Split vs. Bi Level Home

[Anonymous]

Does anyone truly know the difference? I feel that real estate ads use the two interchangeably and I don't really understand.
Would love to see home examples that depict the two options.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone truly know the difference? I feel that real estate ads use the two interchangeably and I don't really understand.
Would love to see home examples that depict the two options.

Thanks

No is two. A split has at least three

[Anonymous]

Split levels—entrance is to main living area (living room, dining room, kitchen). Walk up a 1/2 flight of stairs (6 steps) to bedroom level, walk down 1/2 flight to family room. Some have a below ground basement under that.

Bilevels— entrance is a foyer that has a 1/2 flight upstairs to main living area (including LR, DR, kitchen, bedrooms, and 1/2 flight down to family room/utility spaces.

[Anonymous]

Don't people use the term "split foyer" more often than "bi-level"? Does the latter term only get used because "split foyers" get criticized a lot. FWIW, I've seen nice ones, and it all depends on what works best for different families.

[Anonymous]

there are all kinds of terms and lots of overlap.

The three-level ones, where you walk in on the main level, I've mainly heard of as split level.

But split level can also describe the ones where you walk in the middle of the staircase that are two levels. I've also seen those called "raised ranches" and "high ranches."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone truly know the difference? I feel that real estate ads use the two interchangeably and I don't really understand.
Would love to see home examples that depict the two options.

Thanks

Bi level is that you walk into the basement. All the storage, utility room, etc are on the entry level.

On the front side the house looks like 2 stories, but in the back is one story.

The living area: kitchen, dining room, living room and main bedrooms are on the upper floor.



Split level is that you don’t have any full floors. The floors are shifted by half way stairs, so the floors are every 4 ft per side vs. every 8 ft throughout.

There is a split with kitchen and living area a half floor above the entrance. Not sure what that’s called.

[Anonymous]

I've never heard of "bi-level" but I've heard of split foyer and split level. Those are two different styles of houses. Evidently "bi level" is another way of saying split foyer. It's probably an effort to associate it with a split level which a higher tier house than a split foyer.

Here's a picture of a split foyer followed by it's entrance (the 'foyer' which has stairs up and down). The third picture is a traditional 60's/70's split level although there are many modern looking styles of split level with anywhere from 1-5 floors. Picture shown for reference to tell them apart and because you probably recognize the style.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Split levels—entrance is to main living area (living room, dining room, kitchen). Walk up a 1/2 flight of stairs (6 steps) to bedroom level, walk down 1/2 flight to family room. Some have a below ground basement under that.

Bilevels— entrance is a foyer that has a 1/2 flight upstairs to main living area (including LR, DR, kitchen, bedrooms, and 1/2 flight down to family room/utility spaces.

This. I live in a split level, grew up in a split foyer (bi level. Bi =2 level, not trying to be snarky).

I like my split level much better.

[Anonymous]

I think of split level as what PP 14:26 describes and split foyer is when there are the 1/2 stairs going up and down from the entry foyer.

Raised ranch/bilevel are the terms I tend to use for houses where the entrance is at ground level, but the main living area (living room, kitchen area, most bedrooms) is up a full flight of stairs. The ground level is for the family room, laundry room, maybe a guest room. Usually, this type of house is built on a hill that slopes up toward the back of the house.

But I agree, the terms overlap.

[Anonymous]

Split foyer is when you have full floors throughout the house, but the entryway is in between two floors. So you actually do not enter on any particular floor, but the doorway is lined up with the middle of the lower floor.

Half stairs up is the living area (main floor) as one entire floor

Half stairs down is the basement (lower floor )

[Anonymous]

I'm the one that posted the picture, meant to say split levels have 3-5 floors. Not 1 -5.

[Anonymous]

This is all very confusing

I have what I think is a split foyer - when you enter we have a living room on the entry level and there are half a flight of stairs up to the kitchen, DR, family room, and bedrooms. Half a flight down is the basement - the laundry is down there along with a bedroom and bathroom.

For the first several years we used the main level living room as a "formal living room," meaning it was not used very often. We've put a TV and comfy couch down there now. I would avoid a split foyer if I was buying again, but I don't hate it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all very confusing

I have what I think is a split foyer - when you enter we have a living room on the entry level and there are half a flight of stairs up to the kitchen, DR, family room, and bedrooms. Half a flight down is the basement - the laundry is down there along with a bedroom and bathroom.

For the first several years we used the main level living room as a "formal living room," meaning it was not used very often. We've put a TV and comfy couch down there now. I would avoid a split foyer if I was buying again, but I don't hate it.

It sounds like you have a split level home. Not a split foyer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've never heard of "bi-level" but I've heard of split foyer and split level. Those are two different styles of houses. Evidently "bi level" is another way of saying split foyer. It's probably an effort to associate it with a split level which a higher tier house than a split foyer.

Here's a picture of a split foyer followed by it's entrance (the 'foyer' which has stairs up and down). The third picture is a traditional 60's/70's split level although there are many modern looking styles of split level with anywhere from 1-5 floors. Picture shown for reference to tell them apart and because you probably recognize the style.

That is called a High Ranch

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all very confusing

I have what I think is a split foyer - when you enter we have a living room on the entry level and there are half a flight of stairs up to the kitchen, DR, family room, and bedrooms. Half a flight down is the basement - the laundry is down there along with a bedroom and bathroom.

For the first several years we used the main level living room as a "formal living room," meaning it was not used very often. We've put a TV and comfy couch down there now. I would avoid a split foyer if I was buying again, but I don't hate it.

It sounds like you have a split level home. Not a split foyer.

Agree, You have a split level. There are several variations of split level, but they always differ from a split foyer in that in a split foyer you do not enter onto a full floor. The entry way is half way between an upper floor and a lower floor. In your home you enter into a full floor with a living room, so that is a split level.