Ideas of two-story houses: photos of the original buildings
A two-story house, first of all, is an excellent opportunity to obtain a large living space on a small plot. The average land area is approximately 8 acres, if you place a large residential building with an area of 150 square meters on it, it will look too bulky here. If on the territory there are still outbuildings and a garage, then there will be no space left for a garden or a garden at all. In addition, creating an ideal large one-story house, while avoiding the construction of walk-through rooms, is completely unrealistic, because only halls and corridors can “steal” up to 30% of the total area of the house.
A two-story house is an ideal option when you need a large living space, but at the same time elegance and external restraint. Having built a two-story house, you can attach a garage nearby and there will also be plenty of space on the garden or garden.
Advantages of two-story houses:
- Aesthetic originality and attractiveness - with the help of such a house you can realize various architectural ideas and techniques. The facades of such houses often look very solid and original, much prettier than single-storey ones. In general, the principle that a two-story house is "cooler" has formed in the head of people, because its roof is more complicated, and architecturally it is more expressive and alluring.
- Zoning of space - in most cases, two-story houses are properly zoned, leaving the first floor for "daytime" life (kitchen, living room, utility room, etc.) and "night" (bedrooms for owners and their children). Simply put, having a two-story house, a person can always go upstairs in order to retire and stay in silence, relaxing a little. In a one-story house, this is much more difficult to do, besides, it is possible that the bedroom will become a “near-passage”.
- Gorgeous view - which can be opened from the balcony of the second floor, terrace. Often people build fences, the height of which reaches 3 meters, if the house is one-story, then besides the fence you will not see anything interesting, unlike a two-story house, which deprives discomfort of limited space.
- A wide selection of materials - a house can be built from any material, which turned out to be the most attractive. For the construction of an impressive house, brick, timber, aerated concrete, special processed logs or frame-frame houses are suitable.
There are many advantages, but there is no escape from the disadvantages, because they also exist:
- Mandatory installation of the staircase - it is impossible to climb to the second floor without it, which means that you will have to sacrifice living space for its installation. The staircase is a big problem for the elderly, because you do not constantly run up and down (if the house is for pensioners, then it is better to move the guest rooms to the second floor). Among other things, in two-story houses, it is the staircase that is the place where most injuries occur and carries a danger.
- Thermal insulation - if its level is the same in both types of houses, then in a two-story house it will be cooler by 10-15%.
- Emergency situations - if a fire occurred in a house and a fire started, then it is much easier to carry out an evacuation in a one-story house, which increases the level of security.
- Installation of bathrooms - if they are located one above the other, then everything is fine, but if such an arrangement is impossible due to the layout, then a big problem arises - the wiring of sewer pipes. In addition, you need to deal with the ventilation system on the ground floor, in a brick house it is especially difficult to do this and most likely you will have to sacrifice the quality of thermal insulation. The ventilation system in a two-story house is much more expensive.
Engineering systems require special attention. In a one-story house, their conduct is simple, in particular, you can use the attic. In a two-story house, this is much more difficult, since it will be necessary to lay communication systems in the interfloor overlap, and this greatly affects the design difficulty and complicates the process of repairing systems in the event of breakdowns.
In connection with the above problem, it is necessary to make the drawing in such a way that the systems have direct access through the control hatches located in the most critical places for possible breakdowns.
In order to heat such a house, it is necessary to install a forced water circulation pump, but in a one-story house, the use of "gravity" is enough. The main problem of the two-story house is the creation of a complex ventilation system. If you install high-quality metal-plastic windows and insulate the house well, you will have to build a difficult exhaust system with multi-node wiring. This process is not only complicated, but also very costly in finance. The only thing that will cost the same amount is the electrical wiring, everything else in a two-story house is much more difficult and expensive.
If you build a fireplace, this will create additional difficulties. Having installed a fireplace on the first floor of such a house, you will have to carefully consider how the chimney will pass through the second floor, in addition, it will be necessary to ensure fire safety of the floor between the floors. If you install a fireplace on the second floor, you need to make a reinforced concrete base, which is also not cheap.
Which house is more profitable?
In order to find out, you need to analyze the cost of a one- and two-story house. According to one rule, the higher the number of storeys, the cheaper the square meter of living space. The roof of a two-story house is much smaller, which means its roof is cheaper. If the overlap between the floors is made of wood, then there is a significant savings on screeds and insulation.
It will reduce the cost of the construction of the attic by 30%, especially since it looks very interesting and attractive. If we compare the costs of the foundation, then everything depends on the materials from which the house will be built. If you build a two-story house of brick, then the foundation must be powerful and sustainable. And this will entail significant costs - more than for a one-story house of the same area. To save money, it is better to build a house of timber, in this case, the amount of required foundation is sharply reduced.
In general, the construction of a one-story house is simpler, but not so elegant. Much depends on the shape of the house, if you ask him the correct shape (rectangle or square), then the construction will be cheaper and easier in its complexity.
As a result, it must be said that a two-story house has a number of advantages and advantages. If you correctly approach its construction, then you can not overpay, but at the exit get a masterpiece for the whole family. Two-story houses have many layouts, various construction techniques. It is necessary to correctly zon such a house, placing it at the bottom of the common room, and at the top of the bedroom and room for children. This option will be most appropriate if the house requires an attic, which reduces the living area of the second floor.