Style Comparison

The following styles are available in Residential Estimator:

One Story

1½ Story (Finished and Unfinished)

Two Story

2½ Story (Finished and Unfinished)

Three Story

3½ Story (Finished and Unfinished)

Split Level

Bi-Level

One Story

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A one-story residence has finished living area on one floor. The roof structure has a medium slope, with limited attic space that is not intended for living area. This style is available for all residence types.

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1½ Story (Finished and Unfinished)

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A 1½ story residence has two levels and is characterized by a steep roof slope (8 to 12 or greater) and dormers. Because of the roof design, the area of the second floor is usually 40% to 60% of the ground floor area.

Residential Estimator has two different 1½ Story styles:

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Two Story

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A two-story residence has finished living area on two floors. The area of each floor is approximately the same. The roof structure has a medium slope, with limited attic space that is not intended for living area. This style is available for all residence types.

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2½ Story Finished

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A 2½ story residence has three levels and is characterized by a steep roof slope (8 to 12 or greater) and dormers. Because of the roof design, the area of the third floor is usually 40% to 60% of the second floor area.

Since the third floor is finished, enter the total area for all three floors for total floor area. This style is available for single-family residences and town houses only.

Residential Estimator has two different 2½ Story styles:

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Three Story

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Three-story residences have finished living area on three floors. The area of each floor is approximately the same. The roof structure has a medium slope, with limited attic space that is not intended for living area. This style is available for single-family residences and low-rise multiples only.

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3½ Story Finished

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A 3½ story residence has four levels and is characterized by a steep roof slope (8 to 12 or greater) and dormers. Because of the roof design, the area of the fourth floor is usually 40% to 60% of the third floor area.

Residential Estimator has three different 3½ Story styles:

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Split Level

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A split-level residence is divided either front to rear or side to side and has three levels of finished living area: lower level, intermediate level and upper level. The lower level is immediately below the upper level as in a two-story residence. The intermediate level, adjacent to the other levels, is built on a grade approximately one-half story higher than the lower level. This type of residence has a split-roof design, and is also called a tri-level. This style is available for single-family residences and town houses only.

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Bi-Level

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A bi-level residence has two levels of living area. Unlike a conventional two-story residence, the lower level is partially unfinished. In addition, the lower level is normally partially below grade and does not have a basement below it. A distinguishing characteristic of a bi-level is its split-foyer entry. Bi-levels are sometimes called raised ranch, split foyer or split entry.

Residential Estimator has two different bi-level styles. With the standard bi-level, enter the area on the upper level for total floor area. For bi-level (total area), enter the area on both levels for total floor area. These styles are available for single-family residences only.

Note: For bi-levels with no finish on the lower level, use the one story style with a basement (added using the basement components). For bi-levels with a completely finished lower level, use the two story style.

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