“Out with the old, in with the new,” some say.

Others say, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

An addition to an existing building is a good compromise between these two views, and is likely the most cost effective way to increase a home’s interior area.

“The Oceanside” presents an innovative, economical way of fusing new and existing roof lines to sensibly, yet attractively help tie new to existing work. To ensure this, it is important with most additions to determine at the design stage exactly where the new roof will “land” relative to the existing structure. This point is dictated by the minimum headroom requirement anticipated, usually about 8 feet or 2.5 metres. Oceanside Gallery

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Most addition roofs will need to land above the existing building’s eave to achieve adequate head room in interior areas. A chief design feature of The Oceanside is the structural method used to join new and existing roof planes.

This Hunterstruct innovation allows for a minimum floor to ceiling height of 8 feet, and at the addition’s interior peak, 9 feet.

As The Oceanside’s photo gallery reveals, this design provides an appealing ceiling height that matches the existing building’s vaulted ceiling, yet requires only minimal structural upgrading of the wall framing shared by existing and new construction.

A more common way to “lid” an addition is by use of a gable dormer like we’ve used for The Bump’s roof, but as most buildings’ roof framing is not engineered with a future addition in mind, substantial structural upgrading is typically required to bring building loads to ground safely when using dormer framing to roof an addition.

The scope of this project includes a deck upgrade. This was a good time to do it as we were able to create ideal waterproofing and drainage by affixing the deck’s vinyl surface membrane well up and under the addition’s siding. As well, with the addition’s interior framing open, we easily installed suitable backing in the wall to lag screw the railing to.

Apparently the original deck trembled under the weight of a Yorkshire terrier, so we installed a beefy girder and “sistered” the existing joists, and in the process decreased the excessive slope of the original deck. Oceanside Gallery

Turning to The Oceanside’s interior, as with the exterior, equal care has been taken to blend shapes, textures, colours and materials in an attempt to make the addition look and feel like a natural extension of the original building. A visit to The Oceanside’s photo gallery will reveal this longstanding Hunterstruct commitment to making buildings that are practical, durable and pleasing – in use, and to the eye.

Make more of your home. Contact Hunterstruct today to discuss your building addition ideas.

Hunterstruct’s “One Call For All” design, build, renovation, repair service is available in BC’s Lower Mainland, the BC Interior, and the Sunshine Coast of BC. We travel to build!