# Ever heard of turning a two-story into a one story house?



## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

On purpose?


There's a house for sale here in town. Really nice lot...great for gardening, nice and level. The house was built in 1920 and has been left to fall apart for who knows how many years. The roof is toast. The asking price is $24.500. That should tell you a lot.

My question...would it be feasable to remove the roof and second floor and turn it into one story. This would be for one or two residents. Some folks might want more space, but in this case it's not needed.

Just wonder what your thoughts are on this.


stef


----------



## TheMartianChick (May 26, 2009)

I am a boardmember of a nonprofit organization that has done this. The house was a two story Victorian and looked like every other house in the neighborhood. The modification was done very nicely and the house now resembles a Craftsman style house. It really is quite nice and it was painted in classic Victorian colors so it really looks great from the curb. 

There is another old house that had been converted into a corner store by its owners.It is only a few doors away from the other one. The second floor was unoccupied by people, but had a huge flock of pigeons living there. After numerous complaints from neighborhood organizations who had the owner cited for not keeping it up, the owner removed the second story and it now just looks like a rectangular generic building. 

I guess that the moral of the story is that it can look nice if you take the time to find a way to blend the architectural style into something that is pleasing to the eye. Otherwise, you just get something rather utilitarian and boring looking.


----------



## whiterock (Mar 26, 2003)

I have seen some fire damaged bldgs that have had the upper story removed. Looks just fine to me. could still use a flase wall a few feet up and steep pitched roof to make a lot of attic storage space as well.


----------



## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

If the roof is damaged and lets in the rain you should first check into how much water damage is done to the main level, especially the walls. It could be a lot to rip apart and end up costing more.


----------



## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

My Mom once owned a 2 story hotel that was built before the turn of the century. It was in a nasty part of town. One day an elderly drunk came by and told us the hotel used to be a 3 story hotel, but one day the creek that ran beside it overflowed and destroyed the first floor, and floated floors 2 and 3 across the street where it came to rest against another hotel.

I thought he was telling tall tales that were fueled by alcohol. 

Then the newspaper released a history special edition book on an anniverary, and inside was an article about that flood, and there was a picture of floors 2 and 3 of Mom's hotel smashed up against the otel across the street!

They lifted it up and placed logs under it and rolled it back onto the old foundation, now 2 stories instead of three.

And Mom put it to good use. It became a homeless shelter.


----------



## mellba (Oct 15, 2004)

The first house we bought was a two story but you had to duck at a certain point on the stairs to keep from bumping your head. There was another house just like ours nearby, but that house had a beautiful staircase. One of the old timers in the neighborhood told us that someone once bought the house and tore out the original stairs because they intended to turn the house into a one story. That was as far as the owner got with that plan and a later owner built stairs but planned them poorly. Turning a two story into a one story sounds like a lot of work, but I guess it can be done.


----------



## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

The next house down the road from mine was originally a 2 story, and sometime many years ago the widow who owned it decided she didn't need the second floor and had it removed. It can be done.


----------



## dinytcb (Sep 20, 2009)

My sister lives in a house that the second story was removed. the previous owners had to move their house and when they did they removed the second story. The only evidence left is the banister in the attic.


----------



## lmrose (Sep 24, 2009)

We have people her who did just the opposite and added a second floor to a one story house. They needed more room and their lot was too small to make an addition at ground level.

Our house is very old built in 1829 and needs much repair.It is what is called a story and half which is almost as high as a two story house.It is more than we want to take care of and we actually thought of tearing the front half down and fixing the back ell to live in. The ell was built in 1908 79 years later than the originall house. My husband just built a kitchen 2007 and a bathroom in 2008 in the down stairs. After waiting 22 years I really didn't want my kitchen and bathroom destroyed!

It has never occurred to me or him about lowering the house by removing the top floor! It might be something to consider but we just put a new roof on five years ago! Our main reason for wanting to make the house smaller is because this place takes so much wood to heat just the rooms downstairs.We don't heat upstairs but heat escapes through the upstairs. The house is in too hard of shape to consider reconstructing the whole thing. It would be too costly. I think this could be an idea worth considering.


----------



## clovis (May 13, 2002)

A second story can be removed, but it is going to be expensive if you hire it done.

Most likely you will need:

New shingles (The last time I priced roofing was $200 per square for tear off and new shingles laid, but shingle prices have skyrocketed since then.)
New decking on the roof
A crew that doesn't mind using the old rafters, if they can be reused. Have you priced material for rafters lately?
Removal of the old stairwell.
Framing and drywall for the old stairwell walls and ceiling.
Primer and paint for the above.
Flooring for the old stairwell.
Some rework of the sheet metal for the HVAC system
Possibly a rework of the HVAC system so it will be more balanced.
Electrical work for pulling the old circuits from your fuse box.
Plumbing work removed and old lines capped off...and done correctly too, so they won't freeze inside your old walls.
Dumpster fees.

