I own a 1921 bungalow in CA and my wife and I are considering adding a 2nd story to our existing 900 sq. ft. home for our expanding family. I realize that most additions occur in the rear of the home. Ultimately, I would like to do that route but in order to preserve a backyard and build City required parking off of the alley we are desiring a 2nd floor instead. Does anyone have some advice to us? Also, many are telling me it is very costly to retro-fit the raised foundation to accomadate the 2nd floor. Does anyone recommend a point of contact (structural engineer in California) that could help us determine the cost? Thanks for any help!

The route you are considering is in fact complicated and costly design-wise and structurally so. That being said it is done all the time. I think you should be able to find an able engineer with experience in this-there is a basic formula of foundation and shear wall requirements and it becomes just part of the overall cost of the project. I do recommend using an architect or designer to help you incorporate adding the space in a functional and sensitive way architecturally. This is perhaps the greatest challenge, because even 500 sf of new space added to a 900 sf home is substantial. I am presently working on a couple of projects like this and it is using all my design creativity to NOT be featured on the "remuddle" spread on AB What part of So Ca are you at? I work in San Diego with a couple of engineers for my projects. Do you have any pics or floorplan for us to consider? <br>Take this slowly and carefully.

I'd agree it's a challenge and it'll cost heaps, but considering the cost of real estate in So Cal, it's hard to imagine how you could ever over capitalize the cost of house improvements in a desirable neighborhood in SoCal. <br>I'd suggest either jacking the place up or going down rather than tear off the roof. Check to see if you can get historical designation to waive structural improvements on the top half (assuming you went down and keep the upper part intact). <br>Previous advice was good: get an architect, designer, or engineer involved before you do anything and wait for the sticker shock.

Wow, that is a pretty bold idea. Just jacking up the entire house under a new ground floor. Hmm...considering the roof elements in some of these old houses so clearly define the architecture that might not be a bad idea. Of course the floorplan would be a challenge-maybe they have a nice view and an upside down plan would work. Hopefully the house is not too square or has some bays and interest to it so that it wouldn't be too boxy. <br> <br>Something to consider here in California where the seismic requirements are substantial. <br> <br>I must say only an engineer from Coronado would think of this-where underground garages in residential homes are actually done in renovations and new construction. LOL

I've got a rental in Golden Hill that I'm forever working on and my neighbor across the street had only 7'-11" clearance under her floor and the City of San Diego wouldn't let her build the "basement" (sloping block) out. So she got a contractor in, propped up the floor and must've hauled about 1000 yd3 out of the basement area. then extended two floors on the back to boot. Increased the floor area by a factor of 2-1/2. Place still looks very similar from it's frontage on C Street.

Thanks so much for your reply. I realize it is costly, how much are we talking? $10-20,000 ?? I will talk to an engineer and others who have acheived this challenging task though. Others have mentioned that I should lift it up and build underneath. I am not too excited about this idea. I would prefer to leave the floor plan the way it is and putting the existing floor on the top would cause me to have to change a lot of how the home functions.. Lifting the roof would be easier (in my opinion to design) then again, I am a city planner not an engineer. Do you have a specific person's email that you know that has done such a job? Anyhow, thanks again for your interest. Bungalows are fun homes and I just want to add to this great home..

I live on the Central Coast. I'll get ya a photo/floor plan drawn by yours truly who is a city planner and not an architect.. to take a look at. I will definitely take it slow. Its a home I want to make sure the addition matches the rest of the existing home..

Hello- <br> <br>We just finished a whole house remodel of a 1929 bungalow. We added 500 sq. ft (this includes the expansion of the first and second floors.) The place I would start would be an architect. I know they aren’t cheap, but neither is adding a second story. The first visit will be free. You want to find someone that is familiar with the idiosyncrasies of the local planning department, as well as sensitive to keeping an old house looking like an old house (IMO, the later requirement is more difficult to fulfill.) You can get an idea how much you’re project could cost from the architect, but don’t be surprised if the architect ‘low balls’ his/her estimate by quite a bit (ask any contractor – architects are notorious for unrealistic views regarding price.) <br> <br>Here’s a quick list of the things I learned during our remodel. <br> <br>1) Remodels have a momentum of they own. When we started talking about one, we were thinking about spending $150-200K. The architect said it would be more like $300K. We ended up spending closer to $500K (we live near San Francisco.) No matter how hard you try, everything will go over budget; it is just a matter of how much. <br>2) Almost everyone will ‘low ball’ you. From the architect, to the contractor, the whole system is configured to suck you in. All you can do is pick out as much as you possibly can before you put the project out for bid. <br>3) It is difficult to find people who are as enthusiastic about old houses as you are. You’ll say something like ‘I want a stucco texture like the one on 123 Main St.,â€Â

