Budgeting $250k to add a second story; is this sufficient?
m_mccormick
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
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klem1
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Second story master
Comments (36)My experience watching older relatives has been that when they are no longer able to negotiate stairs, other aspects of living in a large family home are also taxing. We have a 2nd floor master, and my plan is that if we are permanently unable to climb the stairs, we will move to a home that is a better fit for that stage of life. Probably something that is one story and requires little or no exterior maintenance. I don't know anyone who has remained in the home where they raised their kids through retirement, and those who delayed moving often ended up moving in unpleasant circumstances (i.e. selling a home after years of struggling with it once a hospitalization brought a younger family member in to make the hard decision). I'm sure some people manage to stay in their family home forever, but it is uncommon among people I know....See MoreSecond Story Foyer Window
Comments (27)There are different types of these windows. I have an about sixty-year old Colonial center divided, foyer, dining room to the north, living room to the south and the foyer is open with a curved staircase going up. It would be horrible without the window that is above the door and every window and the door is evenly spaced across the front outside. The window has held the same as the others. It can be dusted with an extension on the inside and washed with windex on the hose on the outside. it lets wonderful light into the house and because of the lace panels I have privacy upstairs on the landing and if it is dirty it is not so noticeable because of the light filtering lace panels. On the other hand, there is a house in my neighborhood that is on the newer side, not colonial, where the architect put a window over the front door for no mathematical reason, it looked odd, and as you drove past you could see every move the family made because it wasn't as high as mine and because it was so low you could see that it was dirty, which I suppose was more noticeable because there was no window covering even ever so light of one. Well, interestingly enough, a few years went by and they took out the window and replaced it with the same wood the house is built of. So Anglophilia is right in one respect...there is a distinctly special place for those windows! My problem is my windows are regular double hung so they match those on the outside and I think the breeze would be lovely upstairs, but I cannot open them because they are too high and I very well can't be carrying an extension ladder in every time I wanted to open and shut them....See MoreConcrete block on second story dilemma
Comments (13)I built in SW FL. When I was designing the house, I wanted my studio to be smaller than it wound up, although I'm glad how large it is now. I was told that it would have cost more to put a beam across to hold the weight than to build the bigger room. As for your getting a cost per square foot, unless you have finished plans and have all your fixtures picked out, it's all bogus. Why is your kitchen 2x the size of your living space? Those sink vanities upstairs are barely large enough to hold a toothbrush, let alone any extras you need. I would HIGHLY recommend you post your kitchen layout in the Kitchen forum as it needs LOTS of help. I'm sorry but it's just poor design. What does the rest of the plan look like? What do the elevations look like? What direction is north?...See MoreEnclosing second story living room to make additional bedroom?
Comments (44)Hi TIffany, first let me say how sorry I am you had to go through the fire and then get Covid, not to mention the gypsy-life. I'm glad you came through it with so much drive and enthusiasm. A lot of people would have just given up. So, you will have a dining room in that room. One of the things you could do to bring in more light is to have some lovely built-ins constructed (don't know your style) facing the window with mirrored doors and maybe a mix of clear glass as well to house your dishes, trays and ornaments. I assume you will have a chandelier (light!) and possibly some down lighting or spot lighting. I saw an interesting dining room, though I doubt this is your style, but they painted the ceiling a metallic gold. It was fairly muted but it reflected whatever light was in the room in a subtle way. I saw another application where the designer created a coffered ceiling but instead of paint the little squares were mirrored. It was lovely because in daylight it picked up the green of the outdoors and cast it about the room. You could also hang pictures with picture lighting on top, paint the room a fairly deep rich color and have the pictures pop that way. You might be able to do all of the above if you're careful. Also, could you modify the window and have a glass canopy at a 90 degree angle extend out above it so that even more light will enter. Alternatively you could put in a small bay window there which might bring in more light. Not sure what you're going for in terms of style....See MoreKim Ladin
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