What Is a Raised Bungalow? A Buyer’s Guide for Montreal, the West Island & South Shore
What you need to know now about raised bungalows:
A raised bungalow is a single-storey home with its main floor built several feet above grade, high enough to push the basement partly above ground and let in real daylight instead of the dim half-light you get in a standard bungalow.
You get a basement that can genuinely function as a bedroom, office, or rental suite, but you also climb a short staircase the moment you walk through the front door. There is no step-free entry here.
Because our frost line runs deep, a raised bungalow’s taller foundation isn’t a stylistic flourish in this province. It lines up with how foundations already need to be built here, which is one reason this style took off across Quebec suburbs decades ago and never really left.
Whether a raised bungalow is the right call for you has less to do with the style itself and more to do with what you actually want that basement to become.
Keep reading to see how this style compares to a standard bungalow, what Quebec’s rules actually say about turning that basement into legal living space, and what it costs to build one custom in the Montreal area in 2026.
What Is a Raised Bungalow?
A raised bungalow is a single-storey home built with its main floor elevated several feet above grade, typically four to five feet, so the basement sits partly above ground instead of fully buried. That elevation creates a short entry staircase and room for full-size basement windows, turning what would be a dark cellar in a standard bungalow into genuinely usable space.
Key Features of a Raised Bungalow
Split entry. Walk through the front door and you land on a small platform, with one flight of stairs leading up to the main floor and another leading down to the basement.
Full-height basement windows. Because the foundation wall sits higher out of the ground, windows can be nearly full-size, with shallow window wells or none at all above the sill line.
A basement that actually functions. Bright enough for a bedroom, a home office, a family room, or an income suite, not just a rec room nobody uses after year one.
A taller foundation overall. This changes how the home reads from the street and how much concrete goes into the build compared to a slab-on-grade bungalow.
How Raised Bungalows Became So Common Across Quebec
This is one of the most requested styles we hear from West Island and South Shore buyers who grew up in one. Quebec’s suburban boom through the 1960s to the 1980s built entire streets of raised bungalows, and the style stuck for a practical reason: it delivers a full second level of living space without the cost or complexity of a second storey.
We still see that logic hold up today. A family wants single-storey living for the parents and a self-contained space downstairs for a teenager, a parent, or a tenant, and a raised bungalow gets them there without changing the footprint of the home.
Building around a specific timeline for your project? Our full checklist walks through every phase, from financing to final walkthrough, with the Quebec-specific steps most guides skip. Read: Building a House Checklist →
How Is a Raised Bungalow Different From a Standard Bungalow?
A raised bungalow and a standard bungalow are both single-storey homes, but a raised bungalow’s foundation sits several feet higher, which changes the entry, the basement’s natural light, and how the home sits on the lot. A standard bungalow keeps the main floor close to grade, with a step or two at most into the front door.
Raised Bungalow vs. Standard Bungalow vs. Back-Split: Quick Comparison
Feature | Raised Bungalow | Standard Bungalow | Back-Split (Bi-Level) |
Entry stairs from outside | 1 short flight up or down at a landing | Usually 1-2 steps, close to flat | Often flat entry, stairs come after |
Basement natural light | Near full-height windows | Small, high windows above grade | Mixed, depends on split level |
Foundation height above grade | 4-5 ft typical | 1-2 ft typical | Varies by level |
Best suited for | Buyers who want a legitimately livable lower level | Buyers who want single-level living with minimal stairs | Buyers who want distinct zones for different activities |
Resale familiarity in Quebec | Very high, especially in older West Island streets | High | Moderate |
Why Do Raised Bungalows Make Sense for Quebec’s Climate?
Raised bungalows suit Quebec because the province’s building code already requires a deep frost-protected foundation, and a raised design puts that extra foundation height to work instead of wasting it below ground. Rather than digging a full basement that stays dark and damp, the structure captures usable, above-grade square footage for the same excavation effort.
In our projects across the Montreal area, footings typically sit four to five feet below grade to clear the local frost line. Several provinces further west build to a shallower frost line, so this depth requirement is very much a Quebec and eastern Canada reality.
A raised bungalow effectively splits the difference between that required depth and daylight. You are excavating to code either way. A raised design just makes sure part of that concrete wall ends up above ground where a window can go in it.
We also see fewer basement moisture complaints on raised builds, since the exposed portion of the foundation dries faster than a fully buried wall and grading water away from the house is more straightforward.
What Should Your Raised Bungalow Building Checklist Include?
A raised bungalow checklist covers the same six phases as any custom build, planning, foundation, framing, mechanicals, interior finishes, and final walkthrough, but with a few extra decisions locked in early: basement ceiling height, window placement for the lower level, and whether the basement will be finished at move-in or roughed in for later.
