Adding a second story to my house

[John]

I have a one story concrete block house in Florida and am considering adding a second story to it. I was wondering if anyone has done this and what is involved structurally. My house is about 1500 sq. ft. so if anyone has done this and could give me some kind of financial estimate it would be greatly appreciated. I don’t know if this has ever been done by any of Bob’s shows but if it has please let me know so I can look it up. Thanks.

[Bruce M]

Hi John:
Don’t know about Bob V’s shows, but second stories have been added to a couple of the This Old House projects. Might want to check your local library’s to see if they carry the old videos for TOH and/or Hometime.

A few points you must consider, though. First and foremost is the foundation. If you are lucky, it was overbuilt and will carry the added weight of a second floor. I would get the basement (or crawl space) wall width, composition (poured vs. cinder block) and footing width and depth, then take this to the local county building department to see if it is structurally strong enough. No use going further if it isn’t.

You will need to make a scale drawing of your existing floor plan to determine where your weight bearing walls are and therefore where your second floor weight bearing walls (if any) must be located, as well as plumbing fixtures such as toilets, sinks, showers, etc. As a general rule, things need to vertically line up.

Final thing to look at are the existing ceiling joists….usually 2X4’s or 2X6’s. These will have to be beefed up. If you have rafters now, you can sister on larger 2X lumber to the ceiling joists to make them strong enough to become floor joists, trimming their ends to fit new platform framing for the second floor. If your house was built with trusses (and will thus be removed when you start your second floor), you may have to platform new 2nd floor floor joists, thus requiring the removal of your existing ceiling, although this will depend on how the existing trusses are built.

I’ve done a second story addition once…..and it was a lot of work but worth it in the long run.

Best wishes

Bruce M

[Tonya Allen]

Hello Bruce! Bob has done numerous shows which they had to build second stories! My favorite the MALIBU HOUSE, THE SANTA BABARA HOUSE(arts&craft), Martha vineyard area. I had recently, spoke with two remodeling
contractors, because we were planning to buy a 1958 custom house which is a fixer-upper! I was also curious about adding a second story . I was told that the house would need fittings, about $5,000(the house would not be able to hold the weight of a second floor because of the way it was built!) About $1,000 for engineer, about $10,000 just for the structure of one room , a second room about 8,000, if you want a completed room then it doubles! it cost about $100.00 a sq.Foot in california , maybe a little less if you have several companies bidding for the same job! Good-luck!!

[Tammie Jackson]

We live in Hartsville, South Carolina. Two years ago we bought a 3 year old traditional style home that we are considering to have remodled. Our attic space is approxitmetly 500 square feet. We would like to enclose it and add a stair case for a second floor playroom. Can you tell us what we need to look for, as for as the construction, to see if this is a possible option for us? Do you have an approximate estimate of a cost for this job? Thank you so much for your time.

Todd and Tammie Jackson

[Wynona]

We are thinking of going up to expand our living space. It would be about 800 – 900 square feet of added room. Our attick doesn’t have enough head room to stand up, so the whole roof would have to be raised. My question is, if we built on, but left it unfinished, how much time are we looking at on average and what would be a rough estimate on cost?

[Wendy]

I live in a 3 bedroom ranch w/ attached 2 car garage, and attic in NH. I am adding to my family and need more space. I wanted to add a second floor across the whole house and garage ..to change the garage into a “great – room” and add a second floor w/ 5 bedrooms, and an attic above. Any idea on how expensive and how much of a headache this would be. Is it a big deal to do this …. or can it be done?? help !! thanx

[Jessica]

My husband and I currently have a home under 1200 square feet, and we have run out of room! There is no way to add on except a 2nd floor.I am not sure how solid our foundation is. The house was built in the 60’s. Is it just easier and less expensive in the long run to buy a new home that fits us than to try and build that 2nd floor?

[Unregistered-candosnglmom]

I have a cute 2 bedroom w/finished basement BUT 3 kids, and two of them BOYS. City Code says I must either MOVE to a bigger place, or…make the place bigger. SO, I have a need to finance, and self-install as much as possible an addition in the form of a stairway, dormers, walls, flooring, and a full bathroom, where my Attic now is. I am a VERY handy person, and have 2 teens to help and THEY are handy too. I know I need professionals for wiring, HVAC, plumbing….I get depressed trying to figure out WHAT to do. Any suggestions?

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