Easily savings on building up vs. over. My basement excavation and pour cost $20k for 720 sq. ft (and I did the excavation myself!). To frame two stories, each with the same footprint of 720 sq. ft. each (1440 sq. ft. total) was $18k. Totals $38k for 2100 sq. ft.

Same size house as a 1080 sq. ft. bungalow: Basement - $30k, main floor $13.5k, for a total of $43.5k. So $5.5k more, or about 15% increase in construction cost. And concrete is EXPENSIVE compared to lumber.

Yes, hard to say what the savings would be because they vary so much by area and materials used but a house like the previous poster described would be substantially less cost to build per square foot.

Yes, it is generally less expensive to build up and down rather then outward. But, since you're talking about a retirement home, bear in mind that one or the other of you (or both) may soon reach a point where navigating stairs can become difficult or impossible. You don't want to build a 15 - 20% less expensive home now only to have to sell it 5 to 10 years down the road if one of you develops COPD or painful hip arthritis or diabetes accompanied by foot neuropathy or any one of a number of other ailments that, unfortunately, become more common as we age. If you do choose to build on three levels, seriously consider including stacked walk-in closets so that, if necessary, you can retrofit a home elevator.

Wow! 33%??? That seems huge! Is that going from a single story ranch with no basement to a two story is plus basement? It seems like so much of the interior is expensive that it is crazy to believe 33%! I am in the Midwest though where almost everybody has a basement, so that is already two stories!
So does this mean that a 1 1/2 story (plus basement) is much more expensive than a 2 story (with basement)?

In my area, the larger volume builders I looked into all have fairly similar prices, and I found that the cost for a 2,200 sf two-story is about the same as a 1,600 sf single-story. Both include full poured basements. Those 2 stories are fairly efficient houses in which both floors mostly share the same footprint, or there is a bit of the second floor over the garage.

Yes, the 33% saving would be going from ranch-style with basement to a two-story with a basement.

Beat boy...wow! I had NO idea it was that much of a difference! I knew up was less, but you always hear about people going way over budget on the inside finishes...bathrooms and kitchens.

I would build everything you want on one floor - living area, kitchen, master bedroom suite, laundry room and anything else you want and can afford on that floor. Then, if you want extra bedrooms and baths, gameroom, etc. for visitors, put that in the basement or upstairs. Two floors would be much better than three, imo.

Good luck.

Agree. For a retirement home, I would do a ranch with a basement.

Put all the essentials on the main level all the extras in the basement.

We're taking pps7's advice: All the essentials on the main level and the extras . . . well, on the second floor. No one does basements here. Our soil isn't well-suited to basements.

Our reasoning:

- I just like the look of a story-and-a-half house.
- I want windows on two sides of all rooms. Well, as many rooms as possible. If your house is wiiiiiiide like a ranch, the rooms in the middle get window-cheated.
- I like the look of a staircase at Christmas -- you know, decorated with greenery and lights.
- If we need one of our children /grandchildren, or a paid helper to "live in" with us, that person could have the upstairs to himself or herself. This would be more private and would be more of an inducement to take what can be a difficult job.

For a small house the cost of the stair will usually eliminate the
savings from going up. Build what you want to live in.

Another possible savings in having a one story home is that you could design it so that the same bathroom that serves the secondary bedrooms is also the powder room. If those bedrooms aren't on the main level, you would need a separate powder room, and bathrooms are pricier square footage.

That being said, I personally prefer 2 story homes. I like that they allow for more rooms to be exposed to substantial natural light.

We finished the basement, with 9' ceilings and lots of glass to the south, so it is very energy efficient. We do not heat or cool all year and it maintains a temp between 63 and 78 all year. All living needs are on the main floor, space below is less frequently used. Should we need it, there is space in the dressing room to add a future lift. Not only does it add storage, but we kept our duct work in the conditioned basement for lower energy loss.

our builder charges nearly 200/foot for main floor space and 40/foot for basement space (walkout). Space on the second story is closer to the 40/foot as well.

My husband is just getting over a very unexpected illness (still not sure what caused it) but he went from very active, to not able to walk, in a matter of days. We were very fortunate to be in a one story home (at present) or it would have been very difficult to have him come home.

So, I agree with all that's been said on keeping your essential rooms on the main floor. With a good design, you don't have to use a lot of hallways and design everything with universal access, in mind. Easier to have it now, then to add it later :)

For people who have limited budgets, I say look towards your needs over the next couple decades. We are in our upper 20s with two kids. A two story so we can remove the kids bedrooms as far as possible from the living space, plus the cost savings of a 2 story, make sense for us now, when we won't mind climbing stairs. Plainly this house won't make sense when we are retired or even empty-nesters, but at that time, we will sell to another young family and buy a small ranch. Trying to accomplish all of the goals over your lifetime with one house means unnecessary compromises for each. (Admittedly, this idea doesn't work for those building on a special piece of land they always want to keep, but for most of us, the overwhelming likelihood is that we will move anyway within 20 years.)

We don't have a bedroom or bath on the main floor, and if someone gets injured and can't climb stairs, that will be a real pain. But the trouble that would involve and the likelihood it would occur does not justify expensive and otherwise undesired rooms to the house.

We built a ranch with walkout. Everything we need is on the main floor (1959 sq ft). This includes an office with 3/4 bath attached that can be used as a guest room. In the lower level there are two bedroom suites, a family room, a ridculous amount of closet space, mechanical room and a significant unfinished storage area. We go from a house of 2 to soon-to-be 13 when evryone comes home (about once every 4-6 weeks). Each bedroom has a large window and the family room has an exterior door and two large windows. I regret not putting windows in the bedrooms on the south wall.

Cost wise it was much less than adding a second story with our builder. Approximately $30k with finishes.

who was your builder