Two decisions matter more here than on a standard build.
First, confirm your basement ceiling height target before the foundation is poured, since that number determines how much of the wall sits above grade and how large your basement windows can realistically be.
Second, decide early whether the basement is a future secondary suite, because that changes your rough-in plan for plumbing, a separate entrance, and electrical capacity.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Building a Raised Bungalow?
The main advantage of a raised bungalow is a basement bright and tall enough to use as real living space, which can mean rental income, a home office, or room for extended family. The main drawback is the entry staircase, which removes the step-free access that a true ground-level bungalow offers.
The Real Advantages
A basement that can pay you back. A self-contained basement suite gives you rental income potential that a dark, low-ceiling basement simply cannot offer.
Resale value support. Homes with a properly built secondary suite tend to carry higher resale value than comparable homes without one, according to CMHC, on top of whatever rental income the suite generates while you own the home.
More flexible family living. Aging parents, adult children, or long-term guests get a fully separate space instead of a converted rec room.
Better daylight without adding a second storey. You get more usable square footage per dollar of foundation than you would trying to brighten a standard basement after the fact.
The Trade-Offs Nobody Skips Past
Stairs at the front door, always. Every raised bungalow entry includes a short staircase. If accessibility for aging in place is a priority, this style works against that goal from day one.
A design consideration for later in life. Selling intentions among Quebecers aged 55 and older have been climbing, according to APCIQ, often tied to reduced mobility and a desire for less home maintenance. Entry stairs are worth weighing against your own long-term plans for the property, not just your plans for the next five years.
A different look on the lot. The taller foundation reads as a bigger, boxier form from the street compared to a low-slung standard bungalow, which some buyers love and others actively avoid.
More foundation cost up front. Extra concrete for the taller wall adds cost compared to a standard bungalow, even before the basement is finished.
Can You Legally Turn the Basement Into a Secondary Suite in Quebec?
Yes, a raised bungalow’s basement can become a legal secondary suite in Quebec, but only when it meets the province’s building code requirements for ceiling height, egress windows, and fire separation, and when your contractor holds an active licence with the province’s construction regulator. Skipping any one of those steps means no legal protection if something goes wrong later.
Every builder handling new residential construction in Quebec must hold a valid licence from the RBQ, and every new residential build in the province is covered under the mandatory warranty plan administered by GCR, which requires a pre-acceptance inspection before your warranty certificate is issued. Neither of these protections apply if the work is done outside that framework.
General Secondary Suite Requirements to Confirm With Your Municipality
Requirement | Typical Baseline | Why It Matters |
Ceiling height | Roughly 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) minimum | Below this, the space cannot be counted as a bedroom or legal living area |
Egress window per bedroom | Unobstructed opening of about 0.35 m² | The only fire-safe exit if the main stairs are blocked |
Fire separation | Rated wall and ceiling assembly between units | Slows fire and smoke transfer between the suite and the main home |
Ventilation | Mechanical ventilation, often HRV or ERV | Basements trap moisture and radon more than above-grade rooms |
Separate entrance | Required for most self-contained suites | Distinguishes a legal suite from an in-law extension of the main home |
These figures shift by municipality and building age, so confirm the exact numbers for your address before finalizing basement plans. A raised bungalow’s higher foundation makes hitting the ceiling height and egress window targets considerably easier than it would be in a standard bungalow’s shallower basement.
Do I Need an Architect or a Technologue to Design a Custom Raised Bungalow?
No. Quebec does not require a licensed architect for a single-family raised bungalow, and a technologue can produce the permit-ready structural drawings at a lower cost. What actually protects you is your contractor’s licensing and warranty accreditation, not the specific title of whoever draws the plans.
Curious how this plays out in practice, and what it saves you? We broke down the full technologue-versus-architect decision, including what a design-build firm changes about the equation. Read: Do I Need an Architect to Build a House in Quebec? →
What Does It Cost to Build a Custom Raised Bungalow in the Montreal Area?
A custom raised bungalow in the Montreal area typically costs the same $280 to $380 per square foot as other custom home styles in 2026, since the per-square-foot rate covers the whole structure, not just the foundation type. Where a raised design can shift the number slightly is on the foundation line item, since the taller wall uses more concrete but requires less deep excavation to expose the basement to daylight than retrofitting a standard basement later would.
On a 2,000 square foot raised bungalow, that puts construction cost somewhere between $560,000 and $760,000 before land, taxes, and soft costs. Add the same Quebec-specific line items that apply to any custom build here: RBQ-licensed labour, mandatory GCR warranty coverage, and a combined GST and QST rate close to 15% on the finished build.
