Tess

A ranch with a walkout lower level, built from the ground up. Blue lap siding over a stone skirt, coffered ceilings through the main floor, and the lower level finished out as living space.

Front elevation of the Tess ranch at sunset: blue lap siding, stone skirt, and an attached two-car garage
Front elevation of the Tess ranch at sunset: blue lap siding, stone skirt, and an attached two-car garage
  • Project typeNew single-family home, built from scratch
  • StyleSingle-storey ranch with walkout lower level
  • GarageTwo-car attached
  • Our scopeFraming, sheathing, siding, and interior finish carpentry
  • RegionSoutheast Wisconsin

Building something like this?

Send us the address and we will come out, walk the lot, and put a real number on it.

Request an estimate

Other builds

Another ground-up build, this one on a sloped lot, which is what makes the walkout possible. The grade drops away at the back, so the lower level gets full-height windows and a door out to the yard instead of the half-buried, half-lit basement you get on a flat site.

That changes the framing. The rear wall carries the house above while being mostly glass and door openings, so the headers and the posts under them are doing real work. The exterior stair off the back had to be framed, hung, and railed to carry the drop from the main floor to grade.

Inside, the main floor is coffered through the living and dining space and opens straight into the kitchen. The lower level was finished out as usable room rather than left as bare block and studs.

What took the time

Walkout lower level

Full-height windows and a door to grade on the rear elevation, finished out as living space rather than left unfinished.

Rear wall

Mostly glass and door openings on a wall that still carries the floor and roof above, so the headers and posts under them do real work.

Exterior stair

Framed, hung, and railed to carry the drop from the main floor down to grade.

Ceilings

Coffered through the living and dining space, stepped tray in the primary bedroom.

Inside the house

Start your own build

Tell us what you are building and where it is. We come out, walk the property, and follow up with a written estimate. There is no charge for the visit.

Call the crew
414-380-5258
Office
9341 S 33rd St
Franklin, WI 53132
Service area
Southeast Wisconsin

We use your address only to schedule the site visit. No marketing lists, and we do not pass it on.