Considerations With Pop Tops

Is a Pop Top The Right Thing For Your Home?

In our last post we opened up about the subject of a Pop Top renovation. In this post we will dive deeper into considerations that you might want to make if you are to consider if this is an option for your existing home or a home that you want to buy.

Is it always possible to add a second floor (or third) to an existing home?

The answer is: “it depends”

We have found that a lot of the existing homes in Alexandria built after 1940 have both footings and foundation walls sufficient to carry the weight of having an additional story added to the existing structure.

Another thing to consider is the zoning ordinances that govern the lot where the home resides. This includes (but is not limited to) limits on height, proximity to property lines, total amount of square footage allowed to be under roof, and lot coverage. Having a builder and architect that know Alexandria’s ordinances is key to designing a home that can actually be permitted for construction.

Is it cheaper to build up vs. build out?

This answer will depend on what you design. For example: building a ground floor addition for a new living room might be cheaper than building a new second floor addition that includes a primary suite with large bathroom. This is, of course, if you have the space (and zoning ordinance allows you) to enlarge the footprint of the home.

Can a higher ceiling height on the first floor be achieved through a Pop Top renovation?

When we pop the top of a home we almost always deconstruct the exiting roof structure which includes the rafters and ceiling joists. In these cases we often increase the height of the ceiling for the first floor. Many homeowners in the current market want ceilings of between 9 and 10 feet.

Should we keep the existing MEP systems (mechanical, electrical, plumbing) or update/upgrade?

A lot of the mechanical (i.e. HVAC), electrical, and plumbing systems in homes built 50+ years ago were not engineered to accommodate modern day demands. And, very often, the systems are beyond their useful life. Because of these reasons we suggest having an engineer that we work with design news systems that will last for another 50+ years. This is just like we would do if we were building a new home from scratch.

Can Old Glory Property Construction help me understand if a particular property is a good candidate for a Pop Top?

Yes! In our next blog post we will go into more detail as to how to work with us.