Single Story House Plans:
Learn about special considerations.

Single story house plans offer homeowners a few advantages over multi-level designs. As a potential new homeowner, you really want to give some serious consideration to whether you want to get single story house plans or a multi-floor design.

One of the first things to consider is what your needs are going to be. Families with young children or elderly members should give some thought to the safety concerns that come with stairs. Many home injuries come from falls that occur on stairs.

The size of your building lot is also something to take into consideration. You need to take into account all of your setbacks so that the footprint of your house (including any garage) will fit within the setbacks. This will be a big factor in determining the overall square footage of your home.

Another consideration is your neighborhood's homeowners association ("HOA") regulations. In certain neighborhoods, there are certain height regulations that will dictate if a one-story design will be acceptable.

A single-story plan can also affect your cost of construction. There will be two areas that will be affected the most. One is the foundation. In order to get the same square footage of a two-story home, you need to have a foundation footprint that is much larger.

The other biggest change is roofing cost. If the house is longer and wider it will require a larger roof. If you compare these costs to a somewhat stronger structure for a two-story plan (second story floor joists, and a slightly stronger foundation) it will give you some insight into this cost difference.

Another difference is the cost of stairs. This can be very small for a plain pine staircase. The opposite end of this is a house that is built around a grand staircase. This will drastically change design and cost.

A single story plan can be a great way to get the dream home that you've always wanted. Just make sure that you do your homework in terms of your needs, budget, lot, and local regulations.

Our design team here at Wise Home Design understands that every homeowner has unique needs. We can work with you to design the perfect single story house plan for you. We are a custom design firm, so we don't have off-the-shelf plans: We create custom plans to suit your needs. We often can design a custom plan for the same cost as "box" plans, so drop us a line with your needs and we'll be happy to look them over and give you our thoughts.

Contact us to inquire about our design services.

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