Second storey additions.
A second storey doubles the floor area of a bungalow without touching the lot. The roof comes off, a new floor goes on, and the old house and the new floor have to read as one, inside and out. That means a test pit before drawings, an engineer deciding whether the footings carry the load or a steel frame does, and a staircase that looks like it was always there.
Concept imageryOn the drawing.
A test pit at the site walk stage so the engineer sees the footings before a floor is drawn
Engineered drawings with the load path decided: reinforced footings, new corner footings or a steel frame
Building permit filed and followed by us, with the zoning height check done first
Roof removal, temporary weather protection, floor and wall framing, new roof and envelope
Staircase, mechanical and electrical extended to the new floor, finishes from the catalogue
A deficiency walk with the list closed before the last payment, and a written warranty
Drivers, not figures.
| Driver | What we look at |
|---|---|
| What the foundation can carry | Reinforced footings cost less than a steel moment frame, and only the test pit tells us which one you need. |
| Floor area of the new storey | A full floor over the whole footprint, or a partial one set back from the front. |
| Roof and envelope | Roof form, cladding that matches or replaces the ground floor, window count. |
| The ground floor | Whether the stair opening and the mechanical runs mean the ground floor is reworked at the same time. |
| Where you live during the build | A second storey usually means moving out for a period, and the schedule is built around that. |
No price per square foot on this site. The test pit and the drawings set the number, and the number holds because of them.
Paper first.
- A building permit with engineered drawings is required in every GTA municipality.
- The zoning by-law sets a height limit for the street; a design above it goes to the Committee of Adjustment first.
- On a semi, the drawings show how the new load stays off the shared wall.
- Heritage listing adds a review of anything visible from the street.
The paperwork wall: WSIB, insurance, licences, the HCRA status and the warranty, on one page and dated.
Most can. The question is how: reinforced footings, new footings at the corners, or a steel frame that carries the new floor independently. The engineer decides from a test pit, and we open one before drawings so the answer is in the price.
For most second storeys, yes, for the period the roof is off and the new floor is being closed in. We tell you how long at the site walk and write it into the schedule.
That is the job. The cladding, the roofline, the window pattern and the staircase are drawn to make the old house and the new floor read as one, and the rendering shows you before you sign.
If the lot, the street and the ground floor are worth keeping, a second storey keeps them and adds the space. If everything needs to change, a new house on the same lot or a move is the cleaner path. Our guide on that choice walks through it.