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Sounds crazy as I type it,we are pro DIYers. Back ground. Rental home,we are totally gutting to replace wiring/plumbing, down stair walls are block w firing strips w paneling we are replacing with studded walls/insulation/drywall ok now the downstairs is @ 6 ft tall and the upstairs is @ 10 foot tall--so the idea of adding a new floor upstairs--we have to replace the floor with plywood due to they used partical board on the floors, so the added cost would be the 2x8 or 2x10 for the frame---we would build the new floor and cut out the old floor to have a new ceiling height in the downstairs--ok sounds like a lot of work for maybe a foot of head room,ok we will rent to short people only--this is one of the thing to think about as we are replacing everything and would hate to let this pass without thinking about doing it. Is it possible to do?

Anything is possible provided you have the time and the money.

You would need to raise all the doors and probably the windows too. Are you taking out the interior partitions while you do the complete gut job? Will the zoning allow you to make this a two unit income property? Is the lower level completely below grade? Does it have egress windows and an exterior entrance? Even if you have the skills to DIY this, I'd get some local advice from a engineer and/or an architect to make sure what you want to do is feasible.

If you can do this, now would certainly be the time to do it.

Sparky's points are really important.

There may be another way to do this. It sounds a little extreme, but may be worth considering.

You may be able to raise the second floor off of the first. It sounds extreme, but if you can do it, it's probably a lot less work and expense than having to deal with changes to every door and window, in addition to removing and rebuilding the entire second story floor structure.

Raising the second floor off of the first would allow the bottom floor to come into code for ceiling height, and the money and effort saved would more than cover any entry changes needed, as well.

Regards.

quote:

Originally posted by Chicago Stonepro:
Sparky's points are really important.

There may be another way to do this. It sounds a little extreme, but may be worth considering.

You may be able to raise the second floor off of the first. It sounds extreme, but if you can do it, it's probably a lot less work and expense than having to deal with changes to every door and window, in addition to removing and rebuilding the entire second story floor structure.

Raising the second floor off of the first would allow the bottom floor to come into code for ceiling height, and the money and effort saved would more than cover any entry changes needed, as well.

Regards.

Phil,
Depending on the construction this would probably easier than my method. If the home is platform framed jacking up the first floor off of the foundation might be easier.

Some pictures would help. But bottom line the OP needs to get some local advice after a thorough inspection by an engineer.

Hi Sparky,

I absolutely agree they need some local advice.

They seem willing to go through quite a bit of work on this, to accept something they'd always have to keep quiet about. I sort of figured it might be not be any more work to jack the house, and they'd end up with a significant increase in the investment's book value.

In other words, the increase in the property's equity becomes real and bankable.

If they run the plan past a bank or angel (hard money lender), they could probably do this for very little money out-of pocket. Then, they can pay themselves legitimate salaries out of the loan proceeds, for the construction management and labor.

This adds up to win-win for them and their community. They get to be paid for their work up front, they create a decent housing unit instead of a secret rat-hole, the county gets a little more tax toward schools, etc., they actually increase their tax write-offs, and best of all, they have a nice little chunk of equity they can use for the next project - even if that means taking it as profit if they just flip this thing.

Yes, they need some local advice. If the numbers and physical situation allow, this could work out very well for them.

If it is balloon framed all bets are off. It would have to be a fairly old house to have balloon framing though, but it is hard to imagine a home built in the last 60 years with a 6' foot basement, "crawlspace" yes, but not a 6' basement.


DCDiva isn't a new poster so maybe she'll be back with more details and/or follow up.

You do need to check the local code on this. We built an apartment in our basement (relatively new home) and our daughter and SIL live there and like it. When we started the project we found that if we added a kitchen to the basement apartment, it would need a separate entrance to the house. We couldn't figure out how to do both of those things, so we dropped the idea. It has worked out well with both families sharing the original kitchen.

We had an issue with a twisted beam in our kitchen ceiling that needed to be corrected. We were gutting the kitchen ceiling/bathroom floor above it. It took considerable time and expense to do this minor adjustment. I can't imagine doing this without a very good general contractor and subs along with checking with local building codes. Our gc added on a second floor to a bungalow on a very desirable lot--it took lots of skill and lots of cash to get this done properly. We visited the home with the gc to get an idea of work that he had done on bathrooms. The time and expense were considerable.