SCHEME â„– 4: SECOND FLOOR DORMERS DESIGN
"Moving On Up!"
OVERALL DESIGN SOLUTION
Before: 2 bed, 1 bath bungalow
After: 3 bed, 2 bath bungalow w/ new open-concept kitchen/family room combo
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​Are you ready for second story bungalow living? Add second floor dormers to add two upstairs bedrooms, one full bathroom and plenty of closet space and natural light. Also included in this design scheme is some shuffling of your spatial use on the first floor—your new open concept kitchen with modern amenities is moved to the “sacrificial” bedroom, providing room for an adjacent family room for the much sought after open-concept kitchen/family room combo.
Exterior Alterations ​
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Add dormers and peel back sections of roof to allow for Chicago Building Code ceiling height and window requirements
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Add egress windows to all second floor bedrooms
Meet CBA Design Guidelines to maintain your membership:
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Construct dormers to be set back a minimum of 20 feet from the front edge of building to minimize the impact on the building and streetscape
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Build dormers with a similar roof pitch and height as the original building
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Match window openings, trim, eaves and other details as closely as possible to the original building
Exterior Plans
Exterior 3D Renderings
Interior Alterations
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Second floor (footprint altered)
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Add dormers to provide more usable second floor space, including:
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2 bedrooms​ with walk-in closets
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1 full bathroom w/ linen closet
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New staircase to second floor​​
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Change access from kitchen to dining room
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Widen stairs to meet Chicago Building Code requirements​
First floor (spatial use altered)
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Expand kitchen into where rear bedroom once was to provide for a larger, open-concept kitchen with adjacent family room
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Deconvert old kitchen location into family room​
Basement to remain unfinished
Structural Reinforcement
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Typically, the floor structure of an existing attic is actually a ceiling joist. To make the attic a livable space, the existing ceiling joists usually will not meet the Chicago Building Code requirements for a floor structure and will have to be reinforced to support the new use of space and new load.
System Upgrades
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Heating
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​Add either a separate HVAC system for the second floor or replacement of the existing HVAC system with a larger one
​Plumbing
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If water service main was not replaced, the added bathroom will most likely require a new larger main
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Possible increase, see System Upgrades Design
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Electrical
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Possible increase, see System Upgrades Design
Interior Plans
Interior 3D Renderings
Project Considerations
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Adding dormers is an option if you meet the Chicago Building Code ceiling height requirement:
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13-196-510 Residential buildings – Ceiling heights: At least one-half of the floor area of every habitable room shall have a ceiling height of not less than seven feet; and the floor area of that part of any room where the ceiling height is less than five feet shall not be considered as part of the floor area in computing the total floor area of the room for the purpose of determining the maximum permissible occupancy thereof. However, in any room, beams or furred spaces constituting not more than 25 percent
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Project Cost Estimate​
Dormers
Total Square Footage: 651ft² / Cost per Square Foot: $235-285
Includes all exterior alterations, added structural support, 2 new bedrooms w/ walk-in closets, 1 full bathroom w/ linen closet and new HVAC system
$153-185k
Kitchen
Move new kitchen into where the rear bedroom once was to provide for a larger, open-concept kitchen with adjacent family room
$25-40k
Family Room
Total Square Footage: 10.3' x 13' = 133.9ft² / Cost per Square Foot: $37-60
Deconvert old kitchen location into family room
$5-8k
Staircase
New staircase to second floor
$8-12k
Plumbing
Possible increase in plumbing service w/ new, larger water main
$15k
Electrical
Possible increase in electrical service
$2.5k
Full Project Download
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Take this to your contractor, architect, or design-build team!
