One Story or Two? Help Me Decide!

Gotta say, I have a two story and I wish I had a nickel for every trek I make from 2nd to basement, basement to 2nd, 1st to 2nd....
Just have plenty of room between the bedrooms & living areas. I vote for a ranch with a LARGE basement!

If either of you has a mobility problem, or if you plan to stay in this new home forever, you might seriously consider one story. It's easier on the knees, the back, or whatever might ail you.

I live in a one-story house with a full basement, and every inch is lived in, so it works out to two stories. I have no trouble with it, and would love a real two-story (two floors above ground!) if I could have one. But I don't have any mobility problems.

Either type of house can be beautiful. Both have good points. What fun to be able to make a decision like that!

I am moving in a week, and I would never live in another two story ever again! I hate the expense of heating and cooling a two story. I hate the toting laundry up and down stairs. I have also fallen down the stairs on many occasions. Having small children I would think there would be more safety concerns also. I am glad to be retiring back to my one story! :)

One story. Says the guy whose last 3 houses have been 2 story.

I prefer living on one level, as long as your lot is large enough to spare the oversized footprint. Our house is H-shaped, which allows a quiet wing for the bedrooms with a door to close it off. Love it.

Also, my knees are no longer happy with stairs, so I'm glad we chose a one-story.

it so depends on what you like. my dream house is a traditional farmhouse with 2 stories and a wraparound porch. the stairs would be a consideration for when we get older (not that far away at this point!) but a worthwhile trade-off for me. and of course, because the universe loves to giggle at me, i live in a rancher. but i do love my place so it's okay.
since you don't share what your reasons are for thinking about a single story it's hard to say, but some things to think about are how long you plan to live in your new place, whether or not you have frequent visitors who are elderly or disabled, and what the 'outside' factors (ie acreage, neighborhood, schools, amenities) are that would change the equation for you.
i'd love my dream farmhouse, but not if it were on tiny acreage or not private, ya know?
good luck!
khairete
S.

If I had the option to build from the ground up, and had the land available, I'd build a one story with a full basement (walk-out if possible). I'm in a two story now, but only the kids' bedrooms and bathroom are upstairs, so I rarely have to go up there (only to clean the place). My husband and I live on the main level and it's extremely convenient.

I've always loved the look of a sprawling contemporary single level house. U shaped with a pool in the center courtyard. My dream home.

One story. We sold our split level and moved into a custom built ranch with an open floor plan. When we were house hunting, a one story floor plan was a must. It's just easier - for kids, us, and our aging parents who like to come to visit. Good luck in your decision!

When we looked to build our first home I wanted a two story. After going up and down a million steps looking at displays we built a ranch. Looking back I wish we had built a story and a half so the kids were upstairs.

Still very glad I didn't build a two story.

Not sure why everyone is saying a finished basement because of tornadoes. If I can kick through drywall I am pretty sure it will be like ripping paper for a tornado so no benefit to having it finished. Because we have a ranch and a full basement there are plenty of places you can go down there and be perfectly safe from a tornado.

If you are really worried about tornadoes someone built an interesting home about a mile from us. They had the basement poured with an interior wall dividing the walk out half from the underground half. It has a large opening between the sections, about the size of a patio door that I assumed they put in an exterior door in. Aesthetically no one would be able to tell that wall is cement but damn, they are not going to have to worry about a tornado there! Good idea too because they are at the top of a hill. Tornadoes seem to love the people at the top of hills almost as much as their love trailer parks.

Yes, I humanize tornadoes. If you have seen one skip your home it is easy to do.

One story would be my vote. I am imagining carting laundry up and down those steps all the time...ugh! Plus, as other people have mentioned, steps could be a mobility issue later for you or a guest (grandparents?) who come to visit.

We have a ranch style home with a full basement. We have a mud room off the garage. The mud room also leads to the laundry room, which I love....the mess stays right there. This also happens to be at the opposite end of the house as the bedrooms, which I prefer, because I don't have to worry about the dryer keeping the kids awake late at night. I also want to mention that whoever designed this home was really thinking when they placed an outside side door to the house directly in line with the inside basement stairs. It made our lives SO much easier when we were moving furniture to the basement, because we did not have to navigate around any corners to get furniture down.

