How to renovate a high ranch?

amother

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:10 am

We’ve been looking for a house for a while, and keep seeing high ranches on the market in the neighborhood we want. I really would prefer a colonial style house. Is there a way to renovate a high ranch to become more of a colonial?

amother

Thistle

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:15 am

No, not really. Either you embrace the style of the house as is, or buy a teardown and build a colonial from scratch. Houses that have been forced to dress up as something else never look right.

amother

Daylily

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:20 am

If the entire house is street lever or almost You can lower the entrance and do up and down. But that is only if your basement compiling is at least 8 feet high. (Ours is 7.5)?I've seen it. It looks nice.
Or u can add a 3rd story.

amother

Lemonchiffon

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:33 am

My house has been converted from a high ranch to a colonial. Added on a bit in the back of the house and added a floor. I've seen a few homes like that over the years. Some left the ground floor intact down to the garages.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:36 am

amother [ Thistle ] wrote:

No, not really. Either you embrace the style of the house as is, or buy a teardown and build a colonial from scratch. Houses that have been forced to dress up as something else never look right.

I totally agree. It's like putting lipstick on a pig.

thunderstorm

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:40 am

amother [ Thistle ] wrote:

No, not really. Either you embrace the style of the house as is, or buy a teardown and build a colonial from scratch. Houses that have been forced to dress up as something else never look right.

I’ve seen people make gorgeous transformations from High Ranches. I disagree that she needs to buy a tear down or build from scratch.

amother

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:40 am

amother [ Lemonchiffon ] wrote:

Is it a colonial now or a high ranch with a third story?

amother

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:41 am

thunderstorm wrote:

I’ve seen people make gorgeous transformations from High Ranches. I disagree that she needs to buy a tear down or build from scratch.

How do they do it? I asked a contractor a d he didn’t have ideas.

FranticFrummie

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:53 am

It might make more sense to just keep looking, and find the colonial of your dreams.

I would think that the cost of a remodeling and renovation project like that would be huge. Take the base price of a ranch, add how much you could afford to have it converted to a colonial, and let that be the amount you're willing to pay. It will put you into a higher real estate bracket and you might have better luck finding what you want instead of having to patch it together.

amother

Pear

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 11:56 am

https://I.imgur.com/WKQNLj0.jpg

This does not look like a pig in lipstick.

It will not be cheap and you will need an architect, but it can definitely be converted.

Look how they did the front door, and I like to porch and how they just gave the bottom an elevated basement with windows feel. Obviously, you can do a second floor without dormers, but it will definitely be high and large if you put on a full attic.

amother

Tomato

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 12:02 pm

I grew up in a high ranch! Most often the homes in that neighborhood are High ranches. Some families put the kitchen And living dining in the lower level but most kept it and renovated the rooms not the layout (aka my parents)

amother

Thistle

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 12:05 pm

amother [ Pear ] wrote:

This really is a neat looking renovation, but I'm guessing that they essentially replaced the ground floor. That's rarely cost effective.

If op wants a colonial, then blowing out a few walls in a high ranch won't work.

A renovation should respect the vernacular of the building, whatever that may be.

Amarante

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 12:12 pm

What is it that you like about a colonial?

It is extremely expensive to do extensive renovations on a home. It costs more per square foot to renovate than to build a home.

The only time it makes sense is if the land value is so high that the existing housing makes no economic sense.
Is this the only home in the neighborhood? Because it will cost you as much to renovate as it would generally cost to purchase a home that works for you. This kind of renovation isn't just remodeling a kitchen or bath or finishing a basement.

ETA - I don't think that people are using the term Colonial. Although there are variants of the Colonia style, in the Northeast it is generally a home with a fairly plain facade - often brick with a center hall.

The home in the example was not remodeled into a "Colonial" style home.

There are many two story homes that aren't "Colonial" in terms of their architectural style.

Last edited by Amarante on Tue, Oct 05 2021, 1:25 pm; edited 1 time in total

amother

Milk

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 1:07 pm

We live in Long Island where there are a lot of high ranches and I also wanted a colonial. There was one that we considered and our plan was to basically make it a colonial in reverse. It was being used as a two family so with minimal renovation our plan was to have a living/dining room, kitchen and family room on the top floor and 4 bedrooms and a laundry room on the bottom floor. The outside would have obviously looked like a regular high ranch but I really wanted the colonial living style where the bedrooms and living area are on completely separate floors.

thunderstorm

Tue, Oct 05 2021, 1:55 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

How do they do it? I asked a contractor a d he didn’t have ideas.

People make extensions in the front and back and the extensions are often two stories .
Or build another floor .

amother

Seablue

Thu, Oct 07 2021, 11:39 am

There are companies that will lift a floor and insert one below. One of my neighbors did that. But essentially you have to redo both floors.
A benefit is you keep the roof and the top floor doesn’t need as expensive renevations. .