Expert: Stephen Major - 2/23/2007

Question
Ok bear with me, I am sure my verbage will be way off when trying to discribe what I want..but here we go. Basically I am just looking to change the look of my house from the outside. My house currently has a gable roof, it is only about a 4/12 pitch and very plain looking. I want to create a "dormer" look on the outside, giving it some height and interrest. The house has vaulted celings, there is no attic so I am not looking to add any living space, I just want it to look different from the outside. Can this be done, can you just tie it into the existing roof without doing much structural work. I don't need for it to have any windows, the house sits on the water and the entire front is windows/sliders so light isn't an issue. You know those houses where the garage has a pitched roof above it and they put cedar shingles on in a triangle shape then trim between the shingles and the garage door, that is the look I am trying to go for. I probably sound so rediculous, I know what I want, I see it in my head, hopefully you can see it too. Thank you so much for at least listening.

Answer
Paula,

In most cases this type of alteration is easy.  Typically, the existing shingles are stripped and the new roofline is framed over the old.  Care must be taken to assure adequate load transfer and wind anchorage.  Typically some of the existing sheathing is removed to allow for good ventilation -- it is important that the new attic space be ventilated properly with consideration for the existing space.

If you are interested in having design work done for this, let me know.