Every house in the Chicago area’s diverse stock of single-family homes–from graceful Victorians on busy city streets to stately ranch houses spread out on ample, pastoral collar-county lots–presents a range of advantages and disadvantages that many home buyers often overlook.
“And it’s something that potential home buyers should consider as they’re usually into home-owning for the long haul,” says Richard Becker, a Highland Park-based architect.
“Every type of home has its nuances,” says Rob Sierzega, a Chicago-based architect. “And some people may like those nuances more than others.”
For example, although it’s not popular in the city, the ranch home is ubiquitous in many suburbs.
The upside of a ranch is that it offers one-level living, popular for older homeowners who don’t want to climb stairs–“It’s the housing of choice for older people,” says Becker–and for young parents who don’t want their toddlers climbing stairs.
Another plus is that ranch homes are usually built on the ground level, or maybe a foot up. “As a result, a ranch house can have a lot of access to outdoor spaces and you can feel closer to nature if you have the right kind of lot,” says Sierzega. “If you have a family room, you can have a patio right off of it and in a step or two you have instant access to a garden area.
Finally, being low to the ground allows homeowners to easily maintain a ranch, says Sierzega, as you can reach most of the building with a 12-foot ladder. That makes chores such as painting, caulking and gutter- and window-cleaning a breeze.
On the downside, ranches are expensive to construct as they are less efficient to build than a two-story home. For example, plumbing needs to spread across the house to reach bathrooms that may be on different sides of the dwelling.
And heating and air-conditioning ductwork needs to spread across the base of the ranch to reach every room. “With ductwork running from end to end, by the time heat gets to the far end of the house, it can dissipate,” says Sierzega.
With a large amount of roof and exterior wall space, ranches are often harder to cool in the summer. A larger roof can also mean that more heat escapes during the winter. As a result, ranches can be less energy-efficient than a two-story home.
However, adds Sierzega, “If you keep the roofing a light color and the attic well-insulated, you shouldn’t have that much of a problem with energy efficiency.”
Ranches also take up more space on a lot than a typical two-story home, or often require a bigger lot, again costing more money. “You often need at least a quarter-acre or half-acre for a good-sized ranch,” says David Hall, a Lincoln Park-based Realtor and the president-elect of the Chicago Association of Realtors.
Finally, because they’re low to the ground, ranches aren’t always conducive to finished basements. “In the Chicago area, most people like to have a basement, but with a ranch it’s hard to have a very deep basement with windows,” says Sierzega.
As a result, some homeowners opt for a raised ranch, basement window wells or ranches built into berms for better window space.
Many homeowners looking for extra space with one-level living also often lean toward bungalows, especially on city lots. “Most bungalows have full basements and full attics that can be converted into living space, which is a premium on narrow city lots,” says Hall.
Bilevel and trilevel
Cousins to the ranch are the bilevel and trilevel.
Bilevels offer two levels of living: a ground-level public space at the front of the house that includes the living room, dining room and kitchen; and a raised-up (about five feet) private-space level at the back of the house that contains bedrooms and bathrooms.
The two levels are connected by a half-staircase.
The advantage of such a home is that construction costs are slightly less than a ranch house because of a lack of a full basement and because plumbing and heating and air conditioning runs can be shortened.
Trilevels are essentially the same home but with a basement level instead of a crawlspace. The basement is often a finished family room with a laundry area, connected to the ground level by a half-staircase.
Often, trilevels are built on lots with knolls, so that the lower level can open out to the back yard. The upside to such a home is that it has less of a footprint (in other words, it takes up less space on a lot) than a ranch but offers the same amount of interior space. “As a result, you have more yard space,” says Sierzega.
You can also add dramatic ceiling volumes in the front level–something that’s not possible with most two-story homes. In addition, a bilevel and trilevel are not as tall as a two-story so they’re easier to maintain.
One downside is that “it seems like you’re always walking up and down stairs,” says Sierzega. The family rooms can also lack natural light because they’re partly underground. And they can be prone to flooding.
Another downside is that bilevels and trilevels can be hard to renovate or add on to, says Becker.
Two-story homes can come in a number of shapes and sizes.
Colonial style
For example, a Colonial is a rectangular-shaped building, with the long side usually being the front of the house, facing the street. Both the upper and lower levels have about the same square footage.
“You usually have public space, kitchens and family rooms, downstairs and private space, bedrooms and bathrooms, upstairs,” says Becker.
“Many homeowners prefer their bedrooms upstairs because it’s a different mentality than the busy downstairs,” says Hall. “Also, there’s a sense of security. You can sleep with the windows open upstairs but you’ll lock up the downstairs at night.”
An advantage of such a home is that it doesn’t take up much space on a lot. “You can get a lot more square footage on the lot, especially in the city where space is a premium,” says Hall.
A two-story is also usually more energy-efficient than a ranch home because there’s less exterior wall space and a smaller roof.
It can also cost less to build as there are short spans of ductwork. And plumbing is clustered together (for example, upstairs and downstairs bathrooms are built on top of each other) to save costs.
Because the first floor is several feet off the ground, two-story basements have more natural light and are more conducive to being finished. “And many two-stories come with full attics that can also be converted into living space,” says Hall.
A disadvantage is that two-stories in general are harder to maintain on the exterior because of their height. You need extension ladders to reach gutters and upstairs windows.
“Plus, you’ll be walking up a full flight of stairs every time you go from a family space, such as the kitchen, to a bedroom,” says Sierzega. “That gets harder when people get older.”
The Georgian
Another two-story style is the Georgian, which tends more toward square than rectangular. The emphasis of the Georgian is to maximize room space and minimize areas such as hallways. As a result, bedroom doorways may be right next to each other on a second floor landing.
“That keeps travel distances down to a minimum, but that may be too cozy for people,” says Sierzega.
Because of their square shape, Georgians can cost less to build than rectangular two-stories. They are also energy efficient. Another advantage is that Georgians take up less space on a lot, which makes them popular in the city.
They share the same disadvantages as a Colonial.
Another two-story style is the rectangular-shaped Cape Cod. Unlike the Colonial and the Georgian, the second story of a Cape Cod may be half as big as the first floor.
“What you’ll see with Cape Cods are steep roof lines and second-floor dormers,” says Sierzega. “So you have interesting upstairs spaces as far as angled ceilings but you’re getting fewer square feet upstairs than downstairs. It’s often known as a story-and-one-half.”
On the upside, a Cape Cod can look cozier on a small lot because of its style. “It can look interesting with its steep roof lines and dormers,” says Sierzega.
There are also shorter runs of plumbing and heating ducts to save costs. Cape Cods are often less expensive to build because the walls are less tall than a two-story. And you can reach gutters and second-floor windows with a short ladder.
The downside is low ceiling heights and sloping ceilings on the second floor. If the roof is not well-insulated, a Cape Cod can be more costly to heat or cool than a traditional two-story home.
Tudor and Victorian
There are a couple more versions of two-story homes: the Tudor and Victorian.
Tudors are known for their stucco and wood exteriors, charming roof gables and steep roof lines. Victorians are known for their intricate wood ornamentation, whimsical angles and high roofs.
While both homes offer the benefits of two-story living, they are difficult to maintain as far as painting, cleaning and exterior wood trim repairs.
“While those types of homes are appreciated because of their abundance of architectural details, they require a lot more work and a lot more cost because of those details,” says Becker.
Keep in mind, in different geographic regions of the country, names of the different styles of homes can be a matter of semantics. For example, a California bungalow would not necessarily resemble a Chicago bungalow.
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MORE ON THE INTERNET: View illustrations and definitions of 26 architectural styles at chicagotribune.com/go/homestyle