This should be required reading to anyone who is considering an addition/2nd floor to an older home. You have captured the realities of this process perfectly. <br>So you haven't told us-was it worth it? Post some photos of your project please. I think a lot of folks would benefit to see a renovation/addition done sensitively. <br>Thanks <br> <br>

Paul, <br> <br>Wow, thanks for the legthly reply. All your advice is much needed. Thankfully, I work for the City Planning dept so that is a plus. Also, I have a lot of contacts for architects. Your price on your own addition is scaring me to death though. I would like to add approx 6-800 sq. ft. so that should be interesting. You mentioned in your reply that you added to the 2nd floor. Could you elaborate on this? For example, what you had to do and the approx cost on this alone? Also, did your family live in the house while the contruciton occurred? We plan on renting or making the in-laws our home. Anyhow, thanks again for your response!

We're north of you in the Bay Area, but we just finished adding a 2nd story. It really wasn't as comprehensive as you are planning, because we had an unusually large unfinished attic on our bungalow, and were able to add about 500 sq ft (2 kids' bedrooms, a play room, and a full bath) without changing the envelope of the house. <br> <br>However, with the upgrades to the main floor (bathrooms, sheer wall, electrical, a stairway!) and the work downstairs (more sheer wall, new foundation on two sides, steel moment frame around the garage and first story over the garage) and a new furnace (removed the old gravity heat - nice but way too inefficient), all new double-pane windows (good quality wood/fiberglass), lots of dry-rot repair, re-stuccoing...we still ended up spending about $140,000 and that was a very, very good price (since we exceeded our initial budget by 100% and most of the other bids started at about $150,000).

Definitely get a good architect, preferably somebody who has done this sort of work to older homes before. Here in Denver, "popping the top" is very common on old bungalows. For every one that I see that respects the style of the house, there are at least 10 total monstrosities.

Hello- <br> <br>Our house was originally a two-bedroom one-bath house with one of the bedrooms above the attached one car garage. We ended up adding another bedroom and bath on the second story, and moving the back of the house back ~ six feet. The existing second story helped us in two ways. First, it made it easier to get through the architectural review board. Second, most people don't realize how much space a staircase eats up. <br> <br>Before you start talking to architects (they're great for ideas, but IMO, less great at giving clients like yourself a realistic idea how much things can cost. If they did, very few people would ever start projects like these.) I would ask around and try to find a contractor who can give you a rough idea what you're in for. Contractors (quite understandably) are very reluctant to talk about numbers, but if you can earn their trust, maybe you'll get some low|medium|high 'brackets'). Adding a second story usually requires a log of foundation work - it may even require a completely new foundation. A contractor will be able to tell you pretty quickly if it would make more sense to bulldoze the house or not. <br> <br>All this is scary stuff, but it is manageable. If you would like, send me your email and I can send you a *.pdf file with our plans. My email is gimmesomeshelter@yahoo.com <br> <br>Paul <br>

We did this! We had a 1922 two bedroom one bath shingled bungalow. We drove around on a visit to Seattle and took pictures of houses we liked that matched our style and footprint. We worked with our builder and took the whole roof off. We moved the basement stairs and pushed out the back bedroom about 15 feet. We put the staircase in that new "family room" and the basement stair underneath. This increased our kitchen size (moving the basement stair). We added three bedrooms and two baths upstairs. All the rooms are proportionate in size to the originals (no huge master suite). We ran the celing joists "accross" the originals giving us a double-up on these. This created a really strong structure and allowed us to put a clawfoot upstairs. We also created a huge stair landing rather than a large master closet. It's my favorite space. Our builder "hand built" the trusses so we could make the most of our space and we put the closets in the "kid" rooms in the knee wall. We put stucco on the second level, which made it seem less massive. It's true to the picture of the "original" in Seattle down to the window sizes and placmement. It was about $150,000, but we put in all wood floors, a new clawfoot, wood windows, hex and subway tile etc. All very pricey finishes. We would have had to pay double to move into a larger house in our neighborhood so, financially, it was worth it. The remodel was long and painful. Very, very painful (4 months with no kitchen, much of our fully restored plaster ruined in summer rains). Really love your house and rent an apartment for the duration! Even after working on our house together all night and on weekends, around two full-time jobs, and plastering celings on a ladder while 8 months pregnant, my husband and I have never had the stress we had working with a contractor.

I'm currently working on a 1952 post WWII bungalow. I'm doing alot of things to it but what I found to save alot of money is that I hired 4 amish carpenters and bought the materials myself. I had contractors say my remodel would cost $45k-$50k. With my way the materials are $9,500.00 and the labor is $15,500.00