Replies

1. 
   Francis_Voignier | Feb 28, 2001 07:14am | #1

   *
   The size and type of foundation underneath your house will tell you on whether you can add a second story or not without extra engineering and foundation work. Most likely, you'll need to get things beefed-up a bit (Adequate shearing, headers, etc...).

   fv

1. 
   Ron_Rosa | Feb 28, 2001 01:05pm | #2

   *It would be best to remove the rocks and roofing material under it. It also would save you money because you may be able to use the actual deck as your floor. I myself would remove the roof decking, make sure every thing was level, glue and nail/screw the new sheathing. It depends how big your roof is but my guess is you and a friend could remove the roof in a day, tarp it then let the pros take over . Good Luck, Ron

1. 
   Schelling_McKinley | Feb 28, 2001 02:03pm | #3

   *You have a lot of design issues to deal with. If you are serious about this and need to ask a lot of basic questions, you need to talk to an experienced pro about this. You probably can put a second floor on without any structural modifications unless you have large window openings on the first floor. You need to find space for stairs. You should take off the flat roofing surface and you probably cannot use the decking for a floor because most "flat roofs" actually are pitched slightly either to a drain or to a scupper. Unless you live in a very dry climate, adding a second story onto an existing inhabited house is a difficult project requiring a large and experience crew with previous experience. There are companies that specialize in this. Find one if you can. They could quickly evaluate your ideas.

1. 
   JRS | Feb 28, 2001 02:04pm | #4

   *Martagon,Once youve established the foundation is up to a second story, you have to keep in mind that floor load requirements are usually higher than than roof load reqmts. You will need to check with your local building dept. to see if you have to beef up the joists. John

1. 
   Martagon_ | Feb 28, 2001 02:22pm | #5

   *Schelling: I never thought about the windows. In a house that is maybe 45ft long, on the south side there are 2 - 6'w x 7.5'h windows, and 1 - 8'w window.-- almost half the wall is windows.North side isn't as much, 1 - 6x7.5' plus 3 smaller windows and door. Putting in stairs wasn't a problem, as one bedroom could be sacrificed if I had three new ones. I think we're getting into bigger numbers than my DH would spend. Thanks for your input, guys.

2. 
   blue_eyed_devil_ | Mar 01, 2001 02:58am | #6

   *Martagon, the simplest way to deal with large windows downstairs is to build the support systems into the upper walls. You might have this thing roughed and take a few years finishing it to save money.I'll do it for 45,000.Thats your free estimate.blue

3. 
   Ron_Rosa | Mar 01, 2001 05:40am | #7

   *44,000 ......... LOL

4. 
   blue_eyed_devil_ | Mar 01, 2001 04:48pm | #8

   *Price cutting motha' !blue

5. 
   Martagon_ | Mar 02, 2001 02:45am | #9

   *Was that in US dollars or Canadian ??? Tell ya what, you quote in US, and I'll pay you in Canadian. How's that??

6. 
   John_Sprung | Mar 02, 2001 03:04am | #10

   *>Was that in US dollars or Canadian ??? Tell ya what, you quote in US, and I'll pay you in Canadian. How's that?? That works if you charge by the hour. Remember, a Canadian hour is only worth 36 minutes.... ;-)-- J.S.

7. 
   Gabe_Martel | Mar 02, 2001 03:06am | #11

   *A lot you know!This hour has 22 minutes.Gabe

8. 
   mark_holbrook | Mar 03, 2001 10:37pm | #12

   *I would think that leaving asphalt material within the house would cause an odor problem. I can't see any reason to leave the roof on.

9. 
   Martagon_ | Mar 04, 2001 04:29pm | #13

   *Mark: I was wondering if that might happen, or if it would be a bad idea to incorporate an asphalt roof into the interior structure of a house. My only reason to not remove it is the extra cost.

10. 
    mark_holbrook | Mar 05, 2001 03:38am | #14

    *Martagon, it might be very expensive to leave the roof in place if it caused a problem. Future selling of the house may be complicated by non-standard construction. I think the shiming and other work to make it work would negate any benefits. Also, if there were a fire to happen in the house, that roof would be a source of flamable material and heavy smoke, and also would make extinguishing it very difficult. I tend to worry about fires a lot. Anyway, I think it would be safer, easier, cheaper, and less problematic to remove it. Unless you are fond of the house, you probably should just move to something you can live with, or that would be easier to make work for your family.

