Add Space With a Second Story Addition

by Dave Clark

If you find yourself and your family in need of additional space, you may want to consider raising your roof and adding a second story to your home.

Building up is a viable option when setback requirements or the location of your home on the lot negates building out or limits on how far you can build out. An advantage of building up is you can typically gain more space with a second story. However, just as with setback restrictions, there may be height restrictions in your community or subdivision. You will need to visit your local government zoning office to check for that. You will also want to check your property deed to see if the developer of your land included restrictions on second story additions.

When you decide that a second story is feasible, your contractor will determine whether current exterior walls and foundation will support the load, and how the mechanicals will be handled. Furnace and electrical may have to be upgraded to support the new living space. Sometimes mechanicals can be run through floor trusses but there is the possibility that new runs are necessary. 

Although adding a second story means that the roof will have to be torn off, you will still be able to live in the house while the work is going on. Usually, the current ceiling and ceiling joints are kept in place while a new floor structure is built on top so disruption to the main floor is very minimal.

Adding a second story gives you almost unlimited design options to meet your specific needs and also provides the chance to make some changes to the first floor. You will gain new space as bedrooms or even a laundry room are relocated. Instead of using all the square footage to create individual rooms, another option for a second story is to leave some of the space from the main floor to the second floor open, creating a loft.

Depending on how you envision your new living space, stairs can be a grand showcase with a new layout. But if you want to maintain as much of your first floor’s usable space with minimal disruption, stairs can be located over basement steps or even going up through an existing closet space.

Second floor additions can save you some money over build-outs. You are staying within the existing footprint so you don’t have the cost of landscaping, excavation, and masonry, but you will have some significant demo tearing off the roof and replacing it. But price-wise, it’s the least expensive way to go other than going into the basement.

One of the other advantages of going up is enhancing the overall aesthetics of the home’s exterior. A second story can transform a plain Jane ranch into an impressive colonial, Tudor, Craftsman, or contemporary.