Custom homes
Side split houses
A side split stacks half-levels across the width of the house — living in the middle, bedrooms up a short flight, family room down another. It suits wide lots beautifully.
The work
Side splits separate a home into zones without long stair runs. From the entry you go up half a storey to bedrooms or down half a storey to the family room, which keeps quiet space and busy space genuinely apart while everything stays a few steps from everything else.
The type works best on a wide, gently sloped lot, where the grade change can be used rather than fought. It also produces lower levels that are only partly below grade, so family rooms get real windows and real daylight.
Built new, a side split lets us design those half-levels around how you actually live: a main-floor kitchen open to a dining area, a bedroom wing away from noise, and a lower level with proper ceiling height and a walkout where the grade allows.
- Typical duration
- 10 – 16 months
- Permits
- Building permit, engineered drawings, site plan and grading
- Best suited to
- Wide lots with gentle slope
- Includes
- Design coordination, permits, construction, warranty
How we build it
What's included, and why it matters
01
Zoned half-levels
Bedrooms, living space and family space kept separate without full flights of stairs between them.
02
Daylight below grade
Lower levels only partly buried, so family rooms get full-size windows and often a walkout.
03
Designed for the lot
The staggered plan uses natural grade change instead of importing fill or building tall foundation walls.
04
Aging-in-place options
A main-level primary suite can be planned in from the start so the house works decades later.
Answers
Side split houses, answered
Start your project
Thinking about side split houses?
We'll visit the property, tell you honestly what's possible, and give you a scope and a number you can plan around.
We typically respond within one business day.