Expert: Richard Taylor, AIA - 4/6/2008

Question
Hi, I live in a 1920's historic house with a hip-style roof.  The roof has to be completely torn off and replaced because the original cedar shakes are still on the roof, and at least 3 layers of shingles were added on top of them at some point.  The roof isn't leaking now because it's been patched; but we will definitely have to replace it in the next few years.  My question to you is this:  Since the whole roof (except for the beams) has to be torn off anyway, how difficult and expensive would it be to raise the pitch of the roof so that we could finish it into an attic bedroom with sloping ceilings (but tall enough to meet code and stand up under eaves)?  I live in the Southeast, if that helps at all.  Thanks so much for your time!

Answer
Hi Allison, thanks for your question!

If you raise the pitch of the roof, you're going to be tearing the entire thing out and rebuilding it new; you can reuse old rafters if you lower the pitch, but not if you raise it.

The problem's magnified with a hipped roof, since it's more complex structurally to support.

And since it's historic, you might be adversely altering the character of the home by raising the pitch.

But you still have options...

Depending on the style, you might be able to raise the entire roof a few feet - literally lift the whole thing up - and install "kneewalls" below it.  That would give you additional head height and keep the entire existing roof intact.  If the house isn't too big, this isn't hard to do!

Another possibility is building a dormer roof to enclose the new bedroom.  You'll need to have a fairly tall roof already to do this, but it keeps the existing roof structure mostly intact and doesn't affect the character of the home (depending on the size of the dormer, and where you put it).

I'd suggest contacting an Architect in your area (www.aia.org) who knows how to do sensitive additions to historic homes.  There's probably a lot of value in keeping the character of the house intact, so be sure you and your Architect focus on solutions that complement what you already have.

Hope this helps,

Richard Taylor, AIA
www.rtastudio.com
www.rtaplans.com