Vaulted Ceilings, 2nd Floor Infill and new family spaces

Lots of folks have high-ceilinged bonus or family rooms in the large homes that sprang up over the past 20 years and have probably wondered about how to get extra living, bedroom or even just an upstairs laundry or bathrooms out of it. A project I am just starting looks at doing just that.

This family has a beautiful home, extensively updated, and another child on the way. The high ceilings in the faily room and redundant stairway are difficult to heat, unnecessary and create acoustical problems. The vaulted ceiling has been nice for a sense of volume, but feels wasted. Plus the existing 9' ceilings will keep a sense of roomy-ness when closed off for a new 2nd floor. At the same time, removing the dis-used stair can add to the existing laundry room/office behind it, and give us a kids craft and mud-room area.

We are trying to move the laundry upstairs, add a bedroom, and a new family bath. Since the adjacent master suite has a very large 80's bath, the options we will look at may include stealing some of that space and taking the opportunity to remodel it as well. As always, budget rules!

In this project the obvious first step is to slide a shed dormer out of the main roof. The pitch is so steep and tall that we can get a full 8' outer wall and still have a good slope for the new roof.

First run throughs:







Opt 1: 2 BR, bath, full laundry, remodel master bath

More to come!













Opt 2: Keep Master Bath, single bedroom, full bath,
hall laundry (mauve area is existing)