I’ve been pondering and planning a second-floor addition project for a couple years, and you folks have helped me with several questions along the way.
I now have a pretty firm idea about the floorplan, and have a sense for how to approach the exterior, but I want professional help to fine tune my plan so the house doesn’t end up looking like Michael Jackson’s plastic surgeon has paid a visit.
I’ve tried a couple local architects (recommended by friends) and have been frustrated by their response (or lack thereof). They are either too busy to call back, or are uninterested in such a small project. One “home designer” (non-archy) I talked to wanted to charge architect rates and design a trophy addition despite my direction to keep it simple.
The builder I plan to use is not a design-build guy. He’s a sound builder, but I want him to have clear direction on what to build.
What are your suggestions on where to go from here? (I can provide more details on the project if it helps…)
As always, thanks.
-RG
Replies
Can you post a .jpg of the floor plan? Then we'll all have a go at it. Design by committee...that's a kiss of death...
Do it right, or do it twice.
I wasn't planning on getting this designed here at BT, but of course your suggestions are welcome. I recognize I will ultimately need to hire a pro to put pen to paper.
Attached is some crude artwork to start the discussion.
First is a drawing of the front of the house as it currently sits (very approximate given the limits of the software and operator).
Also included are drawings of the current footprint and the proposed footprint of the lower level. As you can see, this is a basic builder’s colonial… 3 BRs and we need more! You may not be able to see that it is a garrison, with a 24 x 32 second floor sitting above the 22 x 32 main first floor section.
I have more detailed drawings of my ideas for upstairs, but will need to figure out how to jpg them. That may not be necessary…
Here’s the basic plan:
1. Extend and enclose the front porch (now 4 x 12) by 4’ to make an 8 x 12 mudroom/entryway. (as shown on new footprint) (BTW... can't put this in rear b/c of deck and other issues).
2. Build above the existing one-story wing (footprint approx 21 x 32) to accommodate a master suite and office/study.
3. Since the front boundary of the existing front porch is set back from the main part of the house, I was planning to go straight up from there with a 23 x 12 section (approx). Then, I would step back again and build a section over the existing garage of approx. 18 x 20. My thought is that, by having a series of step backs from the main mass of the house, it would visually break the depth of the façade and also step down the roofline as the depth of the second story is reduced.
4. I’m also considering adding a gabled entry over the center front door to create some interest away from the addition, and to improve an entry that will get more use in the future.
The biggest issue I see is how to handle the roof for the new mudroom area that will be jutting from the front, and how to tie it all in with what’s above. One idea is to continue the mudroom roof to the left creating a 4’ overhang in front of the garages. This roof would run up until hitting the vertical walls of the new space above.
Anyway… enough from me for now. Thanks for reading this far, and thanks for any and all suggestions.
To help illustrate what I tried to write in previous post.... here's another rough sketch of what the future might look like (in my mind.... without the benefit of your thoughts).
I haven't carefully drafted this to account for exact roof heights, etc., but I think this is fairly close.
Also, you will see the future is of a lighter color than the present. The house is now very dark brown with dark trim. We're thinking of going to a lighter color so we can have accent trim as another visual tool.
Also, the window size, placement etc. are just guesses for now.
Can your building dept give you any names of archys? They may know who does that scope of work. A good archy is worth every cent,
Good idea. I know the inspector in town and will give him a call. Thx.
If you post some drawings here, I'm sure you'll get plenty of comments to consider.
But the most important thing is to trust yourself. You're going to live there, you know best what will work for you. Why waste money paying someone else to disagree with what you want to do? Don't you have a wife for that? ;-)
-- J.S.