[pinkchry]

We are adding an extension (17' x 35') adjoining a wall of a 2 storey house. There are windows on the wall. The architect came up with a couple of rough ideas

Both of those seem pretty bad with respect to water management and so now I'm considering a shed roof. From my (amateurish) calculation, the pitch of the roof will be atmost 3/12. Is it possible to put asphalt shingles on such a roof? Will there be usable attic space?



Any ideas or suggestions I can put forward to the architect? I'm afraid that he's not very experienced and would like to propose some solutions so that we can move forward.


Any other roof ideas that I can consider? I'm located in Southern California.



Thanks!

 

[Nealtw]

We are adding an extension (17' x 35') adjoining a wall of a 2 storey house. There are windows on the wall. The architect came up with a couple of rough ideas

Both of those seem pretty bad with respect to water management and so now I'm considering a shed roof. From my (amateurish) calculation, the pitch of the roof will be atmost 3/12. Is it possible to put asphalt shingles on such a roof? Will there be usable attic space?



Any ideas or suggestions I can put forward to the architect? I'm afraid that he's not very experienced and would like to propose some solutions so that we can move forward.


Any other roof ideas that I can consider? I'm located in Southern California.



Thanks!

Floor to bottom of lowest window in the house ?

floor joists in the house? 2x10? 2x8?

ceiling height in main house 8 ft? 9 ft?

Thickness for shed roof at house about 6 1/2"

 

[pinkchry]

Floor to bottom of lowest window in the house ? 4'

Floor joists in the house? 2x10? 2x8? I think they are 2x8 - It's 1 feet from the top of the ceiling to the second floor.

Ceiling height in main house 8 ft? 9 ft? 8ft

So the total height from the bottom of the first floor to the bottom of the window is 13'


Thanks!

 

[Nealtw]

Floor to bottom of lowest window in the house ? 4'

Floor joists in the house? 2x10? 2x8? I think they are 2x8 - It's 1 feet from the top of the ceiling to the second floor.

Ceiling height in main house 8 ft? 9 ft? 8ft

So the total height from the bottom of the first floor to the bottom of the window is 13'


Thanks!

So a shed would less than 3/12.And you would like a little more height on the outside wall so you would down to about a 2/12

 

[Nealtw]

Floor to bottom of lowest window in the house ? 4'

Floor joists in the house? 2x10? 2x8? I think they are 2x8 - It's 1 feet from the top of the ceiling to the second floor.

Ceiling height in main house 8 ft? 9 ft? 8ft

So the total height from the bottom of the first floor to the bottom of the window is 13'


Thanks!

What is the landscape like? could you lower the addition any? 2 or 3 steps down?

 

[pinkchry]

Step down is possible as the backyard is probably a foot down from the house. Is the 2/12 pitch calculation for a 8' or 9' ceiling in the addition?


Thanks!

 

[Nealtw]

Step down is possible as the backyard is probably a foot down from the house. Is the 2/12 pitch calculation for a 8' or 9' ceiling in the addition?


Thanks!

with a ceiling matching the house ceiling.
What are the windows, bathroom, bedroom?

 

[Nealtw]

14" would be a good step down if you could get that.

Your double roof idea would work better with a double hip for water management.

 

[pinkchry]

The extension is a great room (kitchen+family). The two tiny windows at the top are the two bathroom and the larger window to the side is a guest bedroom.



I'd love to have the double roof idea work as long as the water management is reasonably good. It'll give us 9' ceiling with a usable attic. It's possible that the view outside the top windows is somewhat obscured with the double roof but we'll have to compromise on that.



Thanks!

 

[Nealtw]

The extension is a great room (kitchen+family). The two tiny windows at the top are the two bathroom and the larger window to the side is a guest bedroom.



I'd love to have the double roof idea work as long as the water management is reasonably good. It'll give us 9' ceiling with a usable attic. It's possible that the view outside the top windows is somewhat obscured with the double roof but we'll have to compromise on that.



Thanks!

No it doesn't give you 9 ft, it gives you slope on the roof.

Bathroom windows don't have a minimum so you could make them much smaller.

Could you move the bedroom window to the other wall and close that one?

 

[pinkchry]

Yeah. Resizing and moving the windows is an option that we'll consider.

 

[Nealtw]

Yeah. Resizing and moving the windows is an option that we'll consider.

My bathroom window is 12" high and that is standard with many new houses with that shed roof on the side like that.

Moving the big window to the other wall is not a big deal because there is not a lot of load on a gable wall. Takes a lot of fear out of the job.

 

[pinkchry]

Appreciate your comments! I have a very good idea of how to talk to the architect about the various options.



What would you say are the pros/cons between a low sloping shed roof vