Andrew Duane wrote:
Before you even start to answer this question, you have to get an
engineer out to look at the foundation and footings under the house.
Many ranches (mine included) just do not have the foundation strength
to hold up a second floor.

Can you not beef up the foundation possibly? We have a crawl space, and
I was thinking that you should be able to add more piers to handle the
additional weight. Or is that wishful thinking?

They also need to see if the bearing walls
will handle the extra load, along with details like roof construction
(trusses versus rafters). Remember, you're doubling the weight on your
foundation and lower level walls. If they can't handle it, you have a
showstopper problem.

What if you want to only place a second floor over a portion of the
ranch house? Could you build piers/foundation to handle only that
portion of the house, and leave the remaining foundation as is?


Then there's the whole issue of HVAC, electrical, etc. Do these
subsystems need to be overhauled for the extra load, or will your
furnace handle a new zone or two? That's the difference between $1K
for some new ducts or baseboards and $10K for a whole new system.

Bottom line, get an engineer (or an engineering capable builder) out
to look over everything first and work up some numbers. There's no way
to estimate even to within a factor of 2 without knowing these things.

On Mar 13, 1:55 pm, wrote:

Can someone tell me how much this generally costs? I have a ranch
that I would like to renovate by adding a second floor. Is there a
way to estimate it per square foot? What hidden costs are there (such
as architect fees, permit fees, and etc.)? Thanks.