Hi,

I'm considering putting an offer on a small (1100sq ft) bungalow on a large (8000 sq ft) and slightly sloping lot in snowy Boston.

Currently, it's large enough for my immediate needs. However, given the lot size, I'd eventually like to:
-Enlarge the Living and Dining Rooms
-Expand the tiny Kitchen
-Add another bedroom
-Add a 1/2 bath on 1st floor
-Add a deck
-Be able to use all of the lot.


I'm thinking the addition would all be off the back of the house, retaining the front facade of the house. I'm envisioning a walkout basement addition and extending the 2nd floor shed dormer DOWN to accommodate a smallish bumpout of the 1st floor.

In the basement, the new addition would contain the Master suite (with walkout to stunning garden), walk-in closet and full bath...and the existing basement footprint turned into a rec room and utility room.

For the first floor, I envisioned removing the windows from the 2nd floor shed dormer (those rooms have other windows) and expanding the shed dormer roofline down to accommodate a small (6/8 feet) bumpout of the 1st floor rear wall. This would allow me to expand the slightly cramped LR, DR and Kitchen. Is this possible? or would such a roofline place too much pressure on the existing foundation?

This 1st floor bumpout is important because if the only way to make the slightly cramped LR/DR/Kit bigger is to destroy the existing flow (ie a soulless 'open concept' plan). I don't want to buy the house.

In a perfect world, I would also have a large deck off the kitchen (atop of the basement addition roof???). But maybe I'll have to wait 'til I win Mass Cash for this one...

Can you provide some expert if 'yeah, you could probably expand' or 'No, you're nuts...no way to expand without it looking like a windblown shack'. I know I will need to get a formal consult from a structural engineer and architect before moving forward. However, just want to get an idea if expansion is a possibility.

House pics can be found at www.realtor.com, MLS listing 70735595. I can also send a excel-based layout and add'l pics directly that better show the lot slope and footprint.

Thanks in advance.

Jen

The link wouldn't open, so I don't have the pictures to work with. Generally, house foundations can handle a few more stories than anyone would ever think of adding, so that shouldn't be a concern. If you find a good architect, a structural engineer won't be necessary, unless there is something very unusual.

I'll try the link later, or if you have pics, you could email them to me at rhetzel@ptd.net. or post them for all my buddies to see, also.

Jen, an email is on its way to you. =)

A response from Richard Hetzel:

OK. Why not put a small shed roof on the rear bump-out so that it comes to just under those second floor windows? I think that would look a whole lot nicer and be much cheaper. A deck above living space is always questionable. It’s hard to do without troublesome roof penetrations to support the deck, and it’s difficult to keep the deck below the floor level that it attaches to. Also, organic stuff like leaves can get through the deck floor spaces and lie on the roof below, possibly shortening the life of that roof, which means demolishing the deck in order to repair or replace the roof. A better solution is to do an essentially flat roof, and use a roofing material which will function as a deck. Most are made of vinyl, and some are made to look like brick. Another alternative is a fiberglass roof and deck combined. They can be done in many colors.



In order to post pictures on H>V forum, they have to be on a web site such as Photobucket, and then you just post the URLs and the pictures appear. If you do that, please be sure the photos are small, otherwise they will throw the entire thread into an extra-wide format, making it necessary to scroll horizontally to read all the posts.



I’ve attached a sketch of the house from the side. Tell me what you think. =)


Richard

Richard,

Thanks so much...this info is VERY helpful. You're right, adding a shed dormer is visually more appealing. Am I correct in assuming the depth of the 'shed addition' will be limited to a # feet due to roof slope? Given that I live in snowy Boston, how big do you think I could make the bumpout?

I'd like to keep the 1st floor shed addition on the same level as the existing house. This would (hopefully) allow me 'push' the shared LR/DR wall back 3 to 6 feet (with a header beam, hopefully hidden by a coffered ceiling) to make both the LR/DR bigger. And, I would simply expand the kitchen back to the new exterior wall. Are these reasonable assumptions?

And you are right, I'm envisioning a basement expansion to be a flat roof. And, if needed, could the addition's foundation be slightly lower than the existing basement (allowing for headroom)...or might that negatively impact the structural integrity of the main house?

Regarding the deck, I was thinking this would be a good visual link from the main living floor to the yard. Seems like decks on flat roofs are not ideal, but it can be done. I saw
'Bison decking' on the web, and it looks promising. Do you have experience with this product? Just wonder if it's good in theory, but in practice, it ruins the roof's watertightness.

In my head, I think these items would add 400 or so useable sq feet to the house (exclusive of deck), which would make this a very competitive size (during any re-sale process). I'm assuming to frame and finish the addition (exclusive of the kitchen renovation) would probably set me back $50k to $75k (in expensive New England). Am I in the ballpark?

Thank you SO much.

Regards

Jen

Jen, it's all the little things inside the existing house that could (and probably will) inflate your cost. They are all labor-intensive, and they add up quickly.

To answer your questions:

The depth of the addition might be limited, but the limiting factor would be the height of the second floor window sills, and not the depth...well, I guess that's the same thing. You would need to go out at least five feet for a minimum-width master bath, and you might like more than that...six or seven feet, or maybe more.

You might be able to use a flush header between the LR and DR, which will allow the ceiling to be flat. They cost about half again what a drop header costs.

Yes, the Master Suite could be down a couple of steps without affecting the integrity of the structure, and you will probably be forced to do that. Hint: use either no steps or three steps, if you do that.

I have no experience with the Bison deck supports. They are a minimum of about an inch and a half high, and then you have to frame a deck on top of them. Assuming you'll use 2x6 framing and 5/4 decking, that's a total of eight inches above the roof, and then the deck should be 1 1/2 inches below the floor that leads to it, so that probably pushes the basement floor down 9 1/2 inches. Then, the existing basement ceiling may be shallow, so to get full height in the master Suite, you'll need to depress the floor even more, perhaps another foot. Where does that take the floor compared to the grade outside? It looks like the yard continues to slope to the rear, so you may be OK. You want all the wood framing to be at least 8 inches above any adjoining ground.

The Bison supports appear wide enough that they should not affect the integrity of the roof they sit on.

I think your budget should be at least $60,000 for the additions alone, plus more for whatever work will be done inside the house. the final total could be shocking. Be careful. Find an architect who knows how to treat a budget. Not all do.