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Designing and Building Dormers

Whether it's a small bump-out or a full-length addition, dormers are often the easiest way to add living space to a house.

When it comes to ways to expand your home without having to start from the foundation, these add-ons are an excellent option. Not only can building a dormer increase space and natural light, they can also add character to a simple facade.

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite Fine Homebuilding articles about dormers, covering everything from design to framing to finishing touches, so you can get started building one of your own. Whether you’re building a shed dormer, a doghouse dormer, a gable dormer, or something even more elaborate, there’s bound to be some helpful ideas or information here.

  • How-To 1
    Keep a Dormer Addition Clean and Dry

    A well-planned construction sequence contains the debris and keeps the rain out of the house.

  • How-To 2
    Four Steps to Flash a Dormer

    This leak-free approach begins with an impenetrable corner detail.

  • Design 3
    Dormer Opens Up a Cramped Bathroom
    Adding a Dormer Opens Up a Cramped Bathroom

    A better suite bath is possible thanks to additional headroom.

  • How-To 4
    Framing a Dramatic Dormer
    Framing a Dramatic Dormer

    If doghouse dormers or shed dormers aren't dressy enough, A-dormers can add an exciting design note, and they're easier to seal against the elements.

  • How-To 5
    Raising an Eyebrow

    Two methods used to frame wave-like dormers.

  • Design 6
    Making Shed Dormers Work

    A shed dormer can be the best way to add space to a one-and-a-half-story house, but you have to get the details right if you want it to be an asset and not an eyesore.

  • How-To 7
    Frame a Classic Shed Dormer

    If you start with a full-scale layout on the subfloor and plan for the finished details, the framing is relatively painless.

  • How-To 8
    Shed-Dormer Retrofit

    Turning your attic into living space may be the remedy for your growing pains.

  • How-To 9
    Two-ways-to-attach-a-shed-dormer-roof-main
    Attaching a Shed-Dormer Roof

    Pro builder Mike Guertin explains two options for tying a shed dormer into the existing roof.

  • How-To 10
    dormers-build
    A Gable-Dormer Retrofit

    Framing around an existing roof requires different skeletons for two similar structures.

  • Design 11
    Designing Shed Dormers

    With its long, simple roof, a shed dormer adds the most floor space and more opportunities for windows than other dormer types.

  • Design 12
    shed dormers on a detached garage
    Shed Dormers, Explained

    Here are some guidelines for getting your shed dormers right.

  • Design 13
    drawing of a 1940s cape with dormers
    Designing Gable Dormers

    Right-scaled gable dormers can both bring in light and add interest to a plain roof.

  • How-To 14
    Doghouse Dormers Framing from the ground up
    Doghouse Dormers: Framing From the Ground Up

    Assembling parts on the ground and cutting the roof at the last minute provide a low-stress route to a high-value project.

  • Design 15
    Can This Dormer Be Saved?

    A homeowner ask how to trim out a new dormer to match her Greek revival house.

  • How-To 16
    Steep-Slope Eyebrow Dormers

    It goes against the grain to assemble something on an angle that’s supposed to be plumb, but it really makes life easier on a job like this.

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