Is it better to have one floor or two floors in an American House?
Friends who want to buy a house in the United States usually encounter a problem, that is, whether it is better to buy one floor or two floors. Below I will give you a comparison, I hope it will be helpful to your choice.
01. Advantages of a one-story house
1. Generally, the land must be relatively large to build a one-story house. In the United States, land is the most valuable, so a one-story house Housing costs are also high.
2. One-story houses are generally sturdier. Many houses in the United States feel like pure cardboard houses. There is no sound insulation between the upper and lower floors. With only one floor, there is no such problem.
3. The one-story building generally has a higher roof, while the two-story building only has certain rooms with higher roofs.
4. Most people like it and it is relatively popular.
5. The utilization rate of each room is very high.
6. If you have a baby at home, it is very safe and convenient when the child is young. You don’t have to climb to the second floor if something happens in the middle of the night. It is also easier to babyproof the house, so you don’t have to worry about the baby having an accident while climbing the stairs.
7. If you want to replace carpets or floors, it will be much cheaper without stairs, and the cleaning work will be easier. You must know that except for the really rich people here in the United States, everyone does their own housework.
8. It is convenient to move/decorate without stairs, otherwise it will be troublesome to move a large cabinet upstairs.
9. There are no Feng Shui troubles such as stairs facing the door on the first floor.
10. From a spatial perspective, the first floor lacks the space occupied by stairs. A two-story house must have a corridor on the second floor, which overlaps with the function of the corridor below. It takes up space in vain and feels large. The space utilization design of some first-floor houses is better.
11. There is usually a basement of equal size on the first floor, which is warm in winter and cool in summer.
02. Disadvantages of a one-story house
1. No matter how large the area is, the view cannot be compared with that of a two-story house. People who are used to living on two floors will feel that no matter how high the roof of the first floor is, it is not as good. The second floor has a wide view.
2. The lighting in the house and corridor is also a disadvantage. Unless it is a one-story house designed by a famous designer, or a skylight is opened, the lighting can be very good.
3. The area feels smaller than a two-story house (actually it means that one-story houses are more suitable for luxury homes...)
4. When they were young, many people didn’t think climbing stairs was a problem. , all think about living in an apartment or upgrading to a first-floor apartment when they grow old.
5. If you need to decorate the basement yourself, the cost is very high (usually tens of thousands of dollars), because the basements of one-story residences are generally very large, and many of them can allow children to ride bicycles and skateboards in them in winter.
6. I am worried about privacy, but if the area is large enough and some vegetation is planted, that is, it is "luxurious" enough, this will not be a problem.
7. When children come to play at home, the house is full of chaos. There is basically no privacy at all on the first floor. It is better on the two floors because most of the bedrooms are upstairs.
8. The WiFi coverage area is not enough, so you need to install an extender, etc.
9. One-story houses make some Chinese people not feel like small houses.
03. Advantages of two-story houses
1. Generally, the functional division of two-story houses is very clear. Some master bedrooms and other bedrooms are upstairs, where children cry and make noises. Upstairs and downstairs are just a dining room for eating and a living room for watching TV; or the master bedroom is downstairs and the children's room is upstairs, so that work and life do not affect each other, and the children have privacy; and some have guest rooms on the first floor, so that they can be at home. People do not affect their privacy. Families with older children and more children can enjoy more privacy if they live on two floors.
2. The advantage of two floors is that you can have a two-story living room with a high ceiling. For one floor, the ceiling should be made relatively high, such as 10 feet, to make it more comfortable. Of course, Americans think that a floor height of 8 feet is good and gives people a comfortable feeling. Chinese people like openness and light and pay attention to floor height.
3. Another advantage of having two floors is cleaning. Generally speaking, bedrooms are cleaner, while kitchens and living rooms are the places that are most likely to get dirty.
The advantage of separating the two floors is that the dirt on the floor will not be carried from one house to another. Many people on the first floor have safe wooden floors, which is more convenient to clean. Cleaning twice a week is enough, while the floor above Just clean the bedroom once a week. For homeowners in the United States who often have to do it themselves, it will be easier.
04. Disadvantages of a two-story house
1. The room above the garage is very cold in winter and cannot be used as a bedroom, but it is good as a bonus room. Generally, in addition to the room above the garage, there will be other bedrooms upstairs, which is theoretically enough for living.
2. If there are two floors, you have to go up and down to grab something, change clothes, or take a nap. If the area is the same, some people will feel that the two-story house is cramped and the stairs take up a lot of space.
3. If the elderly or lazy people live at home, they don’t like two floors. Climbing stairs is too tiring, and knee care is very important.
4. In a two-story house, the entrance area and the living room are often high-ceilinged, two stories high. Changing light bulbs and cleaning will be very troublesome because you need to buy that kind of super-high ladder. , it’s quite popular, and it’s often sold out quickly when it’s on sale.
5. It is not as open and bright as the first floor. It also has to be cleaned. Not to mention Feng Shui, there are also aesthetic issues.
6. If the air conditioners are not installed separately, when the air conditioner is turned on in summer, it will be cold downstairs, but the upstairs will not feel cool; when the heating is turned on in winter, the upstairs will be extremely hot, and the downstairs will shiver while watching TV. . The electricity bill is skyrocketing.
7. Basically, all two-story houses must have a small refrigerator upstairs, otherwise it will be very inconvenient.