Second Story Addition E-Book

Adding a second floor addition adds huge value to ranch or Cape Cod

Make the second story addition cost a loan to your house

You will be paid back handsomely with interest with your second floor addition design when sell time comes around. Many times the second story is cloned to the first floor which then effectively puts a house on top of the house.

I have built any number of second story additions for homeowners who then had their son or daughter & family live upstairs. Later on these second story additions became rental apartments. See more on in-law apartments.

Unfortunately, many homeowners made bad choices when choosing the components of their second story home addition & the completed remodel did not look as well as it could have. People tend to buy with their emotions. Instead of making hard headed decisions they fall prey to contractors who do not have the their best interests in mind.

It is imperative that you hire an experienced contractor & one who has your best interests in mind.

Take a look at my e-book about second story additions. It will show you the best way to plan and design this type addition & then find the best contractor at the the lowest price in your area. It takes a lot more than calling in three contractors & picking what you think is the lowest price.

The book will also explain why it is a mistake to add only a small section to the second story of your home. If you follow my advice you will save at least several thousand dollars & your house will have more added value. I guarantee it.

2nd Story Cost

This will be brief.

First of all a second story home addition will cost a bunch of money, More for a Ranch, less for a Cape Cod but still a lot of money. Upwards of $60-$70 thousand or more, probably more. The costs can vary many, many thousands of dollars. (i.e. adding a kitchen is more expensive) It almost always involves a re-mortgage or long term remodeling loan on the house.

Don't let the second floor addition price put you off. See 10 Reasons

Remember, you are building a house over a house. The value of your home goes up dramatically. Many times in-laws or married children move in & pay enough rent to cover the additional mortgage expense. Inflation will increase your value as the years go by. Back in the 1960s & 1970s prices were in the $10-$20 thousand range & people thought that was too much to invest in their home. Oh my, how shortsighted we are.

Second Floor Addition Planning

Planning to add a second story is not as complicated as you may first think. 2nd story ranch additions are quite common in the northeast where there are thousands of Ranch & Cape Cod type homes which adapt well to adding a second level..

The Second Story Floor plan

I see homeowners searching diligently for second story remodel floor plans on the internet. I guess there are some there but you are better off doing it yourself. Yes, it might be wrong in some areas but at the peliminary planning stage that's ok. You will be revising it several times & eventually settle on one layout.

You will need this sketch to show prospective contractors. If they are decent contractors they will suggest a few changes that will improve the overall plan. Bear in mind every addition is custom built to your particular needs. It is you that needs to give the most idea input. Eventually you will need a professional set of plans to be submitted to the building departments. The contractor will handle all of this work. But you need to start the original sketch.

One of the first things to do is to layout a basic floor plan & then add in the details last. It is really quite simple. Sketch out the four walls of the proposed second floor, add in the footage length of each wall, add the location of the new staircase (if it is a Ranch)

Now add new window locations & window styles (double-hung, casement, picture, slider, etc) & chimney location, The staircase location is critical to the room layout. Everything starts at the head of the staircase because that is where the people enter & have to be guided left or right to whatever room they want to enter.

In most cases the bathroom will be located across from the top of the staircase. Next start to partition off the individual rooms & then add the closets.

If there is a kitchen planned then enter some cabinet layout. Now enter some details: Type of closet doors, finished flooring, electric switches & outlets etc

Next make side notes of as many exterior & interior details as you can think of: Gutters & downspout's, window shutters, siding type & color, roof type & color etc.

ok, your done. Now you will show this sketch to a few contractors. This sketch accomplishes more than you may realize.

It shows the prospective contractors that they have a hot prospect who is very interested in building a second story addition. People who are not really serious about building will have nothing but questions for the contractor & he will quickly realize he is wasting his time & will exit as soon as he can find a reason. He will throw you a lowball price & ask you to call him when you are ready.

The sketch will help you get a lower price because he realizes he will be competing against other contractors.

Sketch improvements will be made by perhaps three contractors & you will receive better ideas & suggestions that you may not have ever thought of.

The sketch is merely the beginning of a long process to get your second story addition built for your comfort & satisfaction at the lowest price available.

Second Story Construction

Many times during the estimating phase of the job I would be asked by the homeowner a slew of construction questions.

What size roof rafters are you going to use?

What is the spacing of the wall framing 2X4s?

