4320 Neosho - Addition/Remodel
This project entails the demolition of the walls, roof, and ceilings of an existing 1940's 1400sf single story house and using the existing foundation and first floor structure as the base for a new 2 story 2470sf 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath contemporary residence with 750sf of roof deck. The project is for an expanding family who assessed the options of buying a larger house or remodeling and expanding the existing house. Even with the current reduced prices of surrounding homes ($900,000+ for a comparable 2500sf house) the better financial move was to expand and remodel. The project budget is approximately $400,000 for construction.
The client requested a contemporary Mediteranian style house - not too modern but also not too traditional. The main exterior materials are to be smooth stucco for the walls, metal roof for the sloped roofs, and a pvc roof deck material. The house forms developed were a traditional hipped roof element for the entry but clad with metal roofing for a more contemporary look and balancing that was a flat roof deck with some parapet walls for privacy mixed with some metal posts with cable rail guardrails. A central stair tower extends from the first floor to the roof and provides a thermal chimney (hot air rises concept) providing a natural cooling device.
In the almost tear down/addition/remodel projects, the question is whether it makes financial sense to save the foundation and first floor structure given the added support required. It ends up being a case by case issue depending on the soil conditions, extent of the remodel/addition, and condition/age of existing foundations. The existing foundation was composed of 12" wide reinforced footings in good shape and depth - as such, structural engineering was based on some underpinning (30"x30"x18" concrete pads @ 6' OC) due to increased code requirements (typically 15" footings) for two story structures and the added roof deck loads. However, during plan check, the building department requested a soils report and since the area was determined to be in a liquefaction area and the existing footings didn't have continuous rebar in them, the city required continuous underpinning of all of the existing footings. As such, we ended up widening all of the existing the footings by 4" on each side in lieu of underpinning. The savings of using the existing foundation in the end was minimal if any - in fact, the contractor stated that it would have been easier/cheaper to demo the whole thing and start fresh. However, we were able to keep the existing proximity to the property line by saving the foundation and some of the first floor walls.