Additions and second stories
Additions and second stories
New rooms that read as if they were always part of the house.
An addition is judged by how well it meets the old house. The design agreement studies the roofline, the windows and the trim from the street, and works out how new structure sits on old before anything is priced. The result is a plan, a set of elevations and a build agreement that follows them.
What the design agreement covers
A survey of the house, the lot and the setbacks
Massing studies from the street
Plans, elevations and sections
Structure and foundation drawings
Window, trim and roof details matched to the house
What shapes the project
Four things set the shape of the project
Zoning and setbacks
How far a new room can go on your lot, how tall, and what needs a variance. We check before we draw.
Structure and foundations
New footings, beams and bearing walls, and how they meet what is there. The engineers draw it, and we build it.
Matching what is there
Roof pitch, window proportions, trim and siding. The best additions are the ones nobody can find.
Living through it
Dust, noise and a house open to the weather for a few days. We plan protection and the order of work with you.
How it goes
The work, in order
- 01
Step 1: Survey and massing
We measure, check the zoning and draw the new volume against the old house.
- 02
Step 2: Design and engineering
A chosen plan, full drawings and the structural design.
- 03
Step 3: Permits and pricing
Drawings filed with the town, and priced into the build agreement.
- 04
Step 4: Construction
Foundation, frame and weather-tight enclosure, then the interior.
- 05
Step 5: Handover
A walk through the new rooms and the old ones, and the records.
Examples
Sample photographs, scope beside each
Sample photos.
Questions
Questions about this work
How do you decide whether an addition is possible?
We start with the lot: setbacks, coverage, height limits and, near the water, coastal rules. We tell you what the lot allows during the first meetings, before you pay for design.
Who handles permits?
We prepare the drawings and the application, and we deal with the building department. You sign where the town requires the owner's signature. Near the water, or in a historic district, other reviews can apply, and we tell you which during design.
Do we have to move out?
It depends on the work. A kitchen or a bath can usually be built with the house lived in, behind dust walls and a protected route. A whole-house renovation often can't. We plan this during design, so the decision is made on paper, not in week one.
What happens when something changes mid-project?
It is written down before it is built. A change has a page that says what changes, what it does to the schedule and what it does to the price, and work on it starts once you have signed.
Next step
Thinking of adding a room?
Tell us the house and the room. We will say what the lot is likely to allow, and how the design would go.