How thick is the sheathing?

etc, etc, etc

This person is nervous. He is not sure I am going to build his second story addition correctly. He thinks that a few months after we leave everything is going to sag, collapse or cave in. He feels something will go wrong & he is going to experience horrendous problems.

I would always answer his questions of course but I believe he did not have the slightest notion whether I gave him the right answer. He usually knew almost nothing about construction & this is not the time to start learning. The contractor will always be way ahead of the homeowner.

To assure him I would explain that in order to obtain a building permit I would have to present a set of building plans to be approved by the Town Engineers along with my license number & proof of insurance. The construction is then inspected three times by the building department & if everything is done correctly they will an issue occupancy permit.

There are plenty of safeguards built into the system to assure proper construction. In my book I describe a little known tactic that effectively guarantees your addition is going to be built in accordance with local building code standards.

Hey, wait a minute. What about those horror stories I read about in the newspaper?

If you know the background of the story almost all these additions are built without a building permit. Most of the time it is with the knowledge of the homeowner who is trying to save on his taxes. Bad homeowner, bad contractor equals bad job & many times big problems.

If you are about to spend a bunch of money it pays to have the needed additional knowledge.

• Learn how to plan a second story home addition efficiently
• Learn money saving methods (I'm talking many thousands of $)
• Learn what happens to your ceiling beams
• learn about stairs, chimneys, roof rafters
• Find how to easily negotiate a lower cost
• Find all about job components & how they effect price
• Find ideas & tips to make your finished remodel have more home value
• Use included bid sheets to find the best contractor
• Learn how to hire the best contractor at the lowest cost
• Much, much more vital info included in the book

the second story addition cost a loan to your house

You will be paid back handsomely with interest with your second floor addition design when sell time comes around. Many times the second story is cloned to the first floor which then effectively puts a house on top of the house.

I have built any number of second story additions for homeowners who then had their son or daughter & family live upstairs. Later on these second story additions became rental apartments. See more on in-law apartments.

Unfortunately, many homeowners made bad choices when choosing the components of their second story home addition & the completed remodel did not look as well as it could have. People tend to buy with their emotions. Instead of making hard headed decisions they fall prey to contractors who do not have the their best interests in mind.

It is imperative that you hire an experienced contractor & one who has your best interests in mind.

Take a look at my e-book about second story additions. It will show you the best way to plan and design this type addition & then find the best contractor at the the lowest price in your area. It takes a lot more than calling in three contractors & picking what you think is the lowest price.

The book will also explain why it is a mistake to add only a small section to the second story of your home. If you follow my advice you will save at least several thousand dollars & your house will have more added value. I guarantee it.

2nd Story Cost

This will be brief.

First of all a second story home addition will cost a bunch of money, More for a Ranch, less for a Cape Cod but still a lot of money. Upwards of $60-$70 thousand or more, probably more. The costs can vary many, many thousands of dollars. (i.e. adding a kitchen is more expensive) It almost always involves a re-mortgage or long term remodeling loan on the house.

Don't let the second floor addition price put you off. See 10 Reasons

Remember, you are building a house over a house. The value of your home goes up dramatically. Many times in-laws or married children move in & pay enough rent to cover the additional mortgage expense. Inflation will increase your value as the years go by. Back in the 1960s & 1970s prices were in the $10-$20 thousand range & people thought that was too much to invest in their home. Oh my, how shortsighted we are.

Second Floor Addition Planning

Planning to add a second story is not as complicated as you may first think. 2nd story ranch additions are quite common in the northeast where there are thousands of Ranch & Cape Cod type homes which adapt well to adding a second level..

The Second Story Floor plan

I see homeowners searching diligently for second story remodel floor plans on the internet. I guess there are some there but you are better off doing it yourself. Yes, it might be wrong in some areas but at the peliminary planning stage that's ok. You will be revising it several times & eventually settle on one layout.

You will need this sketch to show prospective contractors. If they are decent contractors they will suggest a few changes that will improve the overall plan. Bear in mind every addition is custom built to your particular needs. It is you that needs to give the most idea input. Eventually you will need a professional set of plans to be submitted to the building departments. The contractor will handle all of this work. But you need to start the original sketch.