In our projects, a finished basement suite adds real cost, typically for a separate entrance, additional plumbing rough-in, and upgraded electrical capacity, but it is also the single upgrade clients tell us paid for itself fastest, whether through rental income or simply not needing to build a second-storey addition five years later.
Want the full breakdown of where every dollar goes on a Montreal-area custom build? See the complete 2026 cost guide, including land, soft costs, and a full sample budget. Read: Cost to Build a Custom Home in Quebec 2026 →
What Should You Look for in a Raised Bungalow Floor Plan?
A strong raised bungalow floor plan places bedrooms and living areas to take full advantage of the elevated foundation, positions basement windows before framing locks in wall placement, and plans the staircase so it does not eat into your main floor’s usable space. Getting these decisions right before the design is finalized avoids costly changes once construction starts.
A few specifics worth raising with your design team early:
Where the basement windows land relative to your landscaping and grading plan, since a poorly placed window well can collect water instead of draining it away.
Whether the entry stairs run straight or with a turn, which affects how much main-floor square footage the entry itself consumes.
Ceiling height in the basement measured after mechanical ducting and insulation are accounted for, not just the raw foundation height.
How natural light moves through the main floor when the home sits higher off the lot than its neighbours.
Want to see how these decisions play out in a finished home rather than on paper? Browse completed projects across the West Island and South Shore. Browse: Our Photo Gallery →
What Should You Look For in a Builder for a Custom Raised Bungalow?
Look for a builder with a current RBQ licence, active GCR accreditation, and a portfolio that includes raised foundation builds specifically, since foundation detailing is where this style either performs well for decades or develops moisture problems within a few years. A fixed-price contract before construction starts is worth more than a long list of finishes.
We build across Montreal, the West Island, and the South Shore, and our design and construction team stays involved from the first sketch through the final GCR pre-acceptance inspection. That continuity matters more on a raised bungalow than people expect, since foundation height, window placement, and basement finishing all depend on decisions made at the very start of the project.
Curious how our design-build process runs, from first conversation to move-in? Read: Our Process →
What Should You Do Next?
If a raised bungalow fits what you are picturing, the next moves are the same three we recommend for any custom build in this market.
Get your lot evaluated first. Slope, soil conditions, and frost depth all affect how your foundation gets built, and a raised design responds differently to a sloped lot than a slab-on-grade home does.
Decide on the basement’s purpose now, not later. Rental suite, in-law space, or simple rec room changes your plumbing, electrical, and window plan before the foundation is even poured.
Bring a licensed design-build team into the conversation early. The earlier we see your lot, the fewer surprises show up once excavation starts.
Frequently Asked Questions about Raised Bungalows
Are raised bungalows harder to sell than standard bungalows in Quebec?
Not generally. Raised bungalows are common enough across the West Island and South Shore that most buyers recognize the layout immediately and do not treat the entry stairs as a red flag. The exception is buyers specifically prioritizing step-free access, often for aging in place, who may filter these homes out during their search regardless of the rest of the property’s appeal.
Can a raised bungalow have a two-car garage?
Yes, and it is one of the more common configurations we build. The garage typically sits at grade beside the raised main floor, which works naturally with the split-entry layout since the garage door lines up close to the basement level rather than the main floor.
Do raised bungalows cost more to heat than a two-storey home of the same size?
Generally, no. Heating cost depends far more on insulation quality, window performance, and heating system choice than on whether the home is single-storey or two-storey. A raised bungalow’s larger basement windows can slightly increase heat loss compared to a standard basement’s small windows, which is why window performance matters more on this style.
Is a raised bungalow a good fit for a sloped lot?
Often, yes, and sometimes better than a standard bungalow. A raised foundation can work with a lot’s natural grade to create a walkout basement on the low side, which adds a legitimate outdoor entrance to the lower level without extra excavation cost. A steeply sloped lot still needs a proper site evaluation before you assume this works.
Can you add a second storey to a raised bungalow later?
Sometimes, but it depends entirely on how the original foundation and roof structure were engineered. Some raised bungalows are built with future second-storey additions in mind, with a foundation and roof structure designed to carry the extra load, while others are not. This is worth confirming with your design-build team at the time of the original build if a future addition is even a possibility.
Your Raised Bungalow Starts With the Right Foundation Decision
Done well, a raised bungalow turns the foundation depth Quebec’s code already requires into real, usable square footage, working with the frost line instead of fighting it.
The version of this home that ages well is the one where foundation height, window placement, and secondary suite plans were decided together, at the start, by people who have built this style across the West Island and South Shore before.
Ready to see what a custom raised bungalow looks like on your lot? No pressure, no obligation, just a real conversation about your land and what’s possible on it. Contact HC Habitation →
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