11. 
    Martagon_ | Mar 05, 2001 05:15am | #15

    *Mark: Truth be known, I hate this house. It was broken into the day before we moved in, it was an ice storm the day we moved in, I was chased down the road by a bunch of yahoos the day after we moved in, the water froze the next week, the shower drain froze the next month, the stove pipe fell out of the stove the next month, (and filled the house with smoke. Thank goodness I was awake, and realized what the noise was. Otherwise, my family and I wouldn't be here.)[Yes, I have smoke detectors, but my nose figured out there was smoke filling the house andthey never did go off] There is this huge brick chimney (6' by 2.5') when you walk in the door that has only the basement fireplace actually running up it, but the roof joists actually rest on it, so I can't get it torn out, The ceilings aren't even 8 ft high. There is less than 900 sqft of living space, two bedrooms, and my daughters are still friends, but they're not yet teenagers. I could go on. However, it sits on 14 acres of land, on the edge of a small town, with two ponds, and lots of mature trees, and hills and valleys. The land is irreplaceable at the price. My husband loves this land, and he couldn't care less about the house. When we were looking for houses, he wouldn't consider anything else after seeing this place. So I'm trying to figure out how I can learn to live with it. I think your point about the fire hazard speaks more to me than any other point. Hey, blue-eyes, wanna come to Canada for a month??

12. 
    Amy_Sw. | Mar 05, 2001 08:45pm | #16

    *How about just building a new house on the land you have? You can either live in the one you have while constructing the new one on an even better site within your 14 acres, or demolish the one you've got and camp while a new one is built on old site. As for adding a roof - my friend had exactly your situation - a flat roof and wanting more space. They chose to remove the old roof before framing in the new floor, which reduces the amount of weight born by the floors below. When the old roof was removed the ceilings underneath actually went up over an inch (measurable against the cabinets that used to be flush). With what he has paid out, even doing a lot of the work himself, a new building would have been about the same price, and less headache when living amidst construction. And that was with a foundation and first floor that could handle the new construction - if you need to beef up what is underneath you are talking even more money.

13. 
    JohnD_ | Mar 05, 2001 08:56pm | #17

    *You could always do what my neighbors did. They added a second story to a house by building up the outside walls very slightly, and put truss joists spanning the whole house. The existing house was not touched at that time.The house was framed in, and the second story completed, without damage (much) to the first floor. They then moved upstairs, and demolished the first floor, winding up with 9-foot ceilings after removing the old material.

14. 
    blue_eyed_devil_ | Mar 06, 2001 02:52am | #18

    *I'm on my way Marta.I'll take the payment in small bills.blue

15. 
    Martagon_ | Mar 06, 2001 05:31am | #19

    *OK,I'll just cut American $$ in half. Would that be small enough?? That should be just about our rate of exchange by the time you get here.

16. 
    blue_eyed_devil_ | Mar 06, 2001 03:16pm | #20

    *Close enough.Soon, I'll be working free....blue

2. 
   Martagon_ | Mar 06, 2001 03:16pm | #21

   *
   Don't spend a long time on this one guys, but I'm trying to figure out how to get a bigger house, and my DH won't move. This house has a flat gravel roof, with an added hip roof on top (Guess the flat one must have leaked) (Aside: what I call a hip roof is one that has four eavestroughs, rather than two. My BIL says a hip roof is what I call a gambrel roof. He calls this one a cottage roof, which I agree it is called as well, though I thought a cottage roof had a shorter ridge than this.) OK, so what I was thinking was, if we were to take off the roof, whatever kind it is, could we just level and build a floor over the gravel, or would you have to rip it off too. Has anyone ever tried leaving a flat roof on. My DH just hates spending money, so I figure that might save a few thousand. Plus, we wouldn't have to worry about rain during construction. I'm not sure I'll ever get my addition, but I have two girls who are going to be teenagers soon, and I'm not sure how much longer they can share one room. Oh, the hip roof isn't high enough to just build a 1/2 storey within the attic.