this post was submitted on 20 Oct 2023
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I really understand the advantages of having a single story house but why does it seem so uncommon to see two story houses in the US/Canada?
Is it uncommon? I feel like I see them all the time.
We just have a lot of houses, and a lot of space which makes it so you can feasibly have a generously sized single story house.
There's also a trend towards making the basement comfortably livable in a lot of areas.
I can only speak of the pictures I often see in media and what I see on television programs, where the typical north american house is single story.
Interesting. Living here, it's not uncommon at all for houses to be multistory.
Ranches were popular in the 80s and 90s when US boomers were buying "forever homes".
For everywhere and everyone else, the foundation and roof are the most expensive part of the building so it makes the most sense to double or triple your square footage between those by building 2 or 3 stories.
Stairs are for healthy people.
That is not a lie and I am very much aware of that reality, as a member of my household is in serious risk to lose mobility due to health issues. Yet, vertical space is always a good thing to have.
Why? It's cheaper at the front end but a pain in the ass the whole time. It's much better and convenient to have a bungalow.
What? If you don't have mobility issues why wouldn't you want a multi story house? There's more space that way.
Convenience. Have you ever moved mattresses and couches up a flight of stairs?
Yep I have. Mattresses are easy it's the sofas that cause issues.
population density is much lower, so land is much cheaper, and multi story houses are harder to build.
so you just use more land for your house.
Also extreme weather is more common in the US. single story houses are more susceptible to this
We're not exactly packed like sardines where I live but building up, unless health issues are a concern, is always the first thing considered, exactly to save clear ground area for other uses, regardless if building on 100m2 or 10 hectares.
Where are you looking? This very well is likely regional. I grew up in the Midwest and every house in my neighborhood had at least two floors, usually more like 3 (ground floor, finished basement, 2nd story).
Communities built for older people often only have one floor due to mobility issues and parts of the country (most of the south) do not have basements. If youβre relying on film/television then itβs likely theyβre not filming in the parts where basements are common.
In North America, cellars usually are found in rural or older homes on the coasts and in the South. However, full basements are commonplace in new houses in the Canadian and American Midwest and other areas subject to tornado activity or requiring foundations below the frost line.