Planning A Second Story Addition By Liz Wood At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

Planning is the key when taking on a home improvement project. Before you plan your second story addition it is important that you research what obstacles may need to be dealt with. For starters, before the project begins you must first get approval from your city planning or building department. Once the project begins, you should be prepared to move out of your home during the major stages of remodeling because they will interrupt every function in a home. These are just two examples of steps that need to be taken during the planning process.

With regards to obtaining approval from your city, you should know that ordinances vary widely from city to city. In general, they all dictate how much square footage can be added to a home, how much of a lot can be developed, how high a home can be built and even how much of a neighbor's view or sunlight the new construction can block. This may be a time consuming process because often times your second story plans will require a city council meeting or other public hearing.

The age and condition of your home are also important aspects to consider when deciding to add a second story to your home. Your home may need some strengthening in order to withstand the weight of the new addition. It may require strengthening of your foundation and walls. Depending on you region, it may help to add seismic or wind-resistant construction to the walls, framing and connections. Furthermore, you may need new load bearing walls, a floor space robbing staircase and you may need to take off your old roof. All of these aspects require planning.

Further considerations involve your existing heating, cooling and hot water systems. If you add a second story to your house then your current HVAC systems probably won't be sufficient for the added square footage. You will probably have to upgrade your electrical and plumbing system as well. And while we are on the topic of upgrades, you should consider upgrading the look and feel of your existing home to match new materials used in your second story addition.

There are several ways to go about handling the actual project. Some home owners bring their own architects and engineers to the job. However, sometimes the project gets messy this way because there isn’t one single person overseeing everything. It may be best to hire a contractor as a single point person to handle such an extensive job. He will oversee everything from design, through engineering and to completion. If the contractor doesn't have a design team or engineer on staff, sub-contractors will be hired by him to get the job done.

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