Movin' on up:
Adding more living space on top of the house
by Roger Faris
If you sometimes regard your home as your castle, maybe it's time to think about adding a tower. Quite a few of our mildly eccentric neighbors have been building interesting structures on top of their houses, with spiral stairways leading up to great views. They are practical in at least two ways. Enemies can be spotted at a distance, and they are easier to maintain than a moat.
While we may be intrigued by unusual or unique construction, many of us must first deal with other home improvement priorities. Our second child needed a room of his own. For most of his first year his crib was in the entryway. The doorbell was about three feet away, so he was usually the first to greet visitors. Our attic was an unfinished storage area, but it had a stairway access and good headroom. The decision to add dormers and convert the space to bedrooms and a bathroom was easy. The execution of the idea was more complicated.
The first step was to examine our old foundation to see if it could support the additional load. We saw danger ahead, which is what often happens when looking carefully before leaping. Since we had a permit for our project, we were able to discuss the foundation problems with our building inspector. She approved our ideas for repair and improvement, and that phase of the job could begin.
When we were finally ready to start on the conversion of the attic, we began to realize how the details of pencil lines on our plans were going to permanently affect the appearance and functioning of our home. The new roofline would include two large shed style dormers. To ensure that the new geometry of the house would look the way we expected, we fastened a few pieces of scrap lumber to the top of the house to create a mock-up of what our neighbors across the street would be seeing for the next century. This turned out to be a useful exercise. A slight increase in the slope of the roof brought a more appealing balance. Minor alterations to the interior floor plan were required. A little headroom was lost, but the trade-off was worthwhile.
Our friend Mark Rosinbum helped with the roof and wall framing. It had to be done quickly, since our fall weather can be wet and windy. It's wonderful to have a friend who is both an architect and experienced builder. He demonstrated how quickly a wall could be built, tipped up into place, and securely fastened. With his method the plywood sheathing and some of the tarpaper were already in place. Additional paper was quickly secured with a hammer tacker, providing good protection from the rain. We could postpone the tedious siding work for a little while. Mark also showed us how to use a ladder style framing to support the roof overhang and fascia boards. This permitted the elimination of knee braces which would have partially blocked the nice views from the new corner windows.
Once the shell was weathertight we could all experiment with further refinements of the floor plan. We used masking tape and dropcloths to simulate walls, and cardboard boxes where furniture might be placed. When the exact locations of the partition walls were settled, we could turn our attention to building them plumb and square. This care pays dividends when it's time to install doors, windows and trim.
A major home project can be a family affair if everyone is supplied with tools and an interesting task. Our daughter was only four during all of this, but she enjoyed being part of the effort. Her favorite job was hammering nails while sitting in the space that was to become her bedroom. She pounded hundreds of them into a large block of styrofoam. They were easy to pull out and reuse in other locations. Brother Jack, Uncle Dave, and Grandpa Howard were all there for the hard work of fastening large pieces of sheetrock to the ceiling. Howard also applied his remarkable quality assurance skills to every detail of construction. He deserves credit for the fact that everything fits and works perfectly.
A conspicuous error appeared at the very end of the project. We had selected a stairway carpet called Argyle. Yes, just like the famous socks, it has a diamond shaped pattern. Since the family was eager to make the move up to our new quarters, professional installers were called in. The two men worked hard and fast, but as they completed the last stair tread some bad words began to reverberate through the house. They quickly gathered their tools, announced that they were done, and disappeared. We made a quick inspection and discovered the evidence of a slight miscommunication. One had started at the top, and the other at the bottom of the stairway. When they met in the middle they could see that the pattern abruptly changed from north-south to east-west. The visual effect was not likely to gain any general accolades. It made me nearly fall down the stairs. .
A few days later one of the men, responding to considerable pressure from the company management, returned with more material to fix the problem. He was surly and told us that we were being picky. Here is another argument for including castle elements as part of a practical design. This fellow could have been invited to tour the new dungeon.
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