Draw a split-level house
Floors in a design sit a full storey apart, so draw a split-level in two parts: a half level of up to 4 ft goes on the same floor as a Sunken / Raised Floor with a short flight of steps, and full levels (an upper bedroom wing, a basement, a loft) are their own floors, joined by stairs.
In a split-level house the floors are offset by about half a storey. From the front door you go a short flight up to the bedrooms and a short flight down to the family room (a tri-level, back-split or side-split), or you step in onto a landing between two floors (a bi-level, split-entry or raised ranch). Every level is a normal floor plan; what makes the house split-level is how high each one sits.
RoomSketch3D handles that in two ways, and most split-levels use both. A difference of up to 4 ft inside one floor is a Sunken / Raised Floor area with steps, which also shows the drop in 3D. A full level (an upper bedroom wing, a lower level or basement, a loft or mezzanine) is a separate floor, connected with Stairs. One thing to know first: each floor of a design sits a full storey above the one below (its ceiling height plus about a foot of floor structure), and there's no setting that puts a floor half a storey up. The plans, sizes and furniture of every level are exact either way; only the heights between floors in 3D follow that rule.
What you'll need
- •A design with your main level drawn (or a template to practise on)
Step by step
- 1
Sort your levels into half levels and full levels
List the levels of the house and how far apart they are, usually 4 to 6 ft for a split-level. Then decide: - Two levels within 4 ft of each other (the entry and the living room, a family room a few steps down) can share one floor in the app: one of them becomes a sunken or raised area. This gives the truest 3D. - Levels a storey or more apart, or a level that sits over another one (bedrooms above a garage or family room), go on separate floors. A typical tri-level ends up as two floors: the main and lower levels together on the ground floor, the bedroom level as a second floor over the lower wing. If the lower level is more than 4 ft down, make it a floor of its own with Add below.
- 2
Lower or raise part of the floor, up to 4 ft
With your main level drawn (see Draw a custom-shaped plan), open Build and tap Sunken / Raised Floor under Structural. Tap a room to lower or raise the whole room, or drag a rectangle over part of the floor. In its panel pick Sunken or Raised and tap the Depth (or Height) value to type it: anything from 1″ to 48″ (4 ft). Here the living room of the Medium 2-Bedroom Apartment is set 48″ down, and the plan labels it −4′. Everything inside the area (flooring, furniture, people for scale) stands on the lower or higher floor in 3D. More on the tool: Add a sunken or raised floor.
The living room set 48″ (4 ft) lower than the bedrooms and bath. - 3
Add the half flight of steps
Tap Add steps in the area's panel. The steps are sized to the drop: a 4 ft change gets 7 steps with risers of about 6.9″, and the panel shows Steps, Width, Length, Tread, Riser and Total 4′. Drag the steps to where the real stair is, change their width, or tap UP | DN and Reverse to turn them round. To place a run yourself, use the Steps tile and run it from one level to the other. Steps always join two levels on one floor. If both ends land on the same level, Flow Check lists them as Steps that don't change level.
Add steps: 7 risers of about 6.9″ add up to exactly 4 ft. - 4
Check the half level in 3D
Open 3D and orbit round. The living room floor sits 4 ft below the rest of the house with the steps leading down into it, and its furniture stands on the lower floor. In Walk mode you walk down the steps. Two things to expect: the floor has one ceiling height, so a raised area has that much less headroom under the ceiling; and the outside walls are drawn from the main floor level, so a deep sunken area against an outside wall can show a gap under that wall when you look at the house from outside.
In 3D: the living room half a level down, with its flight of steps. - 5
Add the full levels as floors
Open the floor menu (the Ground floor button at the top of the left panel) and tap Add floor. The first question is Where should this floor go? - Add above: a new upper floor, for the bedroom level of a tri-level or the main level of a bi-level. - Add below: A basement, below the ground floor, for a lower level or basement more than 4 ft down. Rename each floor from the floor menu (Lower level, Main level, Upper level) so it's clear which is which.
Add floor: above for an upper level, below for a lower level or basement. - 6
Draw only the part of the house that level covers
Most split-level floors cover only part of the house: the bedrooms sit over the garage or family room, not over the living room. After Add above, pick Draw from scratch, tap Start drawing and draw that level's outline. The floor below shows in grey underneath and your corners snap to its corners, so the bedroom wing lines up with the wing below it. Copy ground floor starts with the whole outline instead, and Import from image or PDF traces the level from a drawing. For a mezzanine or gallery that overlooks the room below, use Add a loft: a partial floor open on one side, with a railing on the open edge. Full details: Build a multi-story floor plan.
