Additions
Second-story additions in Lancaster and Chester County, PA
When the lot is small, the only way to add is up. A second-story addition takes the roof off a ranch, a Cape, or a one-story wing and builds a full floor of bedrooms and baths where the attic was. It is the largest remodeling project a house can have, and planning, structure, and weather all have to be handled by a crew that has done it before.
What a Second-Story Addition Involves
The existing house becomes the foundation. Before anything is drawn, the footings, foundation walls, and first-floor framing are checked for the weight of another floor. Older houses and houses on block foundations sometimes need reinforcement, and it is better to know that at the start. Then the roof comes off, the new floor is framed over the first-floor ceiling, walls and a new roof go up, and the house is closed in again as fast as the crew can work.
Inside, a stair has to go somewhere, and that is often the hardest part of the plan: it takes a closet, a corner of the living room, or part of a hall. The first-floor ceiling is opened for the new plumbing stacks and ducts, the electrical panel is usually upgraded, and the heating and cooling is resized or a second system is added for the new floor.
Full Second Floor or Partial
- A full second story over the whole house: the most space, the most structure, and a new roof over everything.
- A second story over a one-story wing or the garage: a primary suite or two bedrooms over part of the house, with the main roof left alone.
- Raising the roof on a Cape: the existing second floor gets dormers or a full-width shed dormer, which adds headroom and bedrooms without a new floor.
Each of those is a different project. We draw the one that fits your house and your budget, and we will tell you if a partial version gets you most of what you want.
Keeping the House Dry and the Family in It
The roof comes off in a planned sequence, the new floor deck goes down and is covered, and the new walls and roof go up over days, not weeks, with the house tarped between. Families often stay on the first floor through a second-story addition. The loud, dusty days are the demolition and the tie-in, and we let you know those dates ahead of time.
Permits, Drawings, and Inspections
A second-story addition needs stamped structural drawings, a building permit, a zoning check for height, and inspections at footings or foundation reinforcement, framing, rough-in, insulation, and final. We arrange the engineer or work with yours, walk you through the permit, and meet the inspections. Dalton framed more than five hundred houses before King’s, so framing a new floor and roof on top of a house is work he knows well.
Questions
Questions We Get
Can our house carry a second floor?
Most can, with some reinforcement. The footings, the foundation walls, and the first-floor framing are checked by an engineer first, and a block foundation or undersized footings may need work. That answer comes before any drawing of bedrooms.
Where does the stair go?
That is the first thing we solve on the floor plan, because it decides the rest. A stair needs a run of about ten feet plus landings, and it usually takes a closet or a corner of a room. We find the spot that costs the least living space.
Do we have to move out?
Many families stay on the first floor. The house is opened in sequence and covered every night, and the worst days are known in advance. Some families choose to leave for the demolition week, and we plan around either.
Process
How We Work
- We visit, measure, and talk through the scope before anything is priced.
- You get a written proposal, and we build to it.
- Where the work needs a permit, we walk you through it every step: the application, the drawings the township asks for, and the inspections.
- We are on site from the first day to the last, and the house stays clean while we work.
- We walk the finished job with you, fix anything on the list, and clean up.
Additions
More Kinds of Additions
Service area
Where We Work
Based in Christiana, we work across Lancaster County and Chester County.
Lancaster County
- Christiana
- Gap
- Quarryville
- Strasburg
- Lancaster
Chester County
- Parkesburg
- Coatesville
- West Chester
- Kennett Square
- Downingtown
- Malvern
- Chester Springs
- Frazer
Dalton and his crew worked on our kitchen and 1st floor remodel. Framed out new mudroom, pantry and office space and installed new electrical throughout. Very professional and great to work with!
— Samantha GordonKitchen and first-floor remodel5 stars on Google
Ready to Talk About Going Up?
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