Chapter 19
Reconfiguring Spaces and Other Structural Overhauls
IN THIS CHAPTER
Avoiding (or embracing) the temptation to fiddle with the floor plan
Keeping the roof from crashing down by identifying load-bearing walls
Expanding the living space with room modifications and additions
Decking out the house with a deck or patio
Repairing and renovating a house is one thing. Restructuring it, converting storage space into living space, building room additions, and performing other structural overhauls is another beast entirely.
First, you need to decide whether a structural overhaul even makes sense. Misguided renovators often ruin a perfectly good floor plan by opening up too much space or chopping wide open spaces into tiny rooms. Then, you have to calculate the costs and benefits — major restructuring costs major moola. Will you get enough money back when you sell to make the restructuring worth your time and effort?
In this chapter, I guide you through the process of deciding whether you really want to monkey around with the floor plan. I reveal some techniques for identifying load-bearing walls, and I offer suggestions on restructuring and building projects that can add real value to a property.
Attending to Essential Structure and Infrastructure Repairs
Before you even think about performing major structural enhancements, attend to the structural and infrastructural repairs required to keep the house standing and the electricity and water flowing. In most cases, these repairs require building permits and the intervention of licensed contractors to ensure that the repairs adhere to local building codes:
- Foundation: If the basement walls are bowing in, the house is settling unevenly, or the basement or crawlspace is damp, hire a company that specializes in foundations to shore it up. Foundation repairs are costly, sometimes creeping into the tens of thousands of dollars, but you should already have budgeted for the repairs. (See Chapter 11 for more about estimating rehab costs.)
- Electrical: An electrical system that’s not up to code not only makes the lights flicker but can also start fires. Have the electrical system checked and brought up to code by a licensed electrician.
- Plumbing: You may be able to perform minor plumbing repairs, but if the pipes are leaking inside the walls, water is backing up into the house, or you can’t unclog the drains, call a licensed plumber. In some cases, such as with lead pipes, you may need to replace all the pipes, which may require tearing out walls and tearing up floors.
- Furnace and air conditioning: Whether the house needs a new furnace or air-conditioning unit or you plan to install ductwork in a house to add central air, hire a licensed HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) technician to do the work.
Fiddling with the Floor Plan … or Not
When constructing a house, builders follow standard design principles and adhere to specific structural limitations. Older houses, for example, rely on load-bearing walls to support the roof and ceilings (see the next section for more about these types of walls). In newer houses, truss roofs eliminate the need for load-bearing walls, giving architects the freedom to design floor plans that allow fluid movement from one room to the next. In either case, if you begin fiddling with the floor plan and you don’t know what you’re doing, you risk lowering the value of the property and causing costly structural damage.
Before you begin restructuring a house or converting unused areas into livable space, take the Hippocratic Oath and promise to “First, do no harm.” Tell your agent what you’re planning and consult a licensed contractor, letting them know that you want them to be brutally honest with you. They can help steer you clear of any big ideas that are likely to result in a train wreck. Then, plan your renovations carefully, as I explain in Chapter 14.
If you’re living in the house you’re flipping and are in no hurry to sell it, consider waiting a few weeks before you start renovating. Over time, problems in the floor plan tend to reveal themselves to you. The kitchen may seem cramped, or you may notice that you never use the breakfast nook. You can then make better decisions on how to restructure your living areas to improve flow and use.
Identifying Load-Bearing Walls
Before you take a sledgehammer to that nuisance of a wall, realize that it may store many surprises — electrical wiring, plumbing, and ductwork. In addition, that wall may be supporting the second story or the roof. Knock out that wall, and the whole house may cave in … with you in it. In the following sections, I define “load-bearing wall” and show you how to identify such walls.
Before tearing out a wall, strip the drywall or plaster off the studs to see what’s behind it. If you find a costly surprise and change your mind, you’re out only the cost of hanging new drywall. If you knock out the wall with a sledgehammer, you may find yourself paying for new plumbing, new electrical lines, and new ductwork as well.
What is a load-bearing wall?
Load-bearing walls are the pillars of your investment. They transfer the weight of whatever is above them — the upper floor or the roof — to the foundation. Houses have three types of load-bearing walls:
- The outside walls of the house are always load-bearing walls because they support the roof.
