Can you add an addition to the second story only?

6 years ago

We aren't having much luck in finding a new house, so we are now considering the option to eventually add on to our current home that we only purchased last year. We wouldn't be looking to do this for another 3-4 years so I haven't started the process of contacting contractors yet, but I'm just wondering if what we want to do is even feasible.

We don't have a large lot, we want to add a master suite. Currently our 3rd bedroom is 9' x 7.5' and is being shared by our infant twins (found out we were expecting them just a few weeks after we moved in). The second bedroom is normal size and occupied by our older son, and our master is small-normal size for a master. So what I want to do is make the 3rd bedroom into a master bath (it is located right next to the current bathroom so plumbing should work out I think?) and add the master bedroom above the first level uncovered patio/deck in the back of the house. Is that something that can work, structurally? Can we add a roof to the deck and build over it? This way we aren't giving up any yard space, but we are gaining the extra bedroom space that we need.

I've tried searching for pictures of second story only additions but I can't seem to find anything that looks like what I'm talking about, so that makes me wonder if it's possible.

Comments (5)

bry911
6 years ago
Yes, you can do elevated pier foundations and build as much or as little as you want on them. This will not be quite the same as just building a roof on your deck, but will give you somewhat similar results.

It will also probably cost a lot more than finding an acceptable home to move to.
pirate_cat_01 thanked bry911
pirate_cat_01
Original Author
6 years ago
Thank you, that's what I was afraid of. The thing is, we love our neighborhood and our house is on a highly desirable street. We aren't willing to move out of the school district and inventory of nice 4BR houses (what we would want if we were going to move) is extremely low. So just trying to consider other options.
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Thanks, @bry911! I took a screenshot of that Excel and saved it. Doing the big addition is sounding risky. I'm getting a couple contractors to come take a look at structural stuff and our space to see if they can give us a ballpark idea of what we'd have to spend. I think the contractors would have to be very confident they could keep the project under budget to make us go for it. At the same time, it's a really tough market to buy in. Most homes have gone up by 10's of thousands of dollars in just the last 2 years; so if we buy now, we basically know that we're overpaying. If the market takes a downturn, or even settles a little, it will be hard to sell for a much higher price down the road (just because things seem to be so inflated right now). @lyfia There are lots of homes in our neighborhood that have a second story addition on the back. And we have several homes that are 600 sq. ft. bigger than ours. They aren't on our street, but there are several on the street behind us. Unfortunately, not many of them have been on the market recently so we don't have many comps. One home with a second story recently sold for $300K, but it had a 2-car garage and large workshop. Although the actual house was small, with only one small living room and 2 standard baths. After our remodel, if our budget worked, we would have a lot more and a lot nicer space inside. Also, I've done rough designs of the addition, and we'd have to rebuild the back half of our roof to get the floor space, but it's there. Once again, waiting on estimates.
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PRO
User
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
Get your survey from when you bought the house. Make some copies. Map out the setback lines. Look at your current roof lines to see what would be easy to extend. If you're going to build a second story addition, then you might as well get two stories of square footage from it.

That will help to bump up the value of the home, giving you some eventual payback. Of course, you still have to pay for the project in the mean time. So talk to some realtors about what kind of resale appeal adding on would have for your market. You don't want to end up the biggest and most expensive house in your neighborhood.

Yes, moving will still likely cost less, but if you have those intangibles like the perfect school system in the mix, it can weigh things differently as to a monetary expenditure to stay and have that time be comfortable.
dan1888
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
You're considering a good sized reno of a difficult 3 bed house. Instead of giving up on buying something else because of limited supplies of 4 beds, look at 3 beds with the goal to find one easier or better to make into a 4 bed then yours is. You've got more options now. Especially given your time frame.
freeoscar
6 years ago
We had a similar bedroom set-up pre-addition. When the twins get too big for the tiny bedroom, you can always squeeze another year or two out in the current arrangement by moving the single kid to the tiny room, putting the twins in the master and you take the regular sized room. It's not ideal, but if it gives you breathing room to find a better place or save up for a reno it's worth it. Plus, when you get back into a proper master it feels that much more luxurious..

Can you add an addition to the second story only?

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bry911

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Can you add an addition to the second story only?

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bry911

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