh the pros and cons of a single-story home.

Pros of a One-Story Home

  • Easier to Maintain – Cleaning the gutters, washing windows and hanging Christmas can be stressful with a two-story. Climbing a ladder while trying to balance everything can even be dangerous. A one-story home makes these chores much easier and safer.
  • Ceiling Designs – A one-story home makes creating different ceiling designs possible such as cathedral ceilings or exposed beams. It also simplifies adding a trey ceiling to the house.
  • Less Noise – A single-story home is quieter in the sense that you won’t hear the noise transfer between the two floors like children running around and playing with their toys upstairs.
  • Easy Access – Chores like laundry is simplified since you only have to go from one bedroom to another to put clothes away vs. one floor to another. Windows are also at ground level making cleaning less complicated as well as providing a safer way to evacuate during an emergency.
  • “Age in Place” – Many empty nesters are looking to move into a home that they can move forward into retirement in. A single floor without stairs to navigate helps those that may struggle with mobility as they age.

Cons of a One-Story Home

  • More Cost to Build – A one-story home has a higher cost to build based on more foundation costs and roofing materials.
  • Smaller Yard Area – A two-story home has a smaller footprint as the square footage is stacked on top each other. Imagine a 2,000 square foot home. Building a two-story would mean 1,000 square feet of yard space taken whereas a one-story would take up twice the yard space.

Two-Story Floor Plans

Something to look at when building your home is the homesite size. A two-story has a smaller footprint making it adaptable to most lots while leaving a more expansive yard.

Pros of a Two-Story Home

  • Separation – Having bedrooms upstairs creates separation from the main living area. This can be helpful when trying to get children to sleep while watching your favorite movie. When an unexpected guest stops by, you can rest easy if the beds aren’t made or the laundry hasn’t been put away.
  • Lower Cost to Build – With less foundation and roofing to add to the project, the construction cost can have a lower price point than a one-story.
  • Larger Outdoor Spaces – Two-story homes have less square footage in the foundation, leaving more space in your yard for outdoor fun, deck and landscaping, for example.

Cons of a Two-Story Home

  • Design Issues – A staircase can eat up to 100 square feet and can minimize the open concept plan depending on where the stairs are built.
  • Less Space on Main Level – The lower level in a two-story home will be significantly smaller than a single-story home.
  • Stair Mishaps – Missing a step while carrying something up the stair or losing your footing on something placed on the step can send you for a tumble possibly resulting in serious injuries.

When considering which floor plan will work best for your family, you may have more questions. The best thing to do is to create a list of your wants and needs. Do you want separation between the bedrooms and living space or is the ease of maintenance of a one-story more attractive to you? Stop by our model home and let our New Home Sales Specialist help with your research or check out our Available Homes to find your dream home today.

Tags: , , , , ,

Categorized in:

This post was written by Acadian Homes