What Is a Tri-Level House?
These layouts typically combine both atwo-story home layoutand that of a ranch.
But to highlight the obvious, tri-level houses have three floors.
Credit: Susan Gilmore
These houses comprise afront entrancetowards the center of the house.
It leads to the kitchen and the living area.
Each level of a tri-level house typically contains various rooms with entrances that lead to outdoor areas.
Credit: Jim Westphalen
(The staggered layout of a tri-level house doesnt lend itself to open floorplans.)
Tri-level houses were quite popular in the 1980s.
These emerged as a hybridized counterpart to single-story ranch houses around the 1950s.
With three levels at play, youll be navigating stairs regularly.
Maybe youre game for that, but older residents or those withmobility issuescould have difficulty navigating the home.
That also makes it less appealing to some potential buyers.
Capozzolo also points out that many consider these homes outdated, complicating the resale process.
Because the floors are stacked,remodeling could pose unique challenges.
Because these homes were typically built in hilly regions, some below-ground levels might face unique maintenance challenges.
Of course, its not all bad news.
Pasquella points out that the layout of these homes means each area experiences less noise.
The separation that three levels offercuts down noiseand adds privacy from area to area, he says.
This can be ideal for entertaining while keeping the more private spaces like bedrooms separate from the hubbub.
