Add a second floor to a ranch house is an interesting way to expand the space inside your home. It can be useful for studying or growing as you grow in your home.”
A second floor is a bonus property feature that adds value to your home. With a second floor, you have additional space to add furniture and decorations or use as an alternate entrance to your home.
If you do not have a second floor, you could spend many years looking at the ground before you decide to add one. Once you do, everything else is easy.
There are many ways to add a second floor to your home.
Contents:
Choose your floor plan
In addition to a main house and garage, many home owners create a second floor. These homes may have a large front porch, steps up to the second level, and a finished level with kitchen, living room, and bedroom.
The second floor can also be an add-on, providing another bedroom or bath. Adding a second floor can have its ups and downs, so do your research and consult with your architect before building any additions.
A common problem when building an additional floor is creating sufficient space between the two levels. It is important to include adequate space between the new levels to allow for heat to escape while keeping noise in check.
How much space you need depends on what kind of home you are looking at and what features you want.
Decide whether to extend out the front or back of the house
Adding a second floor to a ranch house is a great way to increase the size of your home. It is also an easy way to expand your family’s home space.
When looking at homes with a second floor, there are several things that you should consider. Because of this, it is more cost-friendly to add the second floor than change the size of the entire house.
If done correctly, adding a second floor can be very cost-effective. The trick is deciding whether to add on an addition or expand the existing house.
Will there be an attic?
If there is an attic, this is a problem. There are many things you can do to make the second floor of your ranch home easier to manage and improve upon the first floor.
One way to add value to the second floor is through a second-floor bedroom or utility room. If you have a large comfortable bedroom that would be nice to have a laptop in, by all means go for it.
If you have a utility room or large storage space that could be useful, create a second entrance and use it. If you are planning on adding another family member or members, build additional sleeping accommodations for them on the same level as the existing ones.
Then there is the question of whether or not there will be an attic. If so, what kind of insulation do you need? What kind of ceiling will you have? How much glassware and dishes should you store? All of these questions and answers can be found in the second-floor bedrooms area.
What will the new floor look like?
When building a second floor to your home, there are a few steps you must take. You can change the layout of your home, add more rooms or spaces, and you can add on to existing room size or spaces.
When building a second floor, it is important to know what type of roof you have. Some types of roofs are easier to construct than others. If yours is difficult to construct, look into adding on to an existing roof or renting an additional unit on the same property.
Making the transition from one type of roofing material to another can be difficult, so it is best to hire someone to do this for you.
Will you use steel or wood beams?
If you are adding a second floor to a ranch home, you will need to decide if you will add an upper floor with a roof, or if you will add a second floor with no roof.
When building on a flat surface, as in the case of building on top of another home or ranch home. You can add a second floor without worrying about damage to your first floor.
If building on a sloped surface, such as an upper level, then you must consider whether or not you will use an attic. If so, then you will need to determine if the attic will be covered or exposed. If it is exposed, then the heat loss may be high, and therefore require a cooling source added.
Another important part is determining what type of construction your home has.
Will you use a truss system?
When you build a ranch home, you have two major decisions to make about the layout. The first is whether or not you will use a truss system for your ceiling slap. A truss system uses rods that are placed in place and then attached to other materials to create a ceiling slap.
Truss systems are popular because they can be customized. You can put loads where they belong and still get your budget-friendly design. If you choose a truss system, the second decision becomes whether or not you will add an additional floor to your home.
Add an additional floor into a ranch home is tricky. First, think about what kind of lifestyle you want for yourself and your family.
What about insulation?
If you do have a second floor, or if you are thinking about adding a second floor, then you can use this same principle as above. If you build your home on a foundation of solid walls and doors, then it can use some extra room.
If you build upon an upper level housing addition, then add on more space! Both examples increase the value of your home.
Adding on an upper level is not an option if there is no way to insulate the new space from the outside world. Since no one will know the difference, this is acceptable.
If possible sources of heat are necessary in these scenarios, then another house may be needed even! One side of the heating bill goes outside, and the other goes inside.
Choose the right roofing material
Which one? Those that can be used on a roof and those that can’t
When seeking out a new roofing material, the right one for your home depends on how it is constructed. For example, if the roof is leak proof, then wood or asphalt would be the best materials. If not, then metal is the best suited material.
In regards to choosing a new roofing material for your second floor, there are some key factors to consider. The main ones are cost, weight-to-size ratio, and lifetime of installation. Luckily, most Ranch homes do not need a second floor!
Cost: looking at websites such as www.roofershop.com will give you an idea of what one home might cost per square foot of land that is covered by the roof. Since this information is hard to come by in Ranch homes due to lack of space, price per square foot of land may be an issue.