Add Space With a Second Story Addition

by Dave Clark

If you find yourself and your family in need of additional space, you may want to consider raising your roof and adding a second story to your home.

Building up is a viable option when setback requirements or the location of your home on the lot negates building out or limits on how far you can build out. An advantage of building up is you can typically gain more space with a second story. However, just as with setback restrictions, there may be height restrictions in your community or subdivision. You will need to visit your local government zoning office to check for that. You will also want to check your property deed to see if the developer of your land included restrictions on second story additions.

When you decide that a second story is feasible, your contractor will determine whether current exterior walls and foundation will support the load, and how the mechanicals will be handled. Furnace and electrical may have to be upgraded to support the new living space. Sometimes mechanicals can be run through floor trusses but there is the possibility that new runs are necessary. 

Although adding a second story means that the roof will have to be torn off, you will still be able to live in the house while the work is going on. Usually, the current ceiling and ceiling joints are kept in place while a new floor structure is built on top so disruption to the main floor is very minimal.

Adding a second story gives you almost unlimited design options to meet your specific needs and also provides the chance to make some changes to the first floor. You will gain new space as bedrooms or even a laundry room are relocated. Instead of using all the square footage to create individual rooms, another option for a second story is to leave some of the space from the main floor to the second floor open, creating a loft.

Depending on how you envision your new living space, stairs can be a grand showcase with a new layout. But if you want to maintain as much of your first floor’s usable space with minimal disruption, stairs can be located over basement steps or even going up through an existing closet space.

Second floor additions can save you some money over build-outs. You are staying within the existing footprint so you don’t have the cost of landscaping, excavation, and masonry, but you will have some significant demo tearing off the roof and replacing it. But price-wise, it’s the least expensive way to go other than going into the basement.

One of the other advantages of going up is enhancing the overall aesthetics of the home’s exterior. A second story can transform a plain Jane ranch into an impressive colonial, Tudor, Craftsman, or contemporary.

Where do I begin with my addition?

by Jeff Bilstrom 

With an addition, the possibilities of creating usable living space are countless – up, out, down, or in (almost) any direction from the existing home. What I am seeing currently is a lot of interest in creating an addition for an aging parent, expanded mud rooms off the garage, main floor master suites, larger entertainment center rooms, and main floor and second floor laundry rooms.

But before ground can be broken or roofs raised, there is important pre-planning to do. As a homeowner, you first need to get a survey of the property showing lot size, setbacks, and where the house, garage, and other structures are located. Secondly, you need to do some research on deed restrictions. Some subdivisions may have protective covenants that restrict size of structure, style, and materials. You also need to check whether your local community has requirements for setbacks, square footage of green space or hard space on the property.

Another factor to consider is how the home sits on the lot. There may be only one area where an addition can be constructed because of where the driveway and garage are located for example, as well as proximity to lot lines.

If there is no space to bump out, there is always the possibility of converting the attic or basement into a livable, functional space. Even the garage can be converted into a family room with a new garage built on the front or side of it. But this also presents challenges with ceiling construction, joists sufficient to carry the load, fireproof drywall and insulation, and heating and air-conditioning. Those may be challenges, but not impossible to overcome.

Conversions can be done over garages. Because they are typically not built for living space, the ceiling joists are not spec’d out to hold a live floor load. They have to be reinforced and mechanicals such as HVAC and plumbing need to be addressed. Rooms over a garage also need to be fireproofed.

Of course budget for any addition comes into play. Square footage and amenities desired will drive the cost. For example, a 12 x 12 bedroom with one or two windows will price out less than a 12 x 12 kitchen with plumbing, cabinetry, appliances, and flooring choices.

The key to any successful addition is to blend it with the existing structure with matching materials, roofline, and window style. At no point should you be able to tell it was added.

Closet Organizing Solutions

by Paulette Soddeman

What do you wish for when you look into your closet every morning? I think a common answer would be more space and more organization.

Having an organized space for our clothes, shoes, and accessories not only makes it easier to get ready for the day, but it saves time, decreases stress level, and is aesthetically pleasing. When we’re organized, we’re calmer, more self-assured, and ready to take on the day.

Customized closet systems really help with keeping things organized. There are many systems and styles to choose from whether your closet is a reach-in or room sized.

A starting point is to sort through your clothes and purge unneeded and unwanted items. We all have that outdated blazer that we think will come back in style or the too tight pants that we intend to diet into. Probably neither will happen. Now is the time to get realistic and get rid of what you haven’t worn for a year. Then assess your needs for items that need to be hung from taller poles, such as for long dresses, coats, or robes. For items such as shirts, blazers, and pants, multi-tiered rods can be used. Pants hung on a fold-over hanger instead of hanging by their cuffs can save a lot of vertical space. Here’s a hint; having hangers all the same such as all wooden or all padded means all your clothes will be at the same length – easier to find what you need and much nicer to look at.