I realize that your question was only about one or two stories, but since we are in the process of moving to a new city, these are some of the things that I am finding a lot of homes don't have. We wish we could take our home with us! :)

Good luck and congrats on building...that is so exciting!

Depends... Will you be able to get everything you want into one story? will fitting everything into one story leave you enough yard space for whatever you plan? (Personally, my dream house would have enough yard space that I can have some open space, a garden, and a play space with a swing set and our above-ground pool... I would totally make my house 2 stories if space was limited.)

I would prefer a one-story house, but would go two-story to avoid sacrificing components if my dream house.

You need to consider:

Your ages. If you are planning to grow old in this house, make it one story. I'd even try to put the washer and dryer on the main level, not in the basement if you have one, so that especially as you age, you are not hauling clothes up and down the stairs. Heck, I'm not all THAT old and I would love to have the washer and dryer on the bedroom level!

Your lot. A smaller lot means you might need two stories to have the rooms you really want. But if your lot size permits spreading out over one level, go for it. If one level means the house eats your whole lot, and you do want a yard, garden, whatever, then consider that too. We are not gardeners so I'd go for the one-level house spread over more of our lot before I'd stack on another story just to have a bigger yard to look after.

Cleaning. Do you want to drag cleaning materials, vacuums etc. up and down stairs? Again, easier to move things around if the house is all on one level.

I do agree with the person who posted that a finished basement is a good idea, especially as you are in Texas and you never know where a tornado's going to come along.

Our house is one story with a basement, and if we get it renovated which is possible, I would absolutely favor staying with a one-level house rather than adding a story on top. My mom was in a one-level house as she aged, and my in-laws are in a one-level house, and I know for sure that it makes their lives much, much easier over time.

Congratulations on your new home!

One! When we bought our house I wanted nothing to do with 2 story houses. We had a two story when I was a kid and I hated it (other than for sliding down the stairs in my sleeping bag :-) ). I hated my dad making me go upstairs just to turn a light off I left on. I also broke my foot pretty bad and knew one day, stairs would be an issue for me. They aren't yet, but we had/have no plans of ever moving again.

One thing that a 2 story is good for is noise. I would suspect the second floor would be quieter at night than a one story if some were sleeping and other family members were up watching TV. That can be fixed with a 1 story though. Don't put the bedrooms up to or close to the main living space in the home. Our house is somewhat in a U shape. The main living space is in one side of the U and bedrooms are in the other.

I would go 1 story as ask the architect to help you floor plan so the bedrooms are away from the noise of the most used living area in the home.

Even though you're not directly in tornado alley I do think I'd plan a 1 story house with a finished basement. Under the stairs I'd have them reinforce that space to be a shelter. You can do a lot with a few feet if you can put sleeping bags, water, and some other basic resources just in case.

I also think that Tyler Texas is hot in the summer, a basement would be so much cooler to go hang out in.

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/255720085066502299/

http://www.pinterest.com/mytravellobby/secretsafe-room/

So that's what I would do. I'd make a huge room under the house and make it a family room. Then I'd have a safe place to be just in case under the stairs that was reinforced with re-bar and concrete to withstand the house falling down on it. Just in case.

One story...no choice but this for me, my son kept running the water on the upstairs bathroom...the water leak damaged the ceiling of bathroom on floor below...next one is a one story for us

We just moved out of a ranch (lived in for five years) to a two story about 2 months ago. While I LOVED living on one floor (we also had a basement), I am finding I LOVE having our bedrooms upstairs too. I love the look of a two story and the smaller footprint. So I would take that into consideration. Would having a larger ranch cut down on the amount of backyard or front yard you have in this future house? Also, what would the cost of a larger ranch roof be in comparsion to a smaller (again footprint) roof of a two story cost to replace?

Also wanted to mention (after reading through other responses)....if you plan on selling the house down the road, one stories seem to be more popular.

One thing I like about the two story? It doesn't matter if the bedrooms are a mess when people come over because no one sees them! Second thing I like about it - I feel like I get my work out in going up/down the stairs!! We have split level stairs - seven stairs then a landing then seven more.

If you do build a 2 story, I would say a laundry chute is a must! Or 2nd floor laundry instead of having it on the 1st floor.

I would look at pictures. Which houses stand out to you the most? Which ones feel like home? I like being able to have the windows open all day and night and even if we leave and not worry about someone breaking in (not that I live in a bad area, I just never feel comfortable leaving my windows open when I leave the house). But with a two story, I can! Also with having younger kids, I have found that we do not need to be as quiet in a two story than with a ranch.

