A 2-story house is certainly ideal for many families, especially if you have limited lot space to expand if you need more bedrooms and other important facilities, such as a home office or a carport.
The good news is that you can still update your old 1-story house with a second floor.
The bad news is that this option might not be applicable to all 1-story homes.
Here’s a guide on how this can be achieved:
Find a Reputable, Experienced Contractor
It’s very important that you hire a reputable, experienced contractor. Make sure to ask whether they’ve already completed a similar project in the past, or if they haven’t, whether they are absolutely sure that they can have it done.
Your contractor can do the following:
- Evaluate the current design of your house
- Create a new design that incorporates the first floor, based on your specifications
- Check for planning and zoning restrictions in your area
- Get the necessary permits for the second-floor renovation
- Dismantle your roof and other necessary structures to build the second floor
- Create additional wiring and other necessary items, including plumbing, if needed
Prepare a Big Budget
The costs can vary depending on your location, design chosen, the current state of your 1-story house, architect fees, etc.
Even a ground floor extension can cost a lot of money.
If you live in Metro Manila, that could be around Php26,500 per square meter or around Php530,000 for a 5×4 sqm extension.
The cost can go as high as 50% more (or possibly higher) for a second-floor extension.
Things to Consider
As much as possible, listen to your contractor’s advice about the renovation process, especially if they believe that some or all posts and beams need to be demolished and redone if they’re structurally unable to handle the weight of your second floor.
It’s also important to consider the materials you need to build the house.
If you want to add a roof deck, that could cost more because the floor needs to be made of waterproof concrete.
Construction work can be dirty, loud, and dangerous.
If you need the entire roof removed for the second floor, you might consider temporarily moving to a different home until the construction is done.