Turn Single Family Home Into Multi Family Home
An extensive article explaining the different types of houses past building type. Includes single-family, condo, co-op, flat, townhome, manor, barndominium, yurt, carriage house, McMansion, tiny abode, mobile domicile, manufactured abode, castle, manor, villa, chateau and more. Photos for each type of house.
There are 2 means to categorize the dissimilar types of houses.
In other words, when people search for "types of houses", some are looking for the different home architectural styles, while others are looking for the unlike types of residential building structures that exist and are available.
For home architectural styles, go here.
For the different residential building structures and homes, see beneath.
What'southward the difference?
Architectural styles dictate the style in which a home is built. At that place are many different architectural styles, and these are typically based on some celebrated era or geographical location. Examples include the Greatcoat Cod, Mediterranean, Mid-Century Modern, Georgian, and Ranch styles.
Types of building structures more accurately reflects the pregnant of the phrase "types of houses." This definition includes single family unit, condominium, townhome, bungalow, carve up-level, and castle homes, among others.
Since we accept a dedicated (and pop) article setting out the unlike architectural styles, this article focuses on the dissimilar types of building structures that are typically used for homes.
Related: Unusual Homes | House and Floor Plans | Types of Lots | Types of House Foundations | Types of House Insurance
Types of Houses by Structure Type
Unmarried family (discrete)
70% of Americans live in single-family homes. While it'southward likely that that rate is not nigh as high in other countries, the single family detached reisdence is a very much sought after type of home.
The single family unit house is a home that is not fastened to some other home in whatsoever way. It sits on its ain belongings and stands completely dissever from the other houses around it. Near detached single-family unit homes are located in suburbs throughout North America.
The single family type of home exploded after World War Ii. During this fourth dimension, a mass migration to the suburbs took place, as soldiers returned habitation and settled down into family life. Before WWII, simply 13% of people lived in suburbs. By 2010, one-half of the US population calls "surburbia" dwelling.
As of 2010, nigh people seek to live in unmarried-family homes, although with the baby boomer generation decreasing in size, demand for alternatives to unmarried-family homes is quickly growing. Some of these alternatives include condominiums (condos), apartments, and townhomes.
Condominium
A condominium is 1 domicile among many that are housed inside a building or serial of buildings on a given piece of land. Each condominium owner has the championship to the unit, meaning that they own the unit. A condominium building is governed by an elected torso (HOA in the United States, or Strata Council in Canada), which makes decisions on behalf of all unit of measurement owners and owns the communal areas and land where the condominium sits. This elected trunk makes decisions that pertain to maintenance, grounds, regulations, and more.
- Duplex: A duplex condo refers to a ii story condo unit of measurement. This frequently results from the joining of two separate units and renovating them into one larger unit. Even so, some duplex condos are initially built as 2-story homes.
- Triplex: This blazon of condo is the aforementioned every bit a duplex condo, but has three levels instead of two.
The terms "duplex" and "triplex" refer to the fact that these are two or three floor condos, as the terms are used in New York City. In other locations, the terms "duplex" and "triplex" refer to two and three unit of measurement buildings that stand side-by-side. Naturally, a violent debate exists nearly the technical definitions, but in the electric current jargon, the terms are defined differently in different areas.
Some structures that appear to be townhouses (row house design) are technically condos. This is due to the fact that the owners only ain the unit, and not the shared space.
Flat
An apartment is a group of housing units in one building, all owned by one entity. The units are then rented out to tenants. This is the key difference between a condo and an apartment. In a condo, individual entities (i.e. a person or corporation) own each unit of measurement, whereas with apartments, all the units in the edifice are owned by one entity.
Co-op
A co-op is similar in physical appearance and part as a condo or apartment, simply the financial and legal organisation is quite unlike. In a co-op, each entity or person who buys in to the co-op doesn't ain a particular unit; instead, they own a per centum of the building. Co-op owners are akin to shareholders of an entire property, and technically lease their unit of measurement from the co-op.
The reward to a co-op over an apartment or condo boils down to the fact that the co-op association (the co-op members) can prevent a prospective buyer from buying into the building past rejecting their awarding. That said, a co-op association can merely reject applications on fiscal basis and/or an unwillingness to follow the rules set out by the association. A condo HOA or strata cannot reject a prospective buyer if they fit within its rules (i.e. age restrictions).
