Hello,

Our house is a 1600 sqft house in Central Texas not far from Austin
with a concrete foundation, built around 1982, and we are considering
the addition of a second story over part of the house. We're looking
at adding an area above the garage and possibly partially over the
living room, which total would be maybe 550-600 sqft added.

Some questions though... what do we need to consider or check with
first? I want the new addition to fit as well as possible into the
current house and floorplan, in other words, not look obviously like an
add-on. Finding a place to add stairs indoors might be tricky, and the
outside since the house is brick might also be a feat. Any suggestions
on picking out an architect or what to look for? I'm sure doing this
isn't too common, so I'm betting few architects will have a huge
portfolio of additions going up.

Secondly, we don't live in town, instead we live kind aout in the
country and not within any city limits. I'll contact the county and
also my title company to get a list of community restrictions, but
AFAIK we don't have any city permits or anything smiliar. Any ideas
along these lines?

As for cost, has anyone done this recently or know round about what
such an addition might cost? We plan on this new space having a
bedroom, bathroom, and a second room for an office/study. Nothing too
fancy.

And finally, can someone suggest other resources online? I've looked
for pictures of before and after with folks doing what we hope to do,
but I've not found any. I'd love to see photos taken by someone who
went through this same process.

Thanks for any ideas, suggestions, or words of wisdom. Take care,

Alex