The most basic closet space is what we find in the older housing stock – the reach-in closet. It might seem at first glance that there is nothing you can do to create more space, but you can incorporate long and double hanging rods and floor-to-ceiling vertical shelving, open or closed. Baskets, bins, shoe racks, and other elements all help to make it look clutter-free.

One option that is getting a lot of buzz is lighting systems within the hanging rod. Usually found in luxury hotels or high-end boutiques, lighted rods are making their way into residential. An even distribution of light helps you see more clearly colors and textures. It’s a little luxury that makes a big difference.

Many of us dream of a large walk-in closet, but those can get pretty disorganized too without a system of shelving, drawers, and multi-level rods. Accessories can include tie and belt racks, jewelry and lingerie drawers, laundry hampers, shoe shelves, and valet hooks.

Materials for storage systems can range from basic laminate to wood grain, floor standing or off-floor suspended. A wide option of door styles, wood species, and finishes are available to complement the look of your home.

A real luxury is to have a room-size closet. I’ve designed some for empty nesters who want to repurpose an unused bedroom or who incorporated a much larger space with a master suite remodel. Walk-in closets at least 10 feet wide may feature a freestanding island. For closets not large enough for an island, a smaller peninsula is an option.

Closet organization systems don’t need to be confined to the bedroom. Pantries, linen closets, home offices, laundry and mud rooms all benefit from systems that make your home function and look better.

Consider Fiber-Cement Siding for Your Exterior Remodel

by Tim Liegler

Vinyl isn’t the only option when it comes to siding a house. There also is James Hardie® fiber-cement siding. Fiber-cement siding provides durability, longevity, ease of maintenance and great curb appeal. It’s a natural product and is considered green and sustainable by industry professionals.  Where subdivisions require a natural product to be installed on the home, fiber cement siding will most often qualify as a siding that fits into the covenants of the subdivision. Cost-wise, it’s a little more than high-end vinyl, but the benefits far outweigh the cost difference.

James Hardie fiber-cement siding is thicker than vinyl, providing deeper shadow lines and a more natural wood grain texture.  Fiber cement is also noncombustible, resistant to moisture, woodpeckers, and insects.

James Hardie also manufactures its siding to take into account climate differences. Here in the Midwest we have huge temperature changes and freeze and thaw cycles. James Hardie engineered a siding that provides superior paint adhesion and protection from heat, hail, high winds, snow, and other climate conditions.

James Hardie fiber-cement siding comes in a variety of styles including traditional lap siding (4 widths), a beaded colonial lap siding, vertical siding in four styles including a stucco look, and in three shingle style sidings.  The horizontal lap sidings come in both a smooth and a cedarmill finish.  To fully complement your siding look, James Hardie also offers a full complement of HardieTrim® boards, HardieTrim® crown molding, and HardieSoffit® panels.

When considering James Hardie fiber-cement siding, look into the wide range of colors available in their ColorPlus® Technology.  This is an innovative product with a baked-on finish providing unprecedented color consistency.  Products with the ColorPlus technology provide you years of lasting beauty and peace of mind with a 15-year finish warranty.  HardieTrim and HardiSoffit also come with ColorPlus Technology in fewer colors.  An edge coater, touch-up pen and caulk complete the look.  

A common question is whether fiber-cement siding can be put over existing siding. It cannot or the warranty is void. Proper installation means the home’s exterior needs to be stripped down to sheathing, a weather barrier installed, followed by installation of the fiber cement siding.

A beautiful appearance, durability, ease of maintenance, years of enjoyment, a siding voted #1 return on investment for siding replacement by a leading industry magazine, and finally peace-of-mind with an outstanding 30-year limited, transferable warranty that offers non-prorated coverage for the entire 30 years.

Thinking About Maintenance? The Importance and Reason for Soffit and Fascia

by Brad Flannigan

Soffits and fascia are not only important aspects when it comes to your home’s appearance, they are also critical to its performance.  While they are a big part of what everyone first sees when looking at your home, soffit and fascia are not just cosmetic.  If they are not maintained, they will not only detract from the look and value of your home, they could cause extensive damage as well.

Here at Callen Construction, we do a lot of aluminum soffits and fascia.  Why?  Because once you install aluminum soffits and fascia, you instantly add value to your home, as they are maintenance free, look great, and can add more design features to your home than wood.  Aluminum also offers more than 40 colors to better personalize your home.  Usually, we match the color to the window trim or gutters, but each homeowner has a unique approach and aluminum soffits and fascia provide many options.