Townhome
A townhome is like to a row domicile in that it shares one or ii walls with other homes. Townhomes are commonly two or 3 stories tall, simply some stand up fifty-fifty taller. These homes are different from condos in that owners of a townhome ain both the interior and exterior of the unit, and are therefore financially responsible for maintenance of the exterior too as the interior. With condos, the exterior of the edifice is maintained by the regulatory torso (the HOA or Strata Council).
A townhome is more similar a unmarried family abode, except for its attachment to some other unit of measurement on either 1 or both sides.
See our collection of luxury townhomes here.
Bungalow
The give-and-take "bungalow" is derived from an Indian word for minor houses, stemming from "Bengali house". In fact, the bungalow was developed because the cottage way business firm with thick walls didn't work in India, with its warm climate.
A bungalow is a small, square single-story home with front porch. The single floor is raised, with forepart steps leading upward to the porch. Often, a unmarried dormer window is built into the pitched roof of the cranium. These types of homes began existence congenital in the USA in the early on twentieth century. Bungalows are found all over the USA nowadays. These days, bungalows aren't as common, given the mod penchant for larger homes. Moreover, with computer-aided design, elementary designs are no longer necessary to keep costs low.
Ranch-Style
A ranch-style abode (AKA a rancher) is also a unmarried-story dwelling house. Nonetheless, a rancher has a larger, more rectangular footprint than a bungalow does. The ranch abode is a derivative of the wide Castilian hacienda style of home. Ranchers grew in popularity during the 1950's as huge tracts of state turned into suburbs, with larger plots than the typical urban plots. This type of firm has plenty of open outdoor spaces, given that they crave larger-than normal lots. Read our ranch vs. ii-story houses comparison here.
Cottage
The term cottage stems from a dwelling house unremarkably built in England. While in today'due south parlance it refers to a small holiday home, historically, a cottage was a minor domicile with a high thatched roof, thick walls, and a unmarried interior room.
In an odd, ironic twist, some wealthy people refer to their vacation backdrop every bit "the cottage." Use of this term downplays what is truly a luxurious vacation dwelling. For example, sometimes the spectacular Newport, RI mansions built past the Robber Barons are referred to equally "cottages," though they in no style resemble the traditional English cottage.
Because there are several meanings for the term cottage, we've included iii different photo examples of cottages:
Historic English cottage
Small vacation cottage
1000 Newport, Rhode Island cottage
Cabin
At that place is no existent consensus regarding the differences between a cabin and a cottage. Although a cabin connotes a elementary, rustic and minimalist artful, a cottage, in the electric current usage of the word, does frequently refer to a more upscale vacation dwelling, though not historically.
Cabins are usually less finished than cottages. Cottages are painted and adorned, giving them a finished look. Additionally, cabins are virtually ever rural, whereas a cottage tin can be located in a rural or urban area. Some state assert a cabin, at to the lowest degree traditionally, is a log-built structure. FYI, at that place are distinct types of cabins you can pattern and build.
Chalet
The discussion "chalet" finds its roots in the structures that traditionally housed sheep and goat herders in Switzerland. Today, the chalet is a vacation domicile, usually located in mountainous areas. At present that skiing is a globally pop sport, a chalet ofttimes refers to a vacation home with admission to skiing.
Notwithstanding, a chalet, technically speaking, has certain pattern characteristics. These include a steep roof and long overhangs, designed for treatment piles of snow.
Multi-family
A multi-family home is one that contains two or more housing units. Information technology's an umbrella term for a detached home with an in-police force suite, or an apartment building, townhouse development, condo building, etc.
In-constabulary suite (aka basement suite)
Near new homes include in-law suites, and many older homes have added them. This is because a xv-year existent estate chimera has increased real estate prices so dramatically that many homeowners need to rent a portion of their home to others in order to afford their dwelling house payments.
An in-police force suite is a split up unit of measurement built within a single-family home. Frequently information technology'southward located in the basement, simply not always. An in-police force suite is part of the single-family structure, as opposed to being a completely split construction. A separate structure bachelor for hire and/or guests would fall under different terminology, such every bit a carriage house or laneway house.
