Ranch Houses

[Primula]

I see from RuthyB's thread re photos of your houses that some of you live in ranch houses. I think I would hate to live in a ranch house, though would be happy to be proven wrong. I think it would be so noisy with everyone living on the same level, especially in the bedrooms. DH is so flipping noisy sometimes, it's nice to go upstairs away from his clattering around.

 

[strange_wings]

I live in a 60s ranch style home. I won't go back to a multi story if I can help it (though a small basement would be nice if we end up staying in this state or moving to Texas). The reason behind this is that I cannot physically handle needing to go up and down a flight of stairs several times a day. Many others have the same problem.

Sound really isn't an issue. When the AC or furnace is on there's background noise from the blower. There's also usually background noise in the form of ceiling fans, fridge, dishwasher, or like at this moment - the washing machine.

 

[Primula]

^That is a good point. I spend a lot of time doing stairs. Especially since washer/dryer is in the basement. Could be a problem one day.

 

[kara_leigh]

Same here. We currently live in a 1 1/2 story house, with only DS's room, his bathroom, and a spare bedroom on the second floor. Everything else is on the main floor. I RARELY if ever (only to clean for showings) go to the second floor. I love having everything on the main floor.

I have RA and in the future won't be able to do stairs very well. DH has bad knees also, so it will be the same for him. It just makes sense for us to have everything on one floor. In our last house our laundry was in the basement and I HATED having to go up and down stairs to do the laundry. I like having it on the main floor so no carting everything up and down. I just have to yell for DS to bring his dirty clothes down. lol

 

[Primula]

Originally Posted by kara_leigh

I just have to yell for DS to bring his dirty clothes down. lol

You gotta get him a laundry chute. Those things are fun!

 

[ldg]

Gary and I live in an RV, and we have a fan on the kitchen counter pointed to the back of the RV to help circulate air better. If he's in the bedroom, I can hear he's saying something if I'm in the kitchen/living room, but I can't hear what unless he's shouting. Works the other way around too. So even just that small background noise and a small hallway make it difficult to hear each other. I imagine that being a room away from someone in a ranch house is pretty much the same as being on a different floor of a multi-story house.

 

[strange_wings]

Originally Posted by LDG

I imagine that being a room away from someone in a ranch house is pretty much the same as being on a different floor of a multi-story house.

It depends on the layout. Newer ranch styles are more likely to have an open floor plan. In this house it depends on what's on atm and what's being said. As I mentioned in another thread - if I'm trying to tell my DH something he won't hear me, if I'm mumbling a comment under my breath he can hear me a room or two away...

I keep forgetting to get a small fan for my kitchen.. I really need one.

 

[butzie]

Originally Posted by Primula

I sell e from RuthyB's thread re photos of your houses that some of you live in ranch houses. I think I would hate to live in a ranch house, though would be happy to be proven wrong. I think it would be so noisy with everyone living on the same level, especially in the bedrooms. DH is so flipping noisy sometimes, it's nice to go upstairs away from his clattering around.

I have lived in coops and condos which are basicaly apartments. My Aunt and Uncle's house in the Catskills is a ranch and wonderful.

My house is two story and what that meant was that my ex could hide out downstairs so that he didn't have to deal with our mentally handicapped son.

 

[ldg]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

As I mentioned in another thread - if I'm trying to tell my DH something he won't hear me, if I'm mumbling a comment under my breath he can hear me a room or two away...

I wonder if being in a multi-level home would change that one?

 

[stephanietx]

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I live in a 60s ranch style home. I won't go back to a multi story if I can help it (though a small basement would be nice if we end up staying in this state or moving to Texas).

You won't find basements in Texas! Too hard to blast out the rockbed to build down into it for a basement. Plus it's pretty flat here in a lot of the state.

 

[Primula]

Originally Posted by butzie

My Aunt and Uncle's house in the Catskills is a ranch and wonderful.

My husband has a house in the Catskills. Where do they live?

Originally Posted by LDG

I wonder if being in a multi-level home would change that one?

IMO, it doesn't.

Originally Posted by stephanietx

You won't find basements in Texas!