The look is also unique in that it is a paneled soffit – it does not look smooth like plywood.  Therefore, it adds a cleaner, neater, cut to the home, with accurate mitered corners.  Just think, no more climbing on ladders, or neck and back pains, or scraping, priming, and painting.  In addition, you may need to repaint every few years.  Plus, if the wood rots, that needs to be replaced.  Additional costs can add up quickly.

Cleaning aluminum soffit and fascia is much easier as well.  Our unique aluminum soffits and fascia have a baked on enamel, hard coat, with a factory-machined finish.  A pressure washer will clean off most of the aluminum where there was an overlap of water, or trees and leaves have left marks.  With traditional paint, you don’t really have an easy cleaning option, and pressure washing will more than likely take the paint right off.

In addition, our method of fascia installation actually makes the product stronger.  Sometimes, on the wider fascia boards, a problem called “oil canning” or rippling/buckling can occur.  Here at Callen, we prevent that from happening by pressure bending the aluminum.  This makes the aluminum actually denser and stronger, which makes it last longer.  In addition, it looks more decorative, as this process adds a line you can see all the way around the house.  If you don’t do this process, and the aluminum moves, it can actually pull the nails right out.

Ventilation is a key component of your soffit system not to be overlooked.  Part of the soffit’s job is to be sure that air travels through the vents into the attic.  A blocked soffit vent can spell big trouble for your home, so it is critical these are open and clear.  In addition, it’s important to make sure that the attic insulation is not too tight, and that there is either a valve or baffle into the attic so the attic can breathe, and alleviate any condensation that may gather in the soffit.  We recommend one vent be placed about every eight feet.  Our system is unique, in that it is a perforated soffit vent system, which looks just like the soffit panels and therefore blends together and looks great, while serving an important function.

How do you know if you don’t have enough soffit ventilation?  We find mold and mildew on the outside of existing homeowners soffits all the time.  However, not only could this be a problem with soffit venting, it could also be a roof leak.  Consequently, let the professionals at Callen look at your home and diagnose the issue with a complete inspection.

While we’re replacing your soffit and fascia, we also inspect all the wood.  If the wood is rotted or warped, we replace it.  The great thing about covering wood soffits and fascia with aluminum is that we don’t need to perform a complete tear off, and therefore can replace just the sections that are bad.  We find that a lot of times the gutter corner caps on older houses can leak pretty badly.  During our installation process, we pull off all the gutters and check all the wood, and if there are large areas that are bad, we can address them at that time.

Speaking of gutters, there is not a better time to replace them then replacing the soffits and fascia.  We find that most gutters on older houses are not pitched correctly as well.  If we find that you do need new gutters, we will provide you with an estimate so we can correctly pitch and rehang new seamless gutters, after we install the new soffits and fascia.

Lastly, installation is normally very fast, with little mess.  Here at Callen, we clean up at the end of every day.  We pride ourselves on the fact that you wont find any piles of material lying around, or jagged metal pieces that might injure a child or cause issues doing normal household chores, like cutting the grass.  We usually work on one side of the house, working our way around the perimeter.  In fact, it is our policy that we haul everything away at the end of each day (including gutters, if needed) and therefore do not normally even need a dumpster.  We also use a special magnetic pick up to check the ground around the work area.

An average size house is typically competed in two to three days.  This can vary depending on the number of bends, angles, number of stories, type of house, etc.  A tall house may require ladders or even scaffolding, and if gutters are added, this can add some extra time.

Let Callen’s team of Exterior Product Specialists show you how replacing soffits and fascia can enhance your home’s appearance and functionality.

 

Siding Choices Help Homes Operate Properly

                         by Christopher Wittmann



As a child who loved playing outside (and still does!), I remember my mother always telling me to protect my body from the sun and heat by using lotion or covering up with light or loose clothes.  In the winter, protection meant wearing multiple layers of clothing along with a hat, scarf, and gloves to ensure my body was kept warm and dry.  When it comes to our homes, those same lessons still apply.

Protecting our investment is a means to ensure that issues don’t creep up.  Siding our homes with durable, aesthetically pleasing, and low maintenance products is one way to do this.  In the past, paint was the product to ensure we protected our homes’ “skin.”  Whether it was wood or aluminum siding, it was a chore to scrape and paint it every few years.  Safety also became a concern, especially when it came to painting the hard-to-reach areas.  With the advent of low-maintenance siding products, those days are gone.

Callen offers a variety of types, styles, and colors of siding to suit just about anyone’s tastes.  Two types that can make a dramatic impact on curb appeal are Vinyl siding and Insulated Vinyl siding.

