Renovation Solutions: 3 common problems and tips to remodeling the split-level home

Before: This true split-level home has some shortcomings in curb appeal, but nothing an exterior remodel couldn't fix.

Daniel Barton

Owners of split-level homes often have a love/hate relationship with their house. They love the amount of living space provided and the privacy the house design offers.

They appreciate that teens can be alone in their bedrooms on the top level of the house or in their lower-level family room, while Mom and Dad can relax in the main-level living room.

Owners also love how they get the feel of a multilevel house without having to trudge up full flights of stairs.

On the flip side, this type of layout divides a home into several distinct "boxes" or areas that make it difficult to connect spaces to each other. In addition, the entries are often cramped and challenging for today's modern homeowners.

Split-level homes actually had a prestigious origin historians credit Frank Lloyd Wright as the inventor of this style around the turn of the 20th century. He believed split-level homes could be an affordable option for the average American family. However, it was not until the housing boom following World War II that this style began to be built in virtually every area of the nation and became the mainstay of mid-level residential marketing through most of the 1950s and 60s.

A split-level home is essentially a non-traditional multistory home. These homes are often modest and always efficient in their use of space. There are two types of splits: The classic split-level home generally includes a one-story side and a two-story side. You enter into the single story, where you will typically find a living room, kitchen and dining area. On the two-story side, you usually have bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs and a family room, laundry room and garage downstairs. Half-flights of stairs connect each level. This is the true split-level house.

All true split-levels have at least three levels, but many have a fourth level below the formal living room/entry level.

The other type of split-level design is the split entry. This is basically a two-story house with an entry located halfway between the upper and lower floors. When you enter a split-entry house, you walk onto a landing between two half-flights of stairs. You have to go up or down to get to any part of the house.

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Renovation Solutions: 3 common problems and tips to remodeling the split-level home