Adding a Second Story to a House

With a growing family, you start feeling the want of more space in your house. Adding a second story to a house is a prudent and economical way of adding more space. Second story additions are major house remodeling jobs, which require one to take a lot of issues into consideration, before going ahead. In this article, I walk you through the important factors that need to be taken into consideration while adding a second story to a bungalow.

There are two ways in which you can make the space in your house grow. One is horizontal growth through building up of more space around by buying land around the building. The second, more economical option is to grow vertically upwards by adding a second story to a house. Second story home additions are increasingly preferred by majority of people who need to have more space. Some people even go for adding a second story to a garage to create small living quarters or study rooms.

This kind of a project gives you an opportunity to rectify your mistakes and create additional amenities that you couldn't add before. Buying new land and building over, generally costs more than adding a second story to an existing property. Let us see what is the recommended procedure to go about in case of second story additions and what are the conditions which make this a feasible move.

Things to Consider While Adding a Second Story
A major home construction operation like adding a second floor to your home will be a major project which will require cost analysis and meticulous planning before you can go ahead. Here are the steps to consider while adding a second story to your house.

Get a Permit From Zonal Local Authorities
To build a second story, a permit from a local or zonal authority is generally needed. There are certain norms about how high a structure can be built in certain areas. That is why you need to get a clearance from the local authorities. You will have a permit, once you submit a design plan for second story home addition that you are planning to make.

Contact Local Architect & Contractor
Next thing to do is contact your architect and get his advice on the feasibility of the project. You may want to tell him about what your expectations are, about the number of built rooms on the second floor and the extra amenities. This will help your architect to come up with a design for second story addition, which is consistent with your existing house plan and does full justice to your expectations. You need to contact local contractors to get an idea about the cost per square foot to build a new floor.

Structural Considerations
One important thing that will be checked by your architect or structural engineer is whether your existing house foundation and wall structure can withstand the additional weight of a second story. He will calculate the amount of reinforcement that will be needed before adding a second story to your house.

Creating a Design
After structural solidity is taken into consideration, you can get an architectural plan created. This will involve a lot of issues like the way in which the plumbing system for the new floor will be added, the construction of stairways, electrical wiring plan and other such considerations. Second story additions are largely influenced by your original floor design and foundation of the house.

Calculating the Cost Per Square Foot
After you have a plan ready in your hand, you can make an estimate of the total cost involved in constructing a second floor to your house. This will include the cost of remodeling the roof and putting in a new slab, flooring, roofing, plumbing and adding all the other necessary amenities. A major deciding factor will be cost of building materials and of course labor costs.Consulting a local contractor will give you a total estimate about the cost of building. Make sure that you keep room for an additional 15% to 20% increase in costs, which may arise due to contingencies.

Going for the Construction
With the plan in hand, permits from local authorities, availability of funds and hiring of contractors, you are ready to begin construction. You may have to relocate your family to some place till the construction job finishes. Make a planned building schedule and see to it that things go according to the plan.

So, these were the most important factors that need to be taken into consideration while adding a second story to your existing house. Take advantage of this opportunity to completely remodel your house and make it a more spacious and comfortable dwelling, for days to come!