Hillcrest Second Story — Bothell, WA
Overview
A family of five had outgrown a three-bedroom rambler but loved their lot and didn't want to move. We added a full second story — two bedrooms, a bath, and a small landing lounge — while the family lived downstairs through most of construction.
The challenge
The existing roof framing wasn't sized to carry a second story, and the family needed to stay in the home for as much of the project as possible. Sequencing had to keep at least a partial roof over their heads at every stage.
Our solution
We reframed the main floor's ceiling joists to carry the new load before opening the roof, and phased the work so only one section of the house was ever open to weather at a time, using temporary shoring and tarping between stages. The new second story matches the original roof pitch closely enough that from the street, it reads as if it was always there.
We were nervous about living through a second-story addition, but they phased it so we always had a dry, safe place to sleep. Worth every bit of the noise.