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Looking for a super loose ballpark amount. We are buying a 1970s colonial with the perfect floorplan neighborhood and lot. And boy is it ugly! The roof, which already has a 2nd layer on it, Will have to be replaced in the next five years or so. ( by replace I mean the surface; there's no damage). Well we are having the work done I'm curious what it would cost to add a couple feet to the roof pitch. Priorities are aesthetics, better snow handling, with extra headroom being a bonus ( we will not be finishing the attic, but easier storage would be nice).
So for simplicity sake, let's say replacing the roof with asphalt shingles will cost $10,000 ( no idea but let's use this as a baseline). I know fiddling with the pitch is a major thing, but does it double the cost or quadruple it? If it merely double the cost I would write a check tomorrow, but after that it gets a little excessive.
Permits might be needed, new rafters, new sheathing, new shingles, hiring a Structural Engineer FIRST to see if the house can handle the extra weight. Roofs raised like this are typically built on TOP of the original roof, which adds a lot more weight.
There is a LOT of cost to raise the roof on a house. My guess would be a minimum of 4 times just the cost of re-shingling.
It's not something people typically do, UNLESS the house has a flat roof in the first place and they are sick of leaks.
Thanks for the input. In my town there is definitely ROI on aesthetics but not $40,000 worth.
I see lots of people posting the question online but no figures, which tells me that not many people get far along in the concept, which supports your point.
My town (Fairfield CT) has some beautiful original colonial homes, and some beautiful repro and revival homes. And a whole lot of unfortunate 60s and 70s.
I had a roof repair where I had to replace the ridge board and the rafters on a section of my summer cottage. New plywood roof deck. Soffit & fascia. Just that "little job" was 3 man weeks of labor. The OP would also be messing with the gable ends to change the roof pitch so they'd be re-siding the house after the framing and sheathing. Fairfield County must be $100/hour for carpenters competent to do that kind of work. For 1,500 square feet of roof in one of the highest labor cost places on the planet, that's easily a $100K project.
I had a roof repair where I had to replace the ridge board and the rafters on a section of my summer cottage. New plywood roof deck. Soffit & fascia. Just that "little job" was 3 man weeks of labor. The OP would also be messing with the gable ends to change the roof pitch so they'd be re-siding the house after the framing and sheathing. Fairfield County must be $100/hour for carpenters competent to do that kind of work. For 1,500 square feet of roof in one of the highest labor cost places on the planet, that's easily a $100K project.
The framers aren't the issue, even if you're paying $500 an hour x ten men,(they can frame a whole house in a couple days) - it's the other trades, the supervision, the permits, the engineering, etc. the individual trades are usually quite inexpensive. When you go to a restaurant & buy a sammitch, it's not the slice of cheese (or the guy who sliced it) that made $1.25 in materials cost $9.50.
I can see a LOT of cheaper things which could be done before even thinking of messing with the roof pitch (which is fine). The outside color scheme. Remove the shutters from the bay windows. All the wallpaper. Kitchen countertop and floor. Family room carpet (and paneling, though I kind of like it). Something to break the relentless symmetry of the main house, if only removing one of those light fixtures.
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