Barndominium
A barndominium is a barn that has been partially or fully converted into a living space. Check out the beautiful one nosotros show above! Chip and Joanna Gaines congenital one (making the term famous despite the fact that these take been made for many years).
Read our "what is a barndominium?" guide hither.
Carriage/Coach business firm
Carriage and coach houses are the aforementioned. Historically, these are structures on a property that were built to house horse-drawn carriages. Since and so, many accept been converted into dissever living units that are rented out or are reserved for guests.
While humans no longer need such structures to house carriages, many new builds include such structures on a property. Carriage houses allow owners to generate additional revenue, or can be used equally invitee accommodations. The term carriage or autobus house is yet widely used, even if the edifice was never used equally a such a structure.
Tiny home
A tiny home is an uncommonly minor abode that may be stationary or mobile. These homes range in size from 100 to 400 sq ft. Tiny homes are incredibly efficient, both in design and layout. They are growing in popularity as people downsize and/or seek to live mortgage-gratuitous. Tiny homes cost anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000 depending on whether yous congenital information technology yourself, information technology'due south built for you, and the materials used to build it.
See our awesome collection of tiny houses here.
Mobile Domicile
A mobile home is a mobile construction that can exist towed, but isn't designed for frequent towing the way a recreational vehicle is. Mobile homes are built in factories, towed to a lot, and remain in place. These homes are inexpensive. Mobile home parks be where the mobile home is endemic by a person or family, only they rent the lot or pad where information technology sits. In other instances, people live in mobile homes on property they own.
Manufactured homes are also built off-site, and built on a steel frame with wheels. They are a more modern version of the mobile home. Hither's an example below:
Interesting: Read about the history of the mobile dwelling here.
Mansion
A mansion is a large, imposing dwelling (read our in-depth analysis on what a mansion is). Interestingly, there is no legal definition regarding how big a abode must be in order to exist called a mansion. Moreover, there isn't consensus inside the real estate industry, either.
In 1950 the boilerplate business firm size was a tad nether i,000 sq. ft. Today, the average business firm size is ii,500 sq. ft. That's 250% growth in size for the average domicile in seventy years.Since the average home size is now 250% bigger than the boilerplate home of the 1950s, the size required for a habitation to be a mansion should be proportionate.
A mansion isn't a size prepare in stone; instead it's a term to distinguish a firm from the average house – something huge and luxurious. See mega mansions here (xx,000 sq. ft. or more).
Celebrated mansion
Contemporary Mansion
McMansion
McMansion is a derogatory term for a poorly designed, large, new abode. Usually these homes are congenital in large suburbs by a single developer. The private homes are a mishmash of architectural styles and features that serve no purpose and finish upward looking empty-headed or superfluous. The McMansion is not a technical name nor an official type of habitation, but it's definitely become a common term in our parlance.
The best website that covers and explains McMansion, is McMansion Hell. Not simply is the site funny, information technology's quite informative. Yous'll learn a lot nearly architecture via the ridicule of McMansions.
Yurt
The yurt is the master housing structure used by the Mongols in Mongolia. Mongols are a nomadic people. Since yurts tin be packed up and moved easily, it'southward an ideal blazon of home for nomadic peoples. Yurts vary in size from approximately 12 feet in diameter (115 sq. ft.) to thirty+ feet in diameter (706 sq ft or more). They are relatively inexpensive to build.
A yurt is a circular structure with a wall and roof made from waterproof fabric. While traditional yurts are fairly rustic, custom-built yurts built with pretty much all the amenities of a regular home are too available. While some in N America alive in yurts year-around, other people keep them as vacation homes.
Floating on Water Residence (aka Floating Abode or Houseboat, only there are differences)
Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and San Francisco all house diverse floating water residences. It'southward of import to annotation that there are important differences among the five types of floating on water residences.
These types of homes are built differently from their landed counterparts, have various moorage arrangements, and are highly regulated in the cities where they are located. If you're interested in such a home, it's a good idea to engage a real estate agent who has all-encompassing feel ownership and selling such homes.
Tree house
Very few people choose to live in treehouses, but treehouse residences practice exist. These are houses built in trees; some are quite big. Mostly, they aren't nailed into the copse where they're located; their stilts and structure are congenital effectually the tree to elevate the home. Treehouses obviously look similar fun houses to live in, and they're definitely dissimilar.
