Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Property under agreement as of today. Nice cottage on great waterfront location. 673 sq ft. 1 bdrm, 1ba. Not much room to expand out, but good roof to build on up. However, place needs gut rehab, which may take whole budget right there. Work to be done in South Shore Massachusetts. Pictures attached.
It's about more than the roof structure and what it can support. It's also about the foundation, and if it can support the additional story.
Agree, and also agree with Mr. Rational, once you get all that detritus out, you will probably find it just needs some cosmetic work, not a gut renovation.
Are you going to live there year round or just vacation? If the former, I'd redo the kitchen, walls and ceilings. If vacation, I'd just give it a facelift little by little.
Property under agreement as of today. Nice cottage on great waterfront location. 673 sq ft. 1 bdrm, 1ba. Not much room to expand out, but good roof to build on up. However, place needs gut rehab, which may take whole budget right there. Work to be done in South Shore Massachusetts. Pictures attached.
If you bought this with the intention of going up, you need to get an architect/structural engineer out there to confirm that can be done. The foundation has to be able to support the weight of an additional story.
Generally the cheapest renovation option is a compact two story addition with mostly cosmetic fixes on the existing structure. A full on renovation of an existing structure is almost always more expensive than a new build. If you are able to add on about 500 sf, 250 on each floor, it is a compact foundation and roof structure for only 250sf (foundation robust enough for two stories) gives you enough space for both living and service rooms on both levels.
I know that back east on lakes there are very stringent building codes that often mandate to stay within the existing building footprint if that house is closer to the lake than is now permitted so obviously you need to conform to the regulations that exist at your area.
Hire architect.
Double your budget, but don't tell anyone.
Spend at least 18 months planning.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
