Split Level House Plans

Split-level home designs (sometimes called multi-level) have various levels at varying heights, rather than just one or two main levels. Generally, split-level floor plans have a one-level portion attached to a two-story section, and garages are often tucked beneath the living space. This style home began as a variation of the ranch, and split-level houses often maintain the shallow pitched roof and architectural styling of the ranch. These homes work great on smaller lots due to their stacked design.

Basements in split-level floor plans are generally very shallow; thus, the windows are just above the ground level providing a lot of sunlight through the windows into the lower level. These types of house plans are often described as having "daylight basements."

Bi-level home designs are two-story homes with the entrance of the home in the middle of the two floors. The lower level exits to the garage as well and usually has a rec room, a bedroom, and sometimes even a second kitchen which makes them a great alternative to the in-law suite or for older kids that have moved back home. 

Advantages of Split-Level Homes

There are several advantages to building a split- or multi-level home plan. The footprint of the home is small, inasmuch as the various levels are stacked. As a result, some of the more expensive parts of a home (the foundation and the roof) are smaller than they would be on a ranch-style home plan. There are many areas where, due to higher water tables, full-depth basements are likely to have flooding problems. Multi-level floor plans are excellent for this type of area since they are not built deep into the ground as is a full basement. Due to the smaller footprint and the ability to build split-level house plans in higher water table areas, these types of floor plans were very popular for quite some time in the 80s and 90s as high-density developments required flexible floor plans. Multi-level house plans provided adequate size while taking up less ground area.

Throughout the years, split-level home plans have evolved significantly. You can now find split-level floor plans of all types of architectural styles including Country and Victorian.