Going up; this month, another strategy for remodeling your house; adding a second story

Sunset, May, 1989

Preserving the character of a densely built neighborhood was a big concern in the remodel shown on this page.

The peak-roofed cottage on Coronado Island, near San Diego, was one of four adjacent two-bedroom, one-bath, 800square-foot summer rentals. The new level adds 600 square feet and a more contemporary look, but one that still blends with surrounding houses.

A tight budget and a small lot kept the "footprint" (existing foundation) almost unchanged. Most of the new space was added upstairs-a new master bedroom, bath, and office.

The office and bedroom are housed in one long room; a stepped half-wall and changes in floor level define the two spaces without blocking views and light. Metal tie rods spanning the room's width provide support for a 15-foot-high peaked ceiling.

The addition, designed by San Diego architect Joseph Cristilli, steps back from the front of the house in two ways. Outside, the new peaked facade starts 8 feet back from the original front wall. Inside, the second floor starts another 6 feet back from the facade, leaving room for an interior light well that soars almost 25 feet from the living room to the new roof, brightening both floors.

Adding a second floor might be the most challenging way to remodel your house. Compared to reshaping existing space (discussed in last month's Sunset), or additions that expand a house laterally (the topic next month), adding a second story can be the most structurally demanding, intrusive, and expensive remodeling option.

But, if your house already fills your lot, if you want to preserve garden space, if you yearn for views that lie beyond your neighbor's rooftop, if you want to add light to your interior spaces, or if you wish to create some startling architectural touches by emphasizing height, adding a second story might be the answer.

Here and on the following pages, we show different ways homeowners have added a new floor. For most, the reason for going up was simple: there was no place else to go. Under local building codes, the existing house covered as much lot space as possible. (Most codes specify the percentage of a lot's surface area that can be covered by buildings.)

Since blending a new floor with an existing house offers structural and esthetic challenges, you'll probably need the help of both an architect and a structural engineer. Together they must determine whether the existing foundation can bear the weight of the added floor; where to add supporting pads, posts, and stiffening shear walls; and how to tie the new roof into the old. Other concerns are where to locate stairways, and whether the addition should rise abruptly from the foundation or step back to make the house seem less massive.

Many communities have design review committees that approve, amend, or deny remodeling proposals. Your community may have regulations limiting the height of additions, usually to preserve the views, privacy, or solar access of neighboring houses. Check all codes before starting your remodel.

With two sons entering their teens, Eric and Judy Monkonnen decided their family was outgrowing its home. They had ambitious dreams for their late 1940s tract house with its single bathroom and three small bedrooms: they wanted a new master bedroom, a second bath, and an office. Los Angeles architect Barton Phelps met the challenge.

Phelps' strategy was to add space by heading upward, at the same time opening up the existing house's boxy sequence of rooms.

The new master suite and office rise over the bedroom side of the house a little like a captain's bridge on a ship. The office tucks into the gable, at one end of a hall that links office, bathroom, and master bedroom. Phelps reinforced the house's two-story exterior wall with plywood and added 4-by-6 posts to the central interior supporting wall.

From the outside, the living room half of the house appears untouched. But inside, it gains a bright sense of space from a new adjacent two-story stairwell that replaces the old bedroom hallway. The stairway's stepped wall has built-in bookshelves and cabinets on the side that faces the living room. Clerestories at the top of the stairwell bring daylight down to the living room, blurring boundaries between levels.

Dramatic volume can be the biggest surprise of a second-floor addition. The remodels on these two pages show what happens if you don't run the second floor from wall to wall.

When architects Kristy Berner and Dan McAuliffe added onto their Sacramento house, they expanded slightly outward (by incorporating a small porch) and emphatically upward. Now, instead of the 8foot ceilings in most of the original rooms, their new family room rises 27 lofty feet.

As in many of the remodels we show, the new upstairs holds a generous master bedroom suite, which includes a bath, sleeping area, and office. Downstairs, the existing kitchen seems larger since it opens onto the new 10- by 20-foot family room.

To accomplish a remodel of this scale, the McAuliffes first had to completely remove the old roof. Then they replaced old ceiling joists with sturdier 2-by-10s to bear the new floor's weight, added posts and beams to frame the family room, and sheathed the walls with plywood for shear strength. For access to the upper floor, a long stair runs up one side of the family room to the open office above.