Should I add a second story to my cape for more space and energy efficiency?
I have a 1973 cape cod in New Hampshire with a finished second floor. The roof is at the end of it’s life, and in order to add more space we were considering adding a full shed dormer to the back.
The problems with capes and energy efficiency has been written about extensively on this site, and we were considering adding an insulated over roof to try and get around this. But the more I’m looking at the numbers, the more I think a second story might just make more sense.
I’ve already talked to an architect friend who said our houses full foundation and framing could support a second story. We are already doing a full gut job on the house, adding 2 inch of polyiso and new siding on the exterior, and the finished surfaces upstairs would be torn out anyways (it’s only two large bedrooms and no bathroom).
By adding a second floor we could take advantage of the much simpler vented attic with truss construction, and have a simple roof as apposed to dormers. Having sheathing materials as sheathing would also be much easier to air seal than our current barn board sheathing and decking. And obviously it would double our square footage.
I plan on doing the demolition and finish work myself, and only having a contractor deliver the structure weathertight and unfinished. Am I out of my mind? Some of the estimates I’ve got for a full second story are only about 25% more than one full shed dormer.
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Replies
have you considered running the roofline the other way (gable addition rather than a shed addition?)
Not sure what you mean?
Yes you should. As for you doing the work, you should hire a demo contractor, they are way more efficient and probably not much more than doing it yourself. Have the contractor or subs get to drywall and finish from there.
I thought so. As for doing the work myself, I'm pretty experienced with demo and drywall work, and I've got a lot of trades in the family and the budgets tight. That being said, I'd like to sub out as much as I can.
Consider selling this house and buying the house you need today. My guess is the real cost would be lower if you put a value on your labor and the risk / discomfort of living in a construction zone combined with the fact that this type remodel tends to be poorly planed no architectural theme and mismatch features making the house sell at a lower price because it is ugly.
Walta
I should be more specific, I just bought this house. It's a total gut job on the inside and needs new siding and windows on the outside, but I knew that going in. I'm not currently living there and I'm not valuing my labor because I enjoy the work and am doing it in my freetime.
As a side note, where I am in Southern NH buildable lots are going for over 200k and new construction houses of around 2000 sq feet are starting at 700k.
Most larger dormer additions require major structural work. By the time you are done with adding that in, not much of original house is left so in some ways it makes sense to take it all off and build a proper 2nd floor. I have done 3rd floor additions onto two story houses and it definitely was less work than dormering the existing roof.
If your local zoning allows for this and it is easy to make it look like it belongs in neighborhood of 1 1/2 story houses, I would say go for it. If a proper 2nd floor also adds an extra bedroom the cost delta will pay when you go to sell, so from that point of view it is a better long term investment than a dormer.
Being able to insulate and air seal properly will also be a big bonus for efficiency and comfort.
That's what I was thinking. We're in a pretty rural area and if anything this house is on the small side for the neighborhood so I'm not to worried about looks. My only concern is that such an extensive alterations will mean we lose our "grandfatherd" status.
Like I said it's a gut job, so my only big concern is the septic system is original from 73 for a two bedroom house. That's why I'm hoping my inspector will be ok with me leaving it as an unfinished space.