- In a house with a conventional roof frame, interior walls that run perpendicular to the rafters support the roof. A truss roof requires no support from interior walls; it rests entirely on the outside walls of the house.
- In a house with two or more stories, interior walls or beams that are perpendicular to an upper story’s floor joists bear the load of the upper story.
You can remove a load-bearing wall, but never without replacing it with a support that’s equally strong or stronger than what you’re taking away.
How are conventional and truss roofs different?
All roofs have joists that span the distance between the front and back or side walls of a house. A house with a conventional roof frame typically has an attic and requires an interior load-bearing wall to support the joists.
Truss roof frames consist of a web of boards (typically 2-by-4s) that enable the roof to support itself by resting on only two exterior walls. Truss roof frames make removing interior walls much easier. The tradeoff is that truss roof frames provide little or no open space for an attic.
To figure out the type of roof your house has, check the attic. Search the ceilings, especially in hallways, closets, and the attached garage, for a pull-down staircase or access door. You may also be able to sneak a peek through a cubbyhole in the upper floor. If you have plenty of open space in the attic, chances are good that a load-bearing wall on the floor below is supporting the joists.
If you have a conventional roof with a lot of open space in the attic that you don’t want to convert into a room (see “Creating a room in the attic,” later in this chapter, for more info about converting the attic), consider using it to beef up the storage space. Add a pull-down staircase, lay sheets of plywood over the joists to create a floor, and add a couple of light sockets and a switch for turning the lights on and off.
Is this wall load-bearing?
You can’t tell whether a wall is load-bearing just by looking at it. You need to know what’s above the wall and what’s below it:
- If the house has a basement, go downstairs and find out what’s below the wall. If the wall above has a wall or beam below it, the wall above is probably the load-bearing variety.
- If the wall is below an attic, go to the attic and determine whether its floor joists are running perpendicular to the wall below. If they are, the wall is probably supporting the attic floor.
- If the floor joists are hidden by a floor above or a ceiling below, you may need to chip away some of the ceiling to determine whether the joists run perpendicular to the wall.
I’ve seen houses with floor joists that run one direction on part of the house and the opposite direction on another part, so don’t assume that all the floor joists upstairs run in the same direction. You may have a situation in which two walls that meet at right angles are both supporting the roof!
If you decide to remove a load-bearing wall, an engineer can recommend options for replacing the wall with another structure that provides equal or superior support. And always obtain a building permit from your town’s building inspector and ensure that your planned changes comply with building codes in your area.
Maximizing the Use of Existing Space
Dinky homes in the midst of mansions cry out for expansion. When buyers are touring the neighborhood in search of a home that can accommodate all family members comfortably, they may skip past a cramped crib. For a flipper, however, that scanty shanty may be just the bargain you’ve been looking for. By opening up existing space and transforming unused space into living space, you can often boost the house into a higher price bracket.
Every house has unique expansion opportunities, so I can’t tell you the best solution for the property you’re renovating, but the following sections offer some ideas to stimulate your creativity.
Knocking out walls
Although I provide plenty of cautionary advice to make you think twice about knocking down walls, a little demolition can often add real value to a house. Here are some ideas you may want to consider:
- By knocking out walls and perhaps raising the ceiling (see the next section), you may be able to combine the kitchen, living room, and dining room to create a great room.
- If combining the kitchen, living room, and dining room isn’t an option, but the house has a small eating area off the kitchen, consider combining the two areas to transform them into a country kitchen — a kitchen that encompasses a large eating area.
- If a house has four or five bedrooms, none of which qualifies as a master suite, combining two small neighboring bedrooms into a master bedroom can often make a house more attractive and comfortable for the king and queen.
- In some cases, the previous owners may have erected a wall to create a closet, laundry room, or pantry, compromising the original floor plan. In such cases, the wall is typically not a supporting wall, and you can easily remove it to restore the original floor plan.
Figures 19-1 and 19-2 demonstrate the appeal of knocking out a wall to enhance a home’s living space. In Figure 19-1, a wall awkwardly separates the kitchen and the laundry room.