One of the first things to do is to layout a basic floor plan & then add in the details last. It is really quite simple. Sketch out the four walls of the proposed second floor, add in the footage length of each wall, add the location of the new staircase (if it is a Ranch)

Now add new window locations & window styles (double-hung, casement, picture, slider, etc) & chimney location, The staircase location is critical to the room layout. Everything starts at the head of the staircase because that is where the people enter & have to be guided left or right to whatever room they want to enter.

In most cases the bathroom will be located across from the top of the staircase. Next start to partition off the individual rooms & then add the closets.

If there is a kitchen planned then enter some cabinet layout. Now enter some details: Type of closet doors, finished flooring, electric switches & outlets etc

Next make side notes of as many exterior & interior details as you can think of: Gutters & downspout's, window shutters, siding type & color, roof type & color etc.

ok, your done. Now you will show this sketch to a few contractors. This sketch accomplishes more than you may realize.

It shows the prospective contractors that they have a hot prospect who is very interested in building a second story addition. People who are not really serious about building will have nothing but questions for the contractor & he will quickly realize he is wasting his time & will exit as soon as he can find a reason. He will throw you a lowball price & ask you to call him when you are ready.

The sketch will help you get a lower price because he realizes he will be competing against other contractors.

Sketch improvements will be made by perhaps three contractors & you will receive better ideas & suggestions that you may not have ever thought of.

The sketch is merely the beginning of a long process to get your second story addition built for your comfort & satisfaction at the lowest price available.

Second Story Construction

Many times during the estimating phase of the job I would be asked by the homeowner a slew of construction questions.

What size roof rafters are you going to use?

What is the spacing of the wall framing 2X4s?

How thick is the sheathing?

etc, etc, etc

This person is nervous. He is not sure I am going to build his second story addition correctly. He thinks that a few months after we leave everything is going to sag, collapse or cave in. He feels something will go wrong & he is going to experience horrendous problems.

I would always answer his questions of course but I believe he did not have the slightest notion whether I gave him the right answer. He usually knew almost nothing about construction & this is not the time to start learning. The contractor will always be way ahead of the homeowner.

To assure him I would explain that in order to obtain a building permit I would have to present a set of building plans to be approved by the Town Engineers along with my license number & proof of insurance. The construction is then inspected three times by the building department & if everything is done correctly they will an issue occupancy permit.

There are plenty of safeguards built into the system to assure proper construction. In my book I describe a little known tactic that effectively guarantees your addition is going to be built in accordance with local building code standards.

Hey, wait a minute. What about those horror stories I read about in the newspaper?

If you know the background of the story almost all these additions are built without a building permit. Most of the time it is with the knowledge of the homeowner who is trying to save on his taxes. Bad homeowner, bad contractor equals bad job & many times big problems.

If you are about to spend a bunch of money it pays to have the needed additional knowledge.

• Learn how to plan a second story home addition efficiently
• Learn money saving methods (I'm talking many thousands of $)
• Learn what happens to your ceiling beams
• learn about stairs, chimneys, roof rafters
• Find how to easily negotiate a lower cost
• Find all about job components & how they effect price
• Find ideas & tips to make your finished remodel have more home value
• Use included bid sheets to find the best contractor
• Learn how to hire the best contractor at the lowest cost
• Much, much more vital info included in the book

Bonus #1
Bid sheets ($25 if you buy them separately) they come free as part of your book. Use these sheets to compare prices from the contractors. They give you everything you'll need to ask the right questions, and make the best choices about your remodel. They will show you exactly what you are buying, or not buying for your second story addition and avoid those dreaded extras. I have added info & recommendations on most items. You'll save additional hundreds of dollars just by using the info on these sheets.

Bonus #2
You will have your own in-house remodeling Guru.....me!. Have a question? Need advice? Email any questions you may have about your project, materials, contracts, contractor issues or anything else that pertains to house remodeling. I will answer promptly & honestly as my experience allows.

There is No Risk! My Guarantee is simple: You are satisfied or your money back. No questions asked.

(See more Testimonials Here)

How to Plan & Design a Second Story Addition & Lower your cost For those with no formal stairs to the second floor & less than 91/2 foot headroom in the attic. Knowing what I know now & with the experience I have, then If I were you, this is how I would proceed to build a second story onto my ranch house. Additionally, this is exactly how I would proceed to hire a contractor at a lower cost, to complete the addition.(or a shell). Only $9.95