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Q: What are common mistakes that lead to a second story addition looking tacked on?

Sometimes second floor additions can look very obvious and incongruous with the rest of the house. While I'm sure what makes a new second story blend in can be very situation specific, I am also certain there are some common mistakes made by homeowners and designers that result in the tacked on look. Any thoughts from professionals as to what those common pitfalls are? Any thoughts on how to best avoid them?

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  • A: Avoiding that added-on look



    While each house is different, there are some things to watch out for when designing a second floor addition:

    Most importantly, unless a completely different look is desired, try to design an addition that compliments the original design. A house with low roof slopes will look out of place with an addition featuring steep roof lines and vice versa. Which brings up another point: sometimes it is necessary to modify the design of the existing roof systems to blend in with new second floor exterior walls and new roof systems. Additional framing can help ease the transition between old and new.

    Other design fouls that are obvious on some add-ons and remodels are out of scale features. For instance, a dorner addition to an existing roof system must take into account the overall size of the elevation. A dormer that is too large will stick-out as much as a dormer that is too small.

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    Dec 2, 2020

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