Additions and major remodels

Second-story and wing additions, load-bearing reconfiguration.

A second story starts at the foundation

Adding a floor puts new weight on a house that was designed to carry one. Before anything else, an engineer checks whether the existing footings and walls can take the load, and specifies what gets reinforced if they cannot. That answer shapes the whole budget, which is why it comes first rather than after the design is finished.

Wing additions

Building out rather than up keeps the new weight off the existing structure, but brings its own questions: setbacks and lot coverage, tying the new roof into the old one, and matching foundation heights so the floors meet level.

Moving load-bearing walls

Opening up a floor plan often means taking out a wall that holds up the house. That wall's load has to go somewhere, usually into a beam sized by an engineer and posts carried down to proper footings. It is permitted work, and it is the part of a remodel that should never be improvised.