Reviewing Attic Conversion Plans

Project: Victorian Restoration, Episode 1, Part 4



This ambitious restoration project involves renovating a Victorian home, as well as a former dairy barn also on the property. In its new configuration, the barn will include two offices and an art studio. After a brief tour of the city, Bob meets with the home's new owner, Rikk Larsen, and contractor Charlie Tomaszewski, to discuss the work ahead.
Part 1: Tour of Medford, MA
Part 2: Discussing Architectural Plans for the Victorian Restoration
Part 3: Planning for the Second Floor and Master Bedroom
Part 4: Reviewing Attic Conversion Plans
Bob meets structural engineer Steve Siegel on the attic floor of the Medford, MA. The attic is right from the 1880s and clearly no longer meets code.

As the homeowner intends to create a home office here, with cathedral ceilings, structural changes will be required. Steve explains that the existing structure is undersized and will need to be reinforced.

To create useable living space, Steve suggests taking out the existing collars and installing a ridge beam to support the whole load of the roof. To do this, Siegel would put a piece of wood at every rafter pair, then position the ridge beam just below. However, this configuration might conflict with the architect's plan to fill the whole gable end with a big glass triangle.
Located just five miles from downtown Boston, Bob's scouts discovered a Victorian-era house in a neighborhood of family homes on tree-lined streets that was past due for a full-scale renovation.

The home's new owners, a work-at-home family, have set goals to modernize the home's floor plan, update the building's mechanical and electrical systems, and add home office and work spaces for two busy professionals.

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