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Changing roof pitch

14 years ago

We are in the midst of planning a remodel to 1951 ranch-like home. The existing home has a hipped roof with a 4:12 pitch. One of our goals is to make the home seem less ranchy from the front. Is it practical to raise the pitch of the roof in the front of the house to create some attractive gables, and to change the character of the house? Has anyone else done this?

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Comments (6)

User
14 years ago
Possible, yes.

Practical, no.

Why spend many thousands of dollars just to raise the roof? It actually makes insulating more expensive(more area for hot air) and ventillating the space more difficult(again, more area).

The roof line is only a part of the ranch look---by raising the roof line, you still have a ranch look that is now confused by an out of place roof design.

But,that is just my opinion.
User
14 years ago
Mid century modern ranches are the hot thing right now. I wouldn't do anything to change the character of the home. In fact, I would try to enhance the "ranchiness" of it!

In fact, substantially changing the character of a home with a remodel will usually come at a high dollar cost, and, for most, not achieve any form of payback. Take the 200K that a remodel will cost and put it towards another home. It's simpler and easier to get what you want.
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This is a very big deal. Not because you can't adjust to it. But because you might have a real problem selling it. So, it has to be fixed before the shingles go on. First, you and the builder have to work together to have someone (NOT the builder; an architect, a home designer, a talented draftsman) do a drawing of what it will look like with the garage at 10:12. Rooflines are a tricky thing. And it's not necessarily a given that your garage will now make the house look better just because it'll be closer to the original design. You don't have the original design anymore. I'd gather my energy and make sure this doesn't become something you'll so regret later--for more than personal aesthetics reasons. Get a professional designer, architect to help you SALVAGE this plan. You might end up with something even better once the Euro excess runs its course. Emmachas and lyfia are on the right track; don't worry about what the plan books call it. Go to homeplans.com and look at their Plan AH-3230. It looks similar to what yours could be. Tat main roofline really needs to be higher than the others, but a talented architect might be able to break that rule and still have it work. I hope you'll exercise your right to change your mind about blindly letting the builder go forward till you get some professional help in working with the problem your builder created for you. It's a joint problem. Let us know!
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I was thinking along the same lines as Reno, i.e., move the stair on the first level so that it is as centered as possible on the first and second floors. This will make two reasonable sized bedrooms on the second level. And it appears that a shed dormer on the back may enable a small third bedroom, or other usable space, to be added under the roof, if desired. If you want to make the attic space above the garage usable, you will need a corridor in order to access it, thus making the large bedroom smaller to achieve a minimum 3'-6" clear corridor. That said, I like the change in exterior massing that your study permits by separating the garage from the house with the laundry space. This would likely make it difficult or impossible to access the attic space over the garage, however. Whatever you do, I would not consider the very bulky and ungainly proportion of the elevation with the 2-story garage plopped against the house as shown above. This approach changes the character and proportions of the house completely and not for the better, IMO. If you want to access the garage attic space, leave it the way it is and work a corridor into the second floor to access that space. Good luck with your project! If you want to access and
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rockybird, we're expecting to enjoy all 4 seasons, with mild winters, hot and humid summers, and beautiful spring and fall weather. When we visited in July, we experienced unusually mild weather in the 80's, and it's generally been in the 60's and 70's when we've been there in spring and October and November, although much colder at night and early morning. We were actually unexpectedly snowed in when we visited last February and all flights were cancelled! I'm looking forward to being able to finally wear sweaters and jackets though :) If we added dormers I would want them to be functional and either add light into the first floor with a raised ceiling or into a second story or attic space. When I reference a 1 1/2 story I mean a second story that is smaller than the footprint of the first level, with varying roof lines, rather than a full second story that is the same footprint and square footage as the second level. We would either use ours for unfinished attic space or maybe a loft/second media room, a bunk room/guest room, and a guest bathroom. Just extra space for DD and visitors that DH and I could close off when not in use. Here are some examples of dormers that function to let light into a first floor and also some 1 1/2 story homes with dormers.
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When you buy design drawings from the internet you should always buy the CAD files no matter what the additional cost is. In you case it would have cost an additional $1,000 and that's a bargain. I posted the drawings side by side in the next posting. Unfortunately your draftsman has destroyed the best features of the original design. I recommend buying the CAD files and trying not to modify them too much (but get rid of the bare belly below the roof look). If your draftsman does not use CAD, find one who does. Perhaps Architectural Designs would allow you to upgrade for a reasonable price.
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H Myers
9 years ago
Did you end up changing the pitch to your home? If so how did it turn out? I also have a 1950's ranch and am considering a similar project.
rainonroses
8 years ago
Me as well. Looking to change the pitch slightly, anyone done that successfully?
User
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
It requires completely reframing the entire roof assembly. And risking water damage to the interior while that is being done. There are plenty of other things to spend money on before you rebuild a perfectly functional component that is as expensive as a roof assembly. You might as well add the second floor at the same time. Raising the roof is half of the cost of doing that 100K+ addition to begin with.
rainonroses
8 years ago
Thanks GreenDesigns. Our pitch is 2:12 and we are looking to replace our tar and gravel roof with a different type.

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