Usually in ranches now days there are higher ceilings and you do not usually get that with a two story. So do you want open floor plan with higher ceilings or open floor plan/separated rooms with lower ceilings? All of these things need to be taken into consideration.

I prefer 1 story. But, if you decide to go with 2, I like the master on main.

One. When you are old you can stay there.
2 stories are dangerous. I can imagine falling down the stairs when I am old, or my knees hurting.

Happened to a relative. She was stuck at the bottom of the stairs for a whole day before the renter upstairs heard her call for help.

2 stories, you have to worry about how mobile you will be later on. Why do stairs if you don't have to? Also, the upstairs will always be HOT. You cannot keep it cool, even with AC. It's a money pit.

I vote one! We had a 2 story and it was way too much to take care of...at least more than I wanted to do. Have fun!!

It all depends on the land and the surrounding views. We have a two story over the side of a wooded canyon. Down stairs to the front door, main level with master then down interior stairs to the rest of the bedrooms etc. Then more stairs outside to woods in the back.

The benefit or all those stairs is complete privacy from the street and neighbors, treetop views from main level and a smaller footprint so the lot feels bigger.

It's not as simple as what you prefer inside the house you have to consider what's outside. I would want to maximize views, privacy and property size.

One story is great!
It's wonderful not dealing with so many stairs especially as we get older.
It's easier to do roof/siding/gutter maintenance.

Some of this will depend on your lot size.
I like a good sprawling ranch house.
It takes up more yard space but then there's less lawn to mow/maintain.
Consider a C shaped or H shaped house if you want 1 or 2 court yards.
This give you garden/patio space plus wings of the house can offer some privacy.
I like the bedrooms all together - too many houses have the master bedroom way over on the other side of the house - too far away from small children and I want to know what the teens are up to for older children.

I love how a friend said once, after I said I hated ranches, he loved them bc it was like "I have so much land I don't need to build up!" :) Now I see his point. So does depend on how much room you have. I just like 2 story but what about a combo? Lots of houses have a bedroom or two downstairs but also two or three upstairs. I think two story houses look nicer on the outside and I also like having my bedroom upstairs away from potential noise etc. But there is something to be said for the future when you're old and a guest room downstairs is nicer than upstairs.

1 story. we are currently in a 2 story home. it is beautiful. it is everything I always wanted in a home. I hate it now. I am 52. I have bad knees. my husband has rheumatoid arthritis. he barely makes it up the stairs some nights. These are things you don't know will happen when your young. when your young running upstairs for a basket of laundry is not a big deal. when making it up the stairs takes holding on to a rail it makes it a really big deal. we will be starting the looking process soon for a 1 story house. I don't mind a basement for storms and storage but everything we need has to be on the same level this time around.

Have a two story. Loved it now I hate it. If this is your forever home where you will grow old, do a ranch. You will be happy in your ,golden years trust me. I am 63 and wishing I had a ranch home.

ONE STORY!!! As you get older your body will love not going up two stairs. Plus you live in Texas, therefore, upstairs is always HOTTER and cost more to cool down. I love my two story house, but our next house will be a one-story, even my husband agrees.

Find a one story and go from there. I grew up in a two story which was okay because I was young. I lived in base housing that was three stoires and housed six families per stairwell. We lived on the third floor for about eight years. Carrying everything up and doing laundry in the basement was more than enough exercise.

My son had a house built two story. He had a very bad automobile accident and had to use the living room as a bedroom for over two months because he could not get up or down the stairs. The electrical union built a ramp on the front so that the wheelchair could go in and out of the house. He now speaks about a one story home when he buys/builds again and his 40.

We live in a house that is one story. It is great for us as we are older. I don't care to climb stairs any more.

So do think about the future. Also make sure that the hallways are wide enough for a wheelchair to go through and the doorways as well. You just never know when things are going to change. It is a lot cheaper to do them when building than to add them after the house is built.

Enjoy your new home of one story. Besides how long will the children be home? If they are going to be leaving in the next fives years I would go with one story again for the ease and cleaning.

the other S.

PS I am thinking about a condo or townhouse so that someone else fixes things and I don't have to do the lawn any more.