See our collection of kids tree houses hither.
Castle
One of the more than atypical types of houses, a castle a dream domicile for many people. There are many different types of castles. Castles were congenital from early heart ages through the nineteenth century. Their main purposes were to both business firm and defend their residents. Over the many hundreds of years that castles were built, their designs profoundly evolved.
See all castle galleries and articles here.
Palace
While the term palace is ofttimes used in place of castle, a palace differs from a castle in that a palace'due south chief role is as a residence only; they weren't built to defend. Instead, palaces were luxurious structures that housed royalty and nobility, and often likewise housed government functions.
See more palaces here.
Chateau
A chateau is a French term that is used to describe a private palace of sorts. Chateaus are luxurious mansions that don't serve any state purpose. They are purely private residences that are also extremely thou.
Meet more than Chateaus here.
Villa
A villa is the Italian version of a chateau.
Estate
A manor is the English language version of a chateau.
Fort
A fort is a military construction built to defend and house military personnel and their families.
Underground House
While the term "bunker" refers to some form of bomb shelter or protective shelter, some people do alive in underground houses.
Cave
Historically, people lived in caves. This option was a no-brainer, given caves are pretty much turn-key, in a crude way. Caves were substantially created for humans and other animals to live in past nature. That said, while many cavern houses were rough, some cultures created cities that were made from huge series of beautiful cave homes.
Cheque out this case of a firm congenital into a cavern.
Container Abode
A recent evolution in domicile construction and design is the use of existing containers as the primary structure of a home. Small homes utilize i container, while larger homes utilise multiple containers. As you can meet below, containers tin be configured in a variety of different ways. Companies be that specialize in designing and creating container homes.
See featured shipping container homes here.
Dome/Round Houses
Geodesic dome houses and roundhouses, while not terribly popular, are some other unique blazon of dwelling house. In fact, round structures accept been used in some cultures for thousands of years – recall tipis, yurts, huts, fortress towers, etc.
Click here to see a collection of dome and round houses.
Construction Method
Another types of house classification is the construction method. These days buyers have several options in how homes are built.
Site-built habitation: Is a home that'due south built on-site. Nigh homes are built this way.
Prefab home: A prefab abode is the general term referring to a home congenital in a factory. This type of domicile typically arrives in pieces that have been shipped to be assembled on-site. Some get in with the interior and/or exterior completely finished, while others require finishing work on-site.
Modular home: A modular habitation is a blazon of prefab home that'due south built in a factory. The abode is made of a serial of modules, or pods, that are locked together to grade the entire habitation once on-site.
Manufactured dwelling: A manufactured home is another that is built off-site in a factory on a steel frame. These homes are transported in their entirety or in sections to a site. Manufactured homes are like to mobile homes, but expect more like a permanent home than the traditional mobile home does.
Panel home: This is a home constructed of panels. The panels are built off-site and assembled on-site.
Often Asked Questions
Below are answers to frequently asked questions virtually the different types of houses.
How big is the average house in the United states of america?
From statistics gathered during the showtime quarter of 2019 by an NAHB analysis as well equally from the Census Quarterly Starts and Completions by Purpose and Blueprint, the boilerplate single-family home has increased to around 2,584 square anxiety. The average size of a business firm is constantly changing over time. For case, in 1983 the average house in the USA was one,725 square feet, and in 2003 the average was ii,330 foursquare feet.
What are the different types of houses?
What defines a house has really branched out from what people traditionally considered to be a business firm. However, there are two defining ways of categorizing types of houses. Some define these by their unlike architectural styles, while others define them by the unlike types of residential building structures. Architectural style refers to the artful style of a business firm, and types of residential building structures comprehend whether a house was built as a unmarried-family unit, a townhouse, etc.
To put information technology into perspective, types of houses by structure include the following:
- Single Family Detached Firm
- Apartment
- Bungalow
- Cabin
- Carriage/Coach Business firm
- Castle
- Cave Firm
- Chalet
- Chateau
- Condominium
- Container Habitation
- Co-Op
- Cottage
- Dome Houses
- Fort
- In-Law Suite (likewise chosen a Basement Suite)
- Mansion
- Manor
- McMansion
- Mobile Habitation
- Multi-Family
- Palace
- Tiny Domicile
- Townhome
- TreeHouse
- Ranch-Manner
- Underground Firm
- Villa
- Yurt
- Floating Water Residences (Houseboats, etc)
Can houses exist moved?
