ActuariallySpeaking
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Ok, I had this on the roofing thread, however, it seems to be more applicable here- so, I am going to copy and paste to here & then delete that one--
Hi there! I am looking at this house (I attached some photos)
The backstory of the house is: the house was a camp (if you're looking at the front, it would be the left side), then they poured an additional foundation and added a living room to the right.
The house is 1.5 stories, and, this is where, in my opinion, the problems begin. You can see 3 dormers on the front and 1 on the back. They have a bathroom on the back dormer and 3 bedrooms in the front dormers. That's fine and good, however, the ceilings on the main floor are only 7 feet tall!
Normally we would just move along because the house is also dated on the inside, and the renovation would be a bit intimidating. However, this house is close to where my husband grew up and well, the location & lot just can't be beat!
Now, I am working on getting pre-approved, and then we would like to do a walk through with a contractor to talk about possible solutions to the low ceilings. I think we are OK with losing the bedroom that is currently over the living room, and make the living room completely open. This would reduce the number of bedrooms to 3, (there's also 1 on the main floor), but we are ok with that.
I have a few ideas, and I would like some input on if these are reasonable, outlandish, extremely costly, etc.
Idea 1: Remove the roof entirely and change the type pr the overall pitch of the roof. For example, switch the gable to a hip roof or gambrel roof or saltbox or some variation of these types, then move the ceilings up 1 foot in the kitchen, bathroom & 1st floor bedroom
Pros: we could choose a type that allows more headspace
Cons: We would probably have to make sure that the foundation could support that change, and since the frame is already built to accommodate a gable roof, I'm not sure what the ramifications of that would be & this seems like the most expensive option upfront.
Idea 2: Add an additional dormer to the "right" of the bathroom (if you're viewing the back photo), then between the gable dormers, add a shed dormer. (I think this is actually called a Nantucket dormer) Do this in the front as well to the middle & dormer to the left (viewing the front photo), and hopefully this would create enough head space upstairs to be able to move the ceilings up 1 foot downstairs in the kitchen, bathroom & bedroom. (Don't forget- we're not worried about the livingroom- we will probably just make that all open concept, from floor to "roof")
Pros: We're not changing the style of roof, (it would still be Gable)- we would just be adding 3 dormers and removing the one over the living room.
Cons: I feel like this is inviting roof problems to happen (leaks, water retention), and I'm worried that there won't be enough headspace with the shed dormers
Idea 3: Obliterate the entire upstairs and make the house essentially 1 bedroom, and count on eventually adding on 2 additional bedrooms down the road to the side of the house that's facing the road. (I'm thinking I'd also like to add a mudroom to the front entrance eventually, and turn part of the front deck into a finished space as well, but that was a long term dream plan)
Pros: Would just be able to demo upstairs and be done with it, could pay for stuff as we go, so not such a huge mortgage up front, wouldn't be ruining a new roof that they put on not so long ago
Cons: Losing a huge amount of square footage, the house would be a 1 bedroom house for awhile, and we're probably going to have kids soon, we'd be losing a bathroom, but wouldn't have to worry about shifting all of the electrical, plumbing, etc. upstairs.
Thoughts? Does anything sound more realistic? I'd like to sound like not a complete wingbat when i talk to the contractor (well, no more than necessary) Are any of these a big no? If so, why?
Thanks for any advice in advance!
Hi there! I am looking at this house (I attached some photos)
The backstory of the house is: the house was a camp (if you're looking at the front, it would be the left side), then they poured an additional foundation and added a living room to the right.
The house is 1.5 stories, and, this is where, in my opinion, the problems begin. You can see 3 dormers on the front and 1 on the back. They have a bathroom on the back dormer and 3 bedrooms in the front dormers. That's fine and good, however, the ceilings on the main floor are only 7 feet tall!
Normally we would just move along because the house is also dated on the inside, and the renovation would be a bit intimidating. However, this house is close to where my husband grew up and well, the location & lot just can't be beat!
Now, I am working on getting pre-approved, and then we would like to do a walk through with a contractor to talk about possible solutions to the low ceilings. I think we are OK with losing the bedroom that is currently over the living room, and make the living room completely open. This would reduce the number of bedrooms to 3, (there's also 1 on the main floor), but we are ok with that.
I have a few ideas, and I would like some input on if these are reasonable, outlandish, extremely costly, etc.
Idea 1: Remove the roof entirely and change the type pr the overall pitch of the roof. For example, switch the gable to a hip roof or gambrel roof or saltbox or some variation of these types, then move the ceilings up 1 foot in the kitchen, bathroom & 1st floor bedroom
Pros: we could choose a type that allows more headspace
Cons: We would probably have to make sure that the foundation could support that change, and since the frame is already built to accommodate a gable roof, I'm not sure what the ramifications of that would be & this seems like the most expensive option upfront.
Idea 2: Add an additional dormer to the "right" of the bathroom (if you're viewing the back photo), then between the gable dormers, add a shed dormer. (I think this is actually called a Nantucket dormer) Do this in the front as well to the middle & dormer to the left (viewing the front photo), and hopefully this would create enough head space upstairs to be able to move the ceilings up 1 foot downstairs in the kitchen, bathroom & bedroom. (Don't forget- we're not worried about the livingroom- we will probably just make that all open concept, from floor to "roof")
Pros: We're not changing the style of roof, (it would still be Gable)- we would just be adding 3 dormers and removing the one over the living room.
Cons: I feel like this is inviting roof problems to happen (leaks, water retention), and I'm worried that there won't be enough headspace with the shed dormers
Idea 3: Obliterate the entire upstairs and make the house essentially 1 bedroom, and count on eventually adding on 2 additional bedrooms down the road to the side of the house that's facing the road. (I'm thinking I'd also like to add a mudroom to the front entrance eventually, and turn part of the front deck into a finished space as well, but that was a long term dream plan)
Pros: Would just be able to demo upstairs and be done with it, could pay for stuff as we go, so not such a huge mortgage up front, wouldn't be ruining a new roof that they put on not so long ago
Cons: Losing a huge amount of square footage, the house would be a 1 bedroom house for awhile, and we're probably going to have kids soon, we'd be losing a bathroom, but wouldn't have to worry about shifting all of the electrical, plumbing, etc. upstairs.
Thoughts? Does anything sound more realistic? I'd like to sound like not a complete wingbat when i talk to the contractor (well, no more than necessary) Are any of these a big no? If so, why?
Thanks for any advice in advance!
