Ranch House Plans - Single Story House Plans - One Story House Plans

The Ranch style home most likely originating from the style of southwestern and Spanish colonial homes and/or from early California ranchos, ranch house plans date back to the 1920s when one story house plans first gained popularity. The post-war generations in the 1940s and 1970s made ranch house plans a suburban phenomenon, popping up from east to west. 

The popularity of ranch home plans began to wane in the late 20th century, but in recent years these practical and efficient one story house plans have once again gained popularity to accommodate handicap accessible floor plan designs with everything on one level. The classic L-shaped rambling Ranch floor plan combines the living and dining areas into one, with a short hallway or exterior area that leads to the family room and bedrooms. Rectangular floor plans or U-shaped floor plans are also common with sliding doors often leading to a rear patio or deck.

Characteristics and building considerations:
A Ranch is a single floor house where the garage and foyer floors are at the same height as the main floor.  The Ranch style home has several options...

• If the water table is low and the land is flat you can put the foundation in the ground 6 to 7 foot, this will require little to no fill sand. This option will cost you less money for several reasons, but does not lend itself to a usable lower lever living area. 
• If you want to raise the home out of the ground 4 foot you can get daylight windows in the lower level.  Lots with a slope to the rear of the property are best suited for daylight or walkout lower levels. However, if your property is flat, this option will cost more for fill around the front and sides of the house, garage and driveway. There is also more cost to adding windows and wood walls to the basement. But considering the living space you gain, the lower level can be finished for half the cost of space finished above grade.

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