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3 Reasons to Make First-Floor Changes When You Add a Second-Story to Your Home

3 January 2017 by Heather Howell

If you've decided to add a second-story to your house, you're probably already braced for extensive construction and some pretty high costs; in fact, adding a second-story to your home is one of the most extensive changes you can make. With that in mind, it might just sound crazy to suggest making additional changes to the first-floor while the second-floor is being added, but doing so can actually come with a whole host of advantages.

Here are just three reasons to do so.

1. Combine the Fuss and Cost

Adding a second-story to your home is generally going to cost quite a lot of money, and there's no denying that changing parts of the first-floor is going to add more than a few extra dollars to your final bill. However, it's well worth remembering that it can save you money in the long run. If you want to renovate a kitchen or change the flooring in your hallway at any other time, you're going to need to contract more builders and see more planners, but these costs can be combined when you're also extending upwards.

Of course, combining costs isn't the only advantage. Given the extensive changes made to a home during a second-story addition, it isn't uncommon for families to need to move out while the work is being done, so you might as well commit to some first-floor alterations that would normally cause fuss and bother if you were living in your property.

2. Work Your First-Floor Around Added Second-Floor Space

Adding a second-floor will completely revitalize your home, providing an incredible increase in usable space. Since you have more space, you'll be freeing up a lot of room on the first-floor. For example, all the bedrooms that once needed to be on the first-floor could now be moved upstairs.

This could leave you with several smaller first-floor rooms that aren't really be needed, so why not knock through some walls to make the most of that space? You can create a larger kitchen or entertaining room instead of having that space go to waste. You can also raise first-floor ceilings or install larger windows.

3. Make the Most of Necessary Changes

When you add a second-floor, a number of changes will generally need to be made to the first-floor. For example, you'll probably need to have a staircase added, and any chimneys will need to be removed or redirected.

Given that these changes will need to be made anyway, you might as well make the most of them by working the first-floor around them. If you need to have a staircase added, you can make changes to the room it will go in to make the alteration less obtrusive. If you've never particularly liked your fireplace, now is an ideal time to get rid of it and have the chimney removed altogether.

For more information and options, talk with remodeling contractors who specialise in 2nd story renovations.

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