Vinyl siding, which has been around since the early 1960’s, has historically received a bad rap, as it was seen as a cheap siding alternative.  It was known to warp in extreme climates and easily fade.  Quoting Henry Ford’s adage of “Any customer can have a car painted any color he wants so long as it is black,” colors were limited to lighter tones to ward off heat absorption and profiles were limited to horizontal clap board style.

Through the years, manufacturers such as Mastic and Royal changed this paradigm and reformulated their products, greatly increasing sustainability and color retention in all climates.  Not only are deep, dark, and rich colors now offered, profiles such as Shake, Shingle, Half Rounds, Vertical Board and Batten, Dutch Lap, and Architectural Accents have been added to the mix.

Insulated Vinyl Siding

Though Vinyl siding is a solution to protect the outer shell from the elements, energy savings now plays a major role in siding replacement.  One way to combat the effects of heat and cold is by ways of Insulated Vinyl siding.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to insulating our houses.  The most common is to retain the conditioned or heated air inside the house by ways of wall and attic insulation.  Another way to providing increased energy efficiency is counteracting the “thermal bridging” effect in homes. Thermal bridging occurs where the interior and exterior of a home are connected, or bridged, by a poorly insulating material; an example of this kind of bridge would be the wall studs that interrupt the insulated stretches of a wall and allow heat to flow between the home’s interior and the outdoors.  Using Insulated siding helps erect a barrier to prevent heat loss (or gain) at the points where the studs contact the outer wall of the house and at other areas where thermal bridging commonly occurs.

Companies such as Mastic and Royal are those that, back in the early 1990’s, started laminating foam insulation to the backside of the Vinyl siding.  Expanded polystyrene (EPS) is the most common insulation material used in Insulated siding.  Not only can it increase the insulation R-factor (the resistance to heat loss), it creates straighter lines and lays flatter than conventional Vinyl siding, making it more effective on irregular walls.  It also reduces outside noise, and reduces the amount of heat loss or gain from the house.

To aid in reducing moisture retention behind the siding, products such as Royal’s “Mill Run” starts with a thicker EPS foam that is compressed to the desired thickness to reduce the porosity of the foam.  In addition, grooves are machined diagonally on the back of the foam aiding in the reduction of moisture that can sit behind the siding.

Many of the manufacturers we work require training classes to teach us the methods necessary to ensure proper fit and form during installation.  Callen is a company that deems it necessary that we always take advantage of these and many other educational opportunities offered through third-party entities such as the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and Vinyl Siding Institute (VSI).  That way we are installing your products in the most current and recommended methods.

Let Callen’s team of Exterior Product Specialists show you the many Vinyl siding options available and discuss how we can transform your home into one that grabs attention, is more aesthetically pleasing, reduces heating and cooling costs, and allows you more leisure time with virtually no maintenance.

SOLID AS A ROCK: Solid Surface Walls versus Tile Walls in the Shower

By Jeff Billstrom

As with anything in life, there are pros and cons to everything.  When it comes to bathroom walls, there are many options in both solid surface walls and traditional tile.  From the shape, size, and dimension of a tile to the vast colors and textures available in solid surfaces, making a decision between the two usually comes down to design and personal taste.

Solid surface materials offer many benefits over traditional tile.  To name a couple, they are a grout-free, worry-free surface.  That means no more issues with grouting or loose tiles.  In addition, they are solid all the way through and provide a lifetime of use that will never wear out.  Because they are non-porous and unaffected by humidity, bacteria and mold will not grow, and they are easy to clean.  In addition, there are around a dozen manufacturers of solid surface materials with over 100 colors and textures to select from.  While they sound perfect, just like anything, if they are not installed correctly by a professional, these walls can experience similar issues like grout at caulking lines, or even leak.

Certain customers, however, prefer traditional tile over solid surface walls, even with the known issues to tile and grout.  Some people just don’t like they way solid surface walls look.  While they come in a wide variety of colors and textures, you cannot create the mosaics some customers like and want, or are used to.  Therefore, many customers will say that solid surface walls are only for use in new or more contemporary homes.

The fact is, we design and install both styles in all types of homes.  It comes down to more personal taste than anything as cost can vary.  While solid surface materials often cost more up front, you save on the labor costs required to install traditional tile and grout installations.

Even though it would appear that solid surface walls may be less expensive to clean, you’re probably not going to find much of a difference in cleaning either types of these walls, as they both will depend on frequency of use (read: amount of soap scum) and your own specific water conditions. Regardless, the best way to preserve your investment will be frequent cleanings.

Once you know difference, you can then decide based on benefits, looks, and budget according to your design.