Our house would look like a train wreck if DH didn't have his man-cave in the basement.

 

[Winchester]

We live in a bi-level.....I really wanted a two-story house, but at the time we built our house, they were just too expensive around here. It's not bad. The laundry room is in the basement, but the steps are OK...gives me exercise. When I was having knee problems, it was difficult getting down the steps. But overall, stairs are not a bad thing.

We're renovating our basement now for a family room. The laundry room will be separate from the rest of the family room. DH has a work room there, too. He is working on his "man-cave" so that he can display some of his sports collection in the basement...he won't display any of it upstairs b/c of the cats. When it's finished, the basement will have the family room, laundry room and 1/2 bath, fitness room, work room, and DH's display room.

The only thing I don't like about living in a bi-level is that it's hard to have a front porch. And I would dearly love to add a nice front porch to the house.

 

[catsallaround]

Live in a cape 2 bed/full bath down and 2 bed full bath up. The capes had alot more room then then ranches and the colonials(all beds up and 2 full baths up 1/2 down I didnt like cause at some point if you cant go up stairs or its to hard shower will have to be installed.

I would love a ranch with a basement and laundry area on main floor. my ideal house really

cats would love that and if i cold hook it up so theyd have basement but litter could be main level that would be amazing

lol

 

[larussa]

I could never live in a house with stairs right now, my legs don't hold me up as well as they used too. I live in a mobile home so of course everything is on one level.

My sister lives in a tri-level home, everywhere you go are stairs. She is 82 years old and the stairs are really getting to her but she does it. She won't sell the house, she says she's too old to be bothered with ever moving again. When I go there I try not to have to climb any steps but that's hard to do.

 

[mai_kitties]

We bought a nice ranch house and I do now wish that we had gone with a two story. The only reason I wish this is that I found out rather quick that I am absolutely paranoid about leaving my bedroom window open at night on the first floor. I love sleeping with the windows open on nice breezy nights, but I have been unable to do so in the 2 years since we bought this house because I can't sleep knowing that someone could peek in my window.

Other than that, I really enjoy the layout of my house.

 

[goldenkitty45]

IMO multilevels can have more noise - if you've ever had one or two cats running over head they sound like a herd of elephants!

Doesn't matter to me, but those that have problems with walking/climbing stairs like ranch houses. As far as exercise for cats, you build them levels using various tree houses around the house.

 

[darkmavis]

I'll add my bit here that it does depend on the layout of the house, I'm sure, as to whether you hear everything or not. I grew up in 2 story houses and lived in one until I was 26 when I moved to California from Pennsylvania. I moved in with my BF to a 1 bedroom (basically 2 rooms) apartment. Even that wasn't bad, they way it was sectioned off we could close 2 doors between the living room area and the bedroom so he could watch his soccer at 6AM or Saturday morning and not wake me up.

Now we live in a 1 story house after 3.5 years in the apartment. It's about twice as big, and it's noisy, bu that's because we don't have much stuff on the walls and it's all hardwood floors except in the bedrooms. So everything echos. It's not terrible though, we're pretty much used to it, and again, there are several doors that can be closed to block off hallways and bedrooms from the rest of the house.

Seems there's more 1 story houses than not around here, I assume because in the case of an earthquake, it's better to be lower to the ground? I don't know. I like my house anyway, I am very happy with it.

 

[larussa]

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

IMO multilevels can have more noise - if you've ever had one or two cats running over head they sound like a herd of elephants!

Doesn't matter to me, but those that have problems with walking/climbing stairs like ranch houses. As far as exercise for cats, you build them levels using various tree houses around the house.

LOL, you don't need stairs for Autumn to sound like an elephant. She runs thru this long hallway and does sound very, very loud and thunderous.

 

[darkmavis]

Originally Posted by LaRussa

LOL, you don't need stairs for Autumn to sound like an elephant. She runs thru this long hallway and does sound very, very loud and thunderous.

Same here with Genever doing laps on the hardood floors, in the middle of the night, of course.

 

[goldenkitty45]

I can't figure out how a 12 lb or less cat (had Cornish that sounded like elephants playing catchers and they only weigh 5-7 lbs) can make THAT much noise?????