I am thinking of buying this cottage. It needs a new roof – shingles, sheathing and some framing. No problem.

It has a 6′-10″ ceiling height on the first level so I am concidering raising the ceiling/ second level. This will in turn require raising the roof. No problem raising the roof since I am replacing most of it anyway.

My knee-jerk reaction method is to sister the second level stud framing to accomodate the new first floor ceiling height and some add’l height for the second level and frame the new roof. Then frame the new second floor platform. Once the new joists are in and sheathed, I’ll demo the old second floor.

But wait…

Here’s the rub. I am pretty certain the cottage is not balloon framed. The new second floor will be above the location of the existing top plate, rim joist, bottom plate assembly. I am concerned that once the old second floor is demo’d, the assembly will behave as a hinge.

The new second floor joists will span 1/2 the width of the house – 24’/2 – with a primary at the center. The primary will be supported by columns rather than a wall.

The first floor ceiling height will be raised at least 1’-6â€.

Can interior framing help stablize/ counter the “hinge†effect?

First floor has 4 rms. Second floor currently has only 1 rm.

I would prefer not to knock the whole place down. Right now, the budget is tight and time is not. I don’t think I could live in or even sell a renovated house (cha-ching) with 6’-10†ceilings.

Any thoughts?

F