The homeowner knocked out the wall to increase the space of the kitchen and moved the washer and dryer into a new closet-style laundry room. You can see the result — a lighter, brighter, roomier kitchen with easier access to the back door — in Figure 19-2.
Raising the ceiling
Expanding a room by moving walls may exceed your budget, but depending on the roof structure, you may be able to remove the existing ceiling to reveal the rafters. Although raising the ceiling to the rafters doesn’t open up more living space, it can make the area feel roomier and add a touch of character. If you’re replacing the roof as well, consider adding a skylight or two to really light up the room. (Chapter 16 has more information about laying a new roof.)
I install skylights only if I’m redoing the roof. If you install them in an old roof, they never seem to seal properly, and you end up creating a rainforest in the living room.
Before attempting to raise the ceiling, explore the space above the ceiling to determine the type of roof structure in place. See “How are conventional and truss roofs different?” earlier in this chapter. If the house has a truss roof frame, you probably won’t be able to raise the ceiling at all.
Designing a whole new kitchen
Sometimes, no matter what you do to an existing kitchen, it’s not enough. The layout of the kitchen was wrong from the day it was designed, and now you have to do something about it to open it up and make it more functional. In Chapters 1 and 11, I discuss the potential investment return on kitchen renovations.
Reconfiguring a kitchen is no job for a weekend warrior; it requires specialized knowledge and skills. Head down to the local home-improvement store or cabinet supplier and ask a kitchen designer for assistance. Most stores provide free consultations as long as you buy your building materials from them. (See Chapter 17 for general details on updating a kitchen.)
Adding a bathroom
A great way to add real value to a home that has only one bathroom is to convert underutilized space into a second bathroom or a powder room. A powder room (commonly referred to as a half bath) consists of the bare essentials — a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. You can cram one of these puppies under a stairwell or into a medium-sized closet. For a three-quarter bath (with room enough for a sink, toilet, and shower) or larger, you need a room that’s at least 8 feet by 8 feet.
Unless you’re a licensed plumber and electrician, hire a pro to convert underutilized space into a bathroom. No matter where you decide to locate it, a new bathroom is a mini-construction project.
If you plan on designing the bathroom and doing most of the work yourself, check out Bathroom Remodeling For Dummies, by Gene Hamilton and Katie Hamilton (Wiley). This handy guide leads you step by step through the tasks of designing the bathroom; installing bathtubs, showers, sinks, toilets, and vanities; and even roughing in the plumbing. (See Chapter 17 for additional information on redoing a bathroom.)
Spreading out to an attached garage
In a small house with an attached garage, converting the garage into a living room, den, or additional bedroom often adds real value to a house. You can wall off the space left by the old garage door or install a patio door in its place. If the garage has an attic, it may offer additional opportunities for growth.
Because many attached garages aren’t heated or air conditioned, your renovation may require you to install additional insulation and baseboard heat, but stop short of adding a window air conditioner — it makes the house look cheap. Don’t convert a garage into living space unless you can make it comfortable living space.
If you decide to convert an attached garage into living space, also consider building a new garage. I’ve seen homeowners transform an existing garage into living space only to have a buyer come along and ask the homeowner to convert it back into a garage. You really need to know what most home buyers want before investing a lot of money in conversion projects.
Transforming a porch into a room
Some older homes have enclosed porches that you can transform into a bedroom or home office. A porch conversion typically adds to the square footage of the house, thereby adding real value and increasing the property’s salability.
Like attached garages, however, porches are poorly insulated and rarely heated. If you convert a porch into a room, insulate it well, install thermal windows, and add ductwork or baseboard heat to make the room livable year round.
Whether you’re converting a porch or some other space into a bedroom, check with a Realtor about the requirements for a space to be considered a bedroom. In many areas, a legal bedroom is defined as a room having its own closet and two ways of entry/exit — two doors or a door and a window. Also, a legal bedroom cannot be a space that people might pass through to another room.
Creating a room in the attic
Builders of older homes often built spacious attics for additional storage or to enable the homeowner to add bedrooms later as the family grew. By running electricity up to the attic, installing a staircase, and finishing the walls, you may be able to add a bedroom or two. The most challenging part of the project may be finding a way to add a stairway up to the attic — that vintage pull-down staircase has to go.
If the house has plenty of bedrooms and few other storage areas (like a basement, for instance), think twice about converting the attic into living space. You may be able to clean it up, add lighting, and perhaps even add a floor, but most house hunters like the additional storage space that an attic offers. Base your renovation decisions on the specific property and on market demands.
Deciding whether to finish a basement
A basement that’s in pretty good condition is often the perfect prospect for a conversion job, especially if you’re starting with a walkout basement — a basement that has a door directly to the outside world. By installing drywall or siding, laying carpeting or vinyl flooring, and installing a drop ceiling, you may be able to convert the basement into living space that adds to the square footage of the home and significantly boosts the home’s value.
Keep in mind, however, that your municipality may have certain requirements for a basement to be considered living space; for example, the area may need to be heated and have a certain number of outlets per square foot and an emergency exit. Check with your municipality for its requirements. Also keep in mind that having a basement officially designated as living space is likely to increase property taxes. You may be better off simply painting the walls and laying some flooring to enable any buyers to use the space however they want.
Building New Rooms from Scratch
Your options for converting unused areas into living spaces inside a house are limited by its four exterior walls, but that doesn’t prohibit you from building up or out. Depending on your budget, the size of the yard, and building code restrictions (which you can find out about from your contractor), you may be able to add a dormer or even a second story atop the existing structure or build on to the front, back, or side of the house.
Older neighborhoods that are currently in the process of a generational shift (younger families moving in) are laboratories for studying ways to expand living quarters. Remain observant, and you can gather a host of ideas on how to build onto an existing structure.
When building onto a house, you have two options — you can build up or you can build out. If the yard is the size of a postage stamp, you have little room to build out. You need to allow sufficient space for the homeowners to walk their pet, hang out, and enjoy a bit of nature. Another option is to build up, either by expanding the attic space with a dormer or raising the roof and adding a second story.
If your budget allows it and your market demands it, adding a second story can add considerable value to a house. A small ranch house is the perfect candidate. By adding a second story, you essentially double the living space. You can even add a balcony.
Adding a Deck or Patio
Builders often erect houses on beautiful, spacious lots and leave the back or side yard completely undeveloped. Without a deck or patio and a wide door to enable the dwellers easy access to the great outdoors, the yard becomes a wasteland begging for development.
Adding or updating a deck or patio is an affordable way to transform this unused space into an outdoor sanctuary, where families and friends can gather on evenings and weekends to grill out and chill out without having to make too much of a mess in the house. Installing a patio door for easy passage between the house and deck is a nice addition that can also let in more light, making the interior appear larger.
Figures 19-3 and 19-4 illustrate how much a few affordable modifications can improve curb appeal while expanding living space. The homeowner replaced the old, cracked concrete patio with a larger concrete/brick patio. He also built a new lattice-topped wooden patio cover.
Costs for patios and decks range from about $500 to $5,000, depending on the size of the project and the costs of materials and labor. A small team of weekend warriors can slap together an average deck in a day or two.
I’m not a big fan of building a patio with pavers (stone or concrete blocks). I had a beautiful patio with pavers, but I got tired of looking at the weeds growing through, so I replaced them with a concrete patio.
If you have some open back-wall space, consider installing a patio door where no doorway currently exists. You may also be able to replace a large window with a patio door that lets in more light, in addition to giving the house another entryway. If the window is narrower than a doorway, you may be able to widen the opening enough to fit a door.
You can add a patio door out to the deck for anywhere from $250 to $1,500. You may be able to pick up a good-quality patio door for much less from a Habitat for Humanity distribution center or similar organization that sells scratch-and-dent building supplies.
Cutting a hole through the wall in the back of the house is no job for amateurs. Some walls support the roof. Others have electrical wiring, plumbing, or heat ducts inside them.
In some areas, sunrooms (often called solariums) are a popular feature. You can add a sunroom to just about any house. Most sunroom manufacturers offer kits for the do-it-yourselfer. However, unless most of the neighboring homes have sunrooms or enclosed porches, I don’t recommend adding a sunroom to the house. Even if you do a classy job and the sunroom fits with the style of the existing structure, you probably won’t recoup your investment.
