Bungalow

A bungalow is a type of single story house. The word derives from Hindi word bangla from 1676. It literally means a house "in the Bengal style".http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=bungalow Such houses were traditionally small, only one story, thatched and had a wide veranda.http://www.bartleby.com/61/12/B0551200.html Bungalows today are simply any single story house and can be quite large. (A joking alternative explanation for the name is that it was invented by a team of house builders who ran out of bricks after constructing the first story and had to bung a low roof on top.)

Bungalows are very convenient for the homeowner in that all living areas are on a single story and there are no stairs between living areas. A bungalow can be more easily converted to a wheelchair-accessible home. Neighbourhoods of only bungalows offer more privacy than similar neighbourhoods with two story houses. With bungalows, strategically planted trees and shrubs are usually sufficient to block the view of neighbours. With two story houses, the extra height requires much taller trees to accomplish the same and it may not be practical to place such tall trees close to the house to obscure the view from the second floor of the next door neighbour. On the other hand even closely spaced bungalows make for quite low density neighbourhoods, contributing to urban sprawl.

On a per unit area basis (e.g. per square foot or per square metre), bungalows are more expensive to construct than two story houses because a larger foundation and roof area is required for the same living area. The larger foundation will often translate into larger lot size requirements as well. This is why bungalows are typically fully detached from other houses and do not share a common foundation nor party wall. If the homeowner can afford the extra expense of a bungalow relative to a two story house, they can typically afford to be fully detached as well. Though the "footprint" of a bungalow is often a simple rectangle, any foundation is possible. For bungalows with brick walls, the windows are often positioned high and are right to the roof. This avoids the need for special arches or lintels to support the brick wall above the windows. In two story houses, there is no choice but to continue the brick wall above the window (and the second story windows may be positioned high and right to the roof.)

Ranch bungalow

A ranch bungalow is a bungalow organized so that bedrooms are on one side and "public" areas (kitchen, living/dining/family rooms) are on the other side. If there is an attached garage, the garage is on the public side of the house so that a direct entrance to the house is possible (where allowed by legislation). On narrower lots, public areas are at the front of the house and such an organization is typically not called a "ranch" bungalow. Such houses are often smaller and only have 2 bedrooms in the back.

Raised bungalow

A raised bungalow is where the basement is partially above ground. The benefit is that more light can enter the basement with above ground windows in the basement. A raised bungalow typically has a foyer at ground level that is half-way between the first floor and the basement. This further has the advantage of creating a foyer with a very high ceiling without the expense of raising the roof or creating a skylight. Raised bungalows often have the garage in the basement. Because the basement is not that deep, and the ground must slope downwards away from the house, the slope of the driveway is quite shallow. This avoids the disadvantage of steep driveways found in most other basement garages. Bungalows without basements can still be raised, but the advantages of raising the bungalow are much less.

Bungalow with loft

A bungalow with loft, paradoxically, comes with a second story loft. The loft may be extra space over the garage. It is often space to the side of a great room with a vaulted ceiling area. The house is still classified and marketed as a bungalow with loft because the main living areas of the house are on one floor. All the convenience of single floor living still applies and the loft is not expected to be accessed on a daily basis.

Some houses have extra bedrooms in the loft or attic area. Such houses are really "one and half" stories and not a bungalow, and are described in British English as a chalet bungalow or dormer bungalow.

True bungalows do not use the attic. Because the attic is not used, the roof pitch can be quite shallow, constrained only by snow load considerations.

California Bungalow

The California Bungalow was a widely popular 1 1/2 story variation on the bungalow in America from 1910 to 1925. This is what is commonly meant by the term bungalow in America. .

Chicago Bungalow

The majority of Chicago Bungalows were built between 1910 and 1940; they were typically constructed from brick (sometimes in decorative patterns) and had one and a half stories. At one point, nearly a third of the houses in the Chicago area were bungalows. One primary difference between the Chicago bungalow and other varieties is that the gables are parallel to the street, rather than perpendicular. Like many other local homes, Chicago bungalows are quite narrow.

Milwaukee Bungalow

A large fraction of the older houses in Milwaukee, Wisconsin are bungalows in a similar Arts and Crafts style to those of Chicago, but usually with the gable perpendicular to the street. Also, many Milwaukee bungalows have white stucco on the lower portion of the exterior.

Bungalow Style in Australia

The bungalow style, often referred to as "California Bungalow", was extremely popular in Australia from about 1910 to 1930. The style seems to have first been imported in Sydney and then spred throughout the Australian states.

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External links

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