Why are older houses usually always 2 story houses.?

Question

A 2 story house with no air conditioning is pure h**l in the summer.

Answer 1

another reason is older houses had stone foundations ...i've laid enough foundation stone to know that they didn't want the basement any bigger than it had to be...easier to build up another story

Answer 2

not sure

Answer 3

In citys, lots were usually only 25 feet wide.That is the reason for it.

You can now get bedroom size window A/C units for under $100.00 at Home Depot and Lowes.

Answer 4

Simply it's cheaper going up than spreading all over the lot............but to me the nicer homes are one story daylight basement types...........you have double the floor space and don't have to finish it right away. But you need the right slope on the property to pull it off.........and yes "heat rises" so you have to have a way to move it around. Plan for it. good luck

Answer 5

They are usually on small lots so the only way to add on is up.

Back then they didn't have a/c.

Answer 6

Less expensive to build.  But on the other hand, people with less money only built one-story houses, you can be sure.

Heat rises, so open windows to let it out.  Also gravity fans.

Answer 7

lol...yeah you got that right...the hottest night I ever spent (and I'm a florida boy) was in the 2nd floor of an old house in NY in the summer with a GF...they had a heat wave into the 90's and had no a/c...it was hot...I was glad when the sun came up so we could get moving...lol

Answer 8

because people use to have more children then what they do now.?

Answer 9

Yes it is - but it's warmer in the winter.

Two story houses took up less land -

and used less materials

and were more efficient for heating (they didn't care about cooling back then - you stayed downstairs or outside during the day)

Even today - 2 story houses are hard to keep cool - usually takes two dedicated AC systems.

Answer 10

Well, that´s how they made houses back then, today they are still making them like that, but not SO much.