Is it a good idea to add a second floor on top of a 1938 brick house?

May 23, 2015 4:12 PM

I'm looking at a brick house built in 1938. I want to do an extensive attic conversion, basically add a second floor to the back half of the house. Is this house being brick a good thing for me, or a bad thing? Is such an old house going to be too big of a problem to add on to at all?
posted by brenton to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

1938 isn't really "such an old house." The rest of the universe extends much older brick houses all day, every day. You need to talk to a contractor, though, because it's much less about "it's brick" and much more about the engineering of that specific house, the gradient and the planning permission.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:21 PM on May 23, 2015 [10 favorites]

My house was built in 1928 and some previous owners added a very wonderful second floor in the mid 90's. Three big bedrooms, a large landing/ den area and two full bathrooms. All brick house. It can easily be done with the right people and if the house can support it. Good luck.
posted by pearlybob at 4:33 PM on May 23, 2015

You could have poorly built, or amazingly over engineered 1938 brick houses, which unfortunately means....

This is a house specific question, and you probably need to talk to a structural engineer. Which I am not.
posted by TheAdamist at 4:52 PM on May 23, 2015 [5 favorites]

The brick question is only half of the problem. If it's double wythe (layer) brick, the bricks themselves should be able to hold it just fine. Chicago brick bungalows are regularly converted to two story houses.

But. Its all about the foundation. Atlanta soil is very clay-ey, and the footings that were poured for a 1 story house may not be able to hold up to an added level.
posted by hwyengr at 6:02 PM on May 23, 2015

Are you in earthquake country?
posted by small_ruminant at 6:03 PM on May 23, 2015

I'm in SE Georgia. I'd bet heavily that this is a brick veneer house - i.e., wood 2x4 walls, probably 1x board sheathing on the outside, then some asphalt paper, then the brick held off the wood a bit with metal ties. If so, the brick is NOT loadbearing, the wood studs are.
You need a structural engineer. Not only is it about the foundation, it's also about how time and termites have treated the framing.
Seismic in that area of Georgia is minimal if at all.
posted by rudd135 at 6:19 PM on May 23, 2015 [4 favorites]

Seconding and thirding the advice that it's time to involve a professional of some kind.. Structural engineer can do the math, but you may just want a small local architect who has been around working on RESIDENTIAL properties in your area for a decade or so.
posted by bird internet at 3:01 AM on May 24, 2015

The town I live in in England consists entirely of brick houses, and since they are all pretty small, people get loft conversions and extensions ALL THE TIME. Of course, they all talk to a structural engineer first!
posted by emilyw at 11:38 AM on May 24, 2015

My house was built in 1924 and it is a structural monster. Solid foundation..never settled and built with ship lap on every wall. The point is that every house is different, but the building materials and construction methods in that time period were typically over engineered for a variety of reasons.

My advice as mentioned above is to hire a local residential architect or a local contractor (although being an architect I am biased) to evaluate the foundation, interior walls, and roof construction. There are a variety of framing techniques used in that period (i.e. balloon framing) that might lend itself to an addition.

Hire a professional for an initial investigation and see what your options are.
posted by Benway at 12:21 PM on May 24, 2015