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Can You Add a Second Story to a House With a Crawl Space?

Can You Add a Second Story to a House With a Crawl Space?

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Having a house with a crawl space can be quite convenient. In some ways, crawl spaces can make your life easier.

You do need to make sure that you take the right precautions to keep your home safe when you have a dirt floor crawl space. So long as you do this, it’ll be a great experience.

What if you want to add some space to your home, though? Sometimes people have growing families and will decide to add on to the house as a way to make room for new family members.

Can you add a second story to a house with a crawl space? Or is this something that simply won’t be possible?

Continue reading to learn about what your options are in this situation. It’ll ensure that you do things safely so you can make choices that will keep your growing family protected.

Some Houses With Crawl Space Foundations Might Support a Second Story

Whether your home will be able to add a second story will depend on the situation. Having a crawl space foundation doesn’t automatically disqualify you from being able to add on to your home.

Simply put, you’ll need to look into the matter to see what is possible based on your situation. In some cases, a crawl space foundation will be sufficient to support a second story, but this won’t always be the case.

There are so many different factors that go into this kind of decision. Not only does the crawl space foundation play a role, but the type of soil that your house is sitting on will also be involved.

The best thing to do is to talk to foundation experts about what you can and cannot do. You need to have the foundation of your home examined and then talk with the experts about their findings.

They might tell you that adding a second story to your home won’t be possible. Or they might say that it’s okay so long as you adhere to certain limitations.

Many Single-Story Homes Can’t Support a Second Story

Understand that many single-story homes simply cannot support a second story. Adding a new level to your home might not be possible if your foundation wasn’t built to be sturdy enough.

Often, single-story home foundations won’t be capable of supporting another level. You would have to make significant changes to the foundation to be able to do so.

This is true no matter what type of foundation you have. You could have a pier and beam foundation or a crawl space foundation.

Even some basement foundations might not be ready to support another level being added to the house. It’s not something that you can take lightly.

It’s always necessary to have the foundation examined before planning any additions to your home. Adding something without doing the necessary inquiries could lead to stability issues that will endanger your family.

Is Adding a Second Story a Good Option?

Whether adding a second story to your home is a good option or not depends. It might be a good choice if you love where you live and your foundation is able to handle the addition.

If not, it might be more practical to do something else. There are other things that you can consider that won’t involve adding another level on top of what you already have.

For example, you could decide to build an addition to your house at the ground level. If you have enough space on your property to do this, it’s often going to be much easier.

A second story addition might create more problems than it’s worth. However, this depends on your budget and your expectations.

The Cost of Adding a Second Story

In the United States, adding a second story to a home is going to cost a pretty penny. Generally, you’ll spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on such a huge construction project.

A full second-story addition to a 2,000-square-foot home can cost at least $200,000. The prices might differ depending on the area of the country that you live in.

Even a partial second-story addition will likely cost $150,000. So you need to have a substantial budget to upgrade your home in such a way.

For many, this might not be a practical choice. Some might choose to relocate and find a home that better suits them rather than trying to change the home that they’re currently living in.

Should You Move?

Deciding to move can be a huge decision. If you need more room for your family, it might be better to find a bigger house than to upgrade your current one.

This isn’t always the case, but it depends on your budget and how much you like your current home and neighborhood. If you have a foundation that can support a second story, it’s something that you can pursue.

It will cost you a fair bit of cash to add the second story to your home, but it might be worth it. If you have the money to invest in your home or if you’re willing to take on a bank loan, it’s something that you can consider.

Otherwise, you can sell your current home and look for a larger house that is able to fit your family better. Depending on how the housing market looks in your area, one option might be more appealing than the other.

Final Thoughts

It isn’t impossible for a crawl space foundation to support a second-story addition. However, most single-story home foundations aren’t capable of supporting a second story.

You need to consult with a foundation expert to see how things look. They can tell you what you’re able to do with your current foundation so you can weigh your options.

It might be better to consider adding new rooms at the ground level rather than building a second story. If you have enough property space to do this, it’s an idea that you can look into.

Otherwise, you can see if it’s possible to reinforce the foundation to add a second story. If it is, you’ll still need to spend a good bit of cash to get the job done by professionals.

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