Houses can be moved, but it is non commonly an easy or an cheap task. To move a house ways one must lift the structure from the foundation to move it, sometimes many miles abroad, before setting the home downward somewhere else. In extreme cases where a home is in danger of flooding or some other impending natural disaster, in the fashion of development of highways or shopping centers, or but because it is no longer wanted on the land, houses may be moved from one location to some other.
Can houses sink?
If a firm is built on poor soil or somewhere in which copious amounts of h2o tin can weaken the foundation, houses can indeed sink. Homeowners don't take any manner of decision-making the soil beneath their home, only they tin deflect water away from the foundation as much every bit possible to preclude this from happening.
Tin houses be financed? If so, how?
If yous do non have the cash in hand to purchase a business firm, they can be financed by way of a mortgage. Mortgages are secured loans handled between the dwelling purchaser and a financial establishment (ordinarily a bank or credit union) which loans the money to buy a house to the heir-apparent. Once the price range has been decided, i must apply for a mortgage. However, it is all-time to take a credit score of over 600 earlier trying to utilise for a mortgage, and to but borrow what is necessary to forestall paying back more than what is affordable.
What materials are houses built from?
Homes tin can be constructed from a listing of materials. Some of the almost common ones are wood, brick, physical, cement & mortar, and clay. Many houses are besides now synthetic with steel frames that are reinforced with bolts and rivets.
Tin houses get hit past lightning?
Houses can be struck by lightning, with the roof taking a major hitting, sometimes sending a charge of electricity through any electric devices and even metal piping inside the house. Lightning is attracted to anything metal, electric, and sometimes even window frames and gutters. Occupants inside a dwelling house can be affected by lightning if they are in contact with an electrical device or plumbing.
Can houses lose value?
A business firm tin can deteriorate in value because of a few different factors. This includes physical damage and/or fail, the neighborhood where the house stands, the hazard a homeowner could have buying that house, and the economic climate.
Can houses withstand an earthquake?
Considering every business firm is unique, withstanding an earthquake depends on the time in which a home was built, the materials it is made from, and the construction of the business firm. Most houses built after 1958 are more than secure than older homes due to increased anchoring and bolting, but this isn't a difficult and fast dominion. The most probable houses to withstand an earthquake are those with a concrete foundation. However, older houses without concrete foundations can have braces, such as new beams and bolts, installed underneath the firm to ameliorate anchor information technology to the ground.
Who appraises houses?
Houses are appraised by licensed, highly-trained professionals who know what to look for during the appraisal process. Many appraisers train and spend years on the job. They are continuously educated on the e'er-changing housing marketplace. It is the appraiser's job to fairly and objectively determine the value of a firm without any sort of bias as to where the property is located. Appraisers have to evidence that anything in or outside of the firm that they discover could affect its value. Appraisers and the appraisal process are heavily monitored.
Can squirrels climb houses?
Squirrels accept an incredible knack for being able to climb just nearly anything, and this definitely includes homes. They can scale chimneys and walls headfirst and are motivated to do this because they admittedly love to live within walls, ceilings, and attics.
Can raccoons climb houses?
Like squirrels, raccoons are amazing climbers, and there aren't many places that they won't try to get to discover food or shelter. This said, raccoons can climb upwardly the corners of a house with ease and make skilful apply of whatever gutters and downspouts they can find. Raccoons are capable of causing a lot of damage when they practice this, then it's all-time to be aware of them.
Can possums climb houses?
Possums tin climb quite well and will climb a house, and even if they cannot scale a structure they tin can climb a tree to get up onto and into that structure if they can find an opening large enough to get in through.
Can tornadoes lift houses?
Brick and concrete homes are a flake more than stable when facing the dangerous winds of a tornado. However, tornadoes of certain categories certainly have the power to lift any house from its foundation and transport it spiraling, sometimes miles abroad. Mobile homes are peculiarly prone to this, since by and large mobile homes do non accept a permanent foundation. Even if a tornado doesn't lift a firm, it tin can crusade a lot of impairment to it, and even possibly level the house to the footing.
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Source: https://www.homestratosphere.com/types-of-houses/
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