Some building codes require that contractors meet or exceed codes when reworking old houses. Are you prepared for that, financially?

Just my two cents.


----------



## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

Thanks for the interesting responses. 


It's true...there's nothing new under the sun. 
Looks like it's one of those, "it depends on the circumstances" situations.

Again, thanks.

stef


----------



## Rocky Fields (Jan 24, 2007)

Too much work...take a pass and keep looking.


----------



## Ken Scharabok (May 11, 2002)

Were I you, I'd look at resale value for a one vs two story house. Say you spend about the same amount taking off the second floor as it would take to rehab the two story. I would also pay the extra to have a home inspector go through it to see what damage has been done.


----------



## SueM (Oct 19, 2020)

Resurrecting an old thread. We've found a property with multiple houses on it that our extended family is looking to move to. The one we would have - my husband and I - is an older farmhouse with low ceilings. My husband is over 6 feet, and it wouldn't work well for him - he has to duck through the doorways. The house has a second floor, and as this will be the house we will retire in, we'd prefer a one-story. Does it make sense to consider using the height of the second floor to raise the ceilings, getting rid of the second floor?


----------



## GTX63 (Dec 13, 2016)

People bought my mother in law’s childhood home, an old farmhouse.
They took the 2nd story off. Nearly two decades later my mil bumped into one of the owners while in town and asked them why they did that. It was for the same reason; ceiling height was less than 6’ upstairs. They ended up with fewer rooms but a beautiful spacious home.


----------



## Fishindude (May 19, 2015)

If the lower floor walls and foundations are good, it's not all that tough to add a second floor on to a conventionally built stick framed house.
Neighbor down the road did this a few years ago and it has worked out fine.


----------



## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

SueM said:


> Resurrecting an old thread. We've found a property with multiple houses on it that our extended family is looking to move to. The one we would have - my husband and I - is an older farmhouse with low ceilings. My husband is over 6 feet, and it wouldn't work well for him - he has to duck through the doorways. The house has a second floor, and as this will be the house we will retire in, we'd prefer a one-story. Does it make sense to consider using the height of the second floor to raise the ceilings, getting rid of the second floor?


Makes sense to me. Raise the lower level ceilings into the second story. Then fill much of that second story space above the new ceiling with fiberglass insulation batts. Generally, old farmhouses are grossly under-insulated.


----------



## The Paw (May 19, 2006)

SueM said:


> Resurrecting an old thread. We've found a property with multiple houses on it that our extended family is looking to move to. The one we would have - my husband and I - is an older farmhouse with low ceilings. My husband is over 6 feet, and it wouldn't work well for him - he has to duck through the doorways. The house has a second floor, and as this will be the house we will retire in, we'd prefer a one-story. Does it make sense to consider using the height of the second floor to raise the ceilings, getting rid of the second floor?


Certainly possible, but not as easy as it sounds. First off, the walls on the second floor may be load bearing, so if you are removing them (which you would mostly need to if you are taking out the floor structure beneath them), you will need to put in some form of beam, truss or other structural element to carry the load.

Secondly, the floor joists on the second floor will be tied into the rim joist that sits in the exterior wall, on top of the first floor. Those floor joists may be helping to keep the exterior walls from bowing out, by tying the assembly together. Some of the floor joists may need to stay in place for that purpose (or be replaced by less frequently spaced triple beams).

Lastly, some of the doorways on the first floor are going to be located in load bearing walls. If you want to raise the height of such a doorway, you may be cutting into a structural element above it. So you would need to alter the structure to maintain its integrity.

All of this is possible, but you really would want an engineer to map out a plan for you. Then you can determine if it is worth the effort.


----------



## MichaelZ (May 21, 2013)

SueM said:


> My husband is over 6 feet, and it wouldn't work well for him - he has to duck through the doorways.


Made me think of a "fixer-upper" for-sale-by-owner house my wife and I looked at once. The cupboards were all from 6' to 8' up. My wife is 4' 11 1/2". Also, the current owner MRS was not much taller. But her husband, the creator of these homemade cupboards, was 6'2"! Also, they had a toilet right in the middle of a room (among other things)! The owner complained about how the real estate business was "fixed" since no one would list his house.

With respect to the OP, check for mold issues given previous water damage. These can render a home useless and only fit for demolition.


----------

