| Field-tested techniques for adding on to your home
Adding onto a house presents builders and remodelers with tough challenges. Whether framing a roof, tying into an existing foundation, finishing out the room over a garage, or building - on a deck that won't rot out the sills - the more expert advice you have up front, the better your work and the better your business will be. Builders and remodelers consistently turn to the experts at Fine Homebuilding magazine for the best professional-grade information before they start a job.
Written by the pros who actually do the work, these articles will help you to:
- Add a foundation addition that anchors solidly with the existing foundation
- Build a classic sunroom
- Convert a garage into living space
- Design and build a second-story addition that's compatible with the house
- Build a covered entryway
- Construct a family room addition
- Build a screen porch
- Add a coffered ceiling
- Build a gable-dormer retrofit
- Frame an opening in a bearing wall
To get the best remodeling results, you need solid advice from the best in the business. For Pros By Pros books bring you field-tested techniques and real-world experience from the expert builders and remodeling pros who write for Fine Homebuilding magazine.
Table of Contents
Introduction. Chapter 1: Basements, Foundations, and Masonry An Addition Foundation; Supporting an Addition; Laying Up Concrete Block. Chapter 2: Porches, Decks, and Sunrooms A Builders Screen Porch; A Dining Deck; Adding a Sunroom with Porch; A Classic Sunroom. Chapter 3: Framing and Finishing Solutions Keeping a Dormer Addition Clean and Dry; A Different Approach to Rafter Layout; A Gable-Dormer Retrofit; Supporting a Cantilevered Bay; Remodeling with Metal Studs; Solo Drywall Hanging. Chapter 4: Case Studies: Innovative Additions A Dramatic Family-Room Addition; A Well-Lit Addition; Converting a Garage into Living Space; A Suburban Metamorphosis; Adding a Second Story. Credits. Index.
From the Introduction
Mosquitoes weren't on my mind when I climbed up on the porch roof to replace an old layer of roll roofing with a new one, but the bugs soon discovered me. Without the protection of insect repellent, the feast was on. But I had brought along a secret weapon: two gallons of blind nail cement. This sticky asphalt emulsion is essential for adhering roll roofing to the roof deck and to itself. Soon I was covered with the stuff. And with every well-directed slap, my face, neck, and upper body began to take on a leopard-like appearance. I discovered that the tar spots were immune to insect attack, and I noted that the goo captured and doomed the bugs careless enough to land on it.
Fortunately, the work of winterizing the porch - my first addition project - proceeded more smoothly after the roofing episode. Today, countless construction projects later, I've been able to improve my skills and my design sense by paying attention to Fine Homebuilding's expert authors. They're among the best professionals in the building business - veteran contractors and designers with the experience and know-how to guide you through a broad range of addition projects - from building basic foundations and porches to framing dormers and hanging drywall.
For any addition project to succeed, good design is just as important as sound construction. That's why you'll also find an inspiring selection of case studies included here. These projects demonstrate creative, cost-effective ways to build additions and convert existing parts of the house into living space. If you're aiming to make a small house bigger, the ideas and expert advice on these pages will help you achieve topnotch results. |