Draw from scratch for a level over part of the house; Add a loft for a mezzanine. - 7
Connect the floors with stairs
Go to the lower of the two floors, open Build and tap Stairs. Place the stair where the real one is; it links to the floor above, works out its rise from the floor heights and cuts the opening in the floor above for you. Pick a straight, L or U shape to match the house. See Add a staircase. Because floors are a full storey apart, a stair between two floors climbs a full storey. Where the real flight is a half flight between two levels on one floor, use the steps from the earlier step instead.
- 8
Putting it together for your type of split-level
- Tri-level (side-split, back-split): ground floor = the main level, with the lower level as a sunken area up to 4 ft and steps down to it; second floor = the bedroom level, drawn from scratch over the lower wing, with stairs from the ground floor. In 3D the bedroom level sits a full storey above the main level rather than half a storey. - Bi-level, split-entry, raised ranch: ground floor = the lower level, second floor (Add above) = the main level, connected by stairs. The entry landing between them isn't a level of its own: put the front door on the lower floor beside the foot of the stair. - A few steps up or down to one room (a sunken den, a raised dining area): one floor, a sunken or raised area and steps. - Mezzanine or gallery: Add a loft over the double-height room.
- 9
On a phone
Everything works the same on a phone and tablet. Sunken / Raised Floor, Steps and Stairs are in Structural & Interior at the bottom of the screen, and Add floor is in the floor menu. Tap a value in a panel to type it.
Tips
Use the half level for the biggest room
The sunken or raised area gives the truest 3D of the two methods, so use it for the two levels you'll look at most (often the entry and the living room) and put the bedroom wing on its own floor.
Size the drop to whole steps
Steps of about 7″ feel natural: 42″ gives 6 steps, 48″ gives 7. Type the depth from your house, and Add steps works the risers out exactly.
Trace each level from your drawings
If you have the plans as a picture or PDF, Add floor → Import from image or PDF traces an upper level and pins it onto the floor below so the walls line up. See Import an upper floor from an image.
See the other levels while you work
Turn on Layers → Show other floors to see the floor below in grey while you work on an upper level (it shows by itself while you draw a new floor's outline).
Common mistakes
Looking for a floor height setting
There isn't one: floors stack a full storey apart. Put a level that's only a few feet up or down on the same floor as a sunken or raised area instead.
Using Stairs for a half flight on one floor
Stairs connect two floors and always climb the full floor-to-floor height. A half flight inside one floor is Steps (or Add steps on a sunken or raised area).
Steps on a flat floor
Steps whose two ends are on the same level get a Flow Check warning. Lower or raise the floor on one side first, then run the steps across the change.
Flow Check notes for pieces along the walls of a sunken room
After you tap a whole room to sink or raise it, Flow Check can list the pieces standing against that room's walls (cabinets, a sofa) as sitting across the edge of the sunken or raised floor. Those pieces are inside the room and stand on its lower or higher floor in 3D; the warning is meant for a piece that really hangs over the step into the rest of the house.
Frequently asked questions
Can I set a floor to sit half a storey up?
No. Each floor sits a full storey above the one below: its ceiling height plus about a foot of floor structure. For a level a few feet up or down, use a sunken or raised area on the same floor (up to 4 ft); for a full level, add a floor. The plan and sizes of every level are exact either way.
How far can part of a floor go up or down?
From 1″ to 48″ (4 ft), typed in the Depth or Height box of a Sunken / Raised Floor area.
How do I draw a split-entry or bi-level house?
Draw the lower level on the ground floor, add the main level with Add floor → Add above, and join them with Stairs from the ground floor. Put the front door on the lower floor by the foot of the stair; the landing between the two levels isn't a separate level in the app.
Can I draw a mezzanine or half floor over a room?
Yes. Add floor → Add above → Add a loft makes a partial floor over part of the floor below, open on the side that faces the room; make that edge a railing on the plan. It sits a full storey up.
Can I add a basement or lower level?
Yes. Add floor → Add below adds a basement under the ground floor; copy the ground floor's outline or draw it from scratch.
Does the 3D view show the half level?
Yes for a sunken or raised area: the floor steps down or up with its steps, and furniture stands at the new level. The ceiling stays at the floor's one ceiling height, so a raised area has less headroom. Separate floors show in 3D stacked a full storey apart.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The tools are in Structural & Interior, and Add floor is in the floor menu.
Start designing your room
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