Looking to build a home? First off, congratulations! This is a huge and exciting step in life. When it comes to building your own home, the possibilities are endless. However, this does mean you have a lot of decisions to make. One of the earliest (and most important) decisions is whether you are looking to build a single-story home or a two-story home. Both options come with pros and cons, and it truly comes down to what is best for your family, now and in the future.
Let’s Look at the Pros
When it comes to selecting a single-story home—aka a ranch style home—there are a lot of great benefits. Ranch style homes are functional, easy to maintain, and make it full of opportunities for personalization. Some of these benefits include:
- Made to be a Forever Home – Do you have small children? This style option can be great because it makes it easier to keep an eye on small children. You don’t have to worry about kids climbing stairs, which also lessens your dependency on baby gates that can often get in the way of regular adult life. It is also relatively easy to clean a ranch style home, because you don’t have to worry about lugging a vacuum cleaner up the stairs or carrying laundry back and forth. It makes checking on your children or other dependents while maintaining your home quick and painless. Not only is this great for little ones but those aging as well. A ranch style home is going to continue to support your family, even as mobility and difficulty getting around increases with age.
- Flexible Floorplan – The great thing about everything being on one floor is that it makes changing a room in the future quite easy. What may have once been a bathroom can now be the perfect office or craft room, maybe even a reading nook!
- Less Noise – Don’t you love waking up to your kids or animals running across the floor? No! One floor means no need to worry about hearing the pitter patter of feet, the flushing of toilets, or water rushing through pipes above your head.
- Outdoors – Since it’s all on one floor, the possibility of including a small deck or patio is simple to work into your building plans. You could walk right out of your kitchen or master bedroom each morning to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee in hand.
What are the Cons?
Not every style is perfect for every family. While the ranch style offers great possibilities, there are some cons that should be considered. These cons include:
- Privacy – With everything on the same floor, you may feel you don’t get quite as much privacy. In a sense, all the rooms of the home are open to everyone, and it may be harder to “escape” the hustle and bustle of family life. If you are someone who likes to host parties or events, your home is also more open for everyone to see. It will take creative measures to block off certain spaces.
- Cost – A ranch style home is going to require more roof and foundation, which can be an expensive aspect of home building. It can also be harder to control the heating and cooling efficiently since it must move through the entire home versus rising. Your hot water may have more of a delay due to length of piping, depending on your layout, and you may even have to factor in air loss through the attic. Since every room of the home may have attic space above it, proper installation and air flow will be a factor.
- Less Yard – A ranch style home takes up more property space than a two-story home. Depending on how much property you own, this may lead to your yard ultimately being smaller.
When it comes to deciding what type of home to build, it truly depends on your personal taste and what would ultimately be best for your family. Regardless of what style you choose, there will be pros and cons. Your best bet is turning to an expert in the field who can help guide you in making the wisest choice for your situation.
The expert team at Premier Builders is here to help! We’ll listen to your desires and evaluate what type of home is perfect for you.
