Whole-Home Transformation in 3D
A tired bungalow can become the house you want without moving. Step from the before to the after, then change the colour, the siding and the roof on the finished house.
Step from the before to the after with the arrows on the model. Options opens the colour, siding, roof, windows, garage door and columns, and can swap the back window for a patio door and deck.
Phases
Colour
Siding
Roof
Garage door
Back
Columns
Show
This one starts as a 48' by 28' bungalow with a brick front and a carport (there are thousands like it across Central Alberta). It gets a second storey over the west 28', a double garage where the carport stood, a covered porch on columns at the front door, and a front garden with a curved walk, mulch beds and landscape lighting.
The back of the house can change too. Options swaps a rear window for a 6' patio door onto a 20' by 16' composite deck at the door's height, with glass railings and a stair down to the lawn - the same finish as the front landing. Our deck building, landscape lighting and walkway pages go through those parts on their own.
Three big moves
A second storey goes up on the walls that are already there. A garage is built onto the side. Then the roof is redone in one go, so the old house and the new parts sit under one set of roof lines, with the porch and the garage door each under a gable of their own. New siding, trim and windows on every wall finish the job, and that is what makes it read as one house instead of a house with pieces added on.
How each part is built
This model is about the finished picture. To see how a piece like this goes together from the ground up, the addition model steps through every phase, from the foundation to the finished room.
A whole-home renovation starts with the structure, and framing a home addition and what a garage permit involves go through the parts in more detail. Inside, the interior renovation work picks up once the shell is closed in.
Second storeys, garages and additions are all part of our framing and additions work. The model is a house we drew to show the idea, not a job we built for somebody. If you are thinking about adding on instead of moving, get in touch or call (587) 447-9009.
Questions we get asked
- Can my house take a second storey?
- Often, yes - and it is the first thing we check. The walls, the foundation and the footings under them have to carry the new floor, and sometimes they need some help first. An engineer looks at the structure before the design goes much further, and that answer shapes the rest of the plan.
- Do we have to move out?
- It depends on the house and the scope. A second storey means the roof comes off part of the house for a while, and some families find that stretch easier to spend somewhere else. We go through the schedule with you before anything starts, so you can plan around the loud part.
- What permits does a project like this need?
- A second storey, an attached garage and a covered porch each need a building permit in Red Deer and across Central Alberta, and depending on the lot and the setbacks there can be a development permit as well. A second storey almost always needs engineer stamped drawings too, because the existing foundation and walls have to be checked for the new load - we work with professional engineers on those. We handle the permits for you, put together the drawings and details that go with each application, apply on your behalf (you sign a letter authorizing us to), and have each stage ready for its inspection.
- Can I see it in other colours?
- Yes. Step to the finished house, open Options, and switch the body colour, the siding style, the roof, the window frames, the garage door and the porch columns. The whole house changes at once, so you can see the old part and the new parts as one building.
- Can you add a back deck at the same time?
- Yes, and it often makes sense to, while the exterior is being redone anyway. A rear window becomes a patio door, and the deck is built at the door's height with a stair down to the yard. In the model, open Options and pick Patio door and deck under Back to see it.