The foundation and roof are always used to justify the argument, the increase in the size of those two increases the cost of a building, single-story houses are larger than that of the double story building making the single-story building cost more, that does make sense, especially when it comes to the roof, sometimes cost is not the only deciding factor when you choose a certain type of house, comfort, and accessibility also plays a role, below are some advantages and disadvantage that can help you choose what type of house you want to build next.
Advantages and disadvantages.
Two-story building
Advantages
- Space seems to be an advantage when it comes to double story buildings, the sleeping area is directly above the living area, the bedrooms are large, this increases the size of the outside area.
- Privacy, having your bedrooms on its own increases privacy in your house, you can be upstairs while the rest of the family is downstairs, adding an extra bedroom downstairs also makes it easier to house older relatives.
- Two-story buildings offer great views, but this depends on location, your view can be blocked with a single-story building, even if you are in a great location, your neighbor is your view and that’s it.
Disadvantages
- Many of the people I asked had one issue with two sorry buildings and that’s stairs, it seems that having stairs in a house is a big no for the elderly, they often choose easy access over everything else, without the hassle of adding customization to stairs or installing elevators, it’s also a bit tricky when there is an incident whereby a family member has to use a wheelchair over prolonged periods.
- Safety was another issue, getting in and out of a house in the case of a fire is a concern, safety for children comes into mind, although the building is fitted with railings.
- Dead space below the staircase means that there is much of the house that is not utilized, but this is an issue that can be solved by creating creative spaces like bookshelves and storage, I personally love a metal staircase there is so much you can do with it, plus it does not take up too much space.
Single story building.
Advantages
- A single-story building is more convenient for the elderly due to it’s easy to access spaces. Rooms like the bathroom and toilet are just a couple of steps away, it provides great community spaces where the family can both live and sleep and also be visible to each other.
- The time it takes to build a single-story building is often faster than a double story building.
- Safety seemed to be on the list for some people, the lag of stairs on a single-story house reduces incidents especially that first-floor trip, and it’s also easier to get out of in the case of a fire or natural disaster.
Disadvantages
- The area of the house is bigger that means that you lose space in your yard, it’s double the square footage on land than its counterpart, for me, that means less playing areas for the kids, no extension, at least if the plot is small, that idea of a backyard garden disappears and if it is in the plans, can totally be scrapped if an extra garage or carport is planned.
- A fewer number of bathrooms, there normally are a fewer number of bathrooms in a single-story house, the size of the other rooms are compromised as you add more to the house, most, the time you get the option of combining the toilet and bathroom to make space and maybe a small little walk through closet with a small bathroom in the main bedroom.
- expandability is an issue, adding an extra extension to the building is a bit more difficult and totally changes the aesthetics, but it’s not impossible to make the most out of the situation, granted you don’t have an issue with losing large outside space, it might end up looking like an indoor complex but it’s your indoor complex.
Conclusion
It seems like cost is the main factor when choosing what to build, to most people it’s more comfort and safety, in some cases, I found that people who grew up in single-story houses were more inclined to stay in a single-story house and vice versa, each one of them has something going for them, there’s also a third group of people that prefer mixing both types of building, for example, having an extra room on top of the garage, the pros and cons above are for bricks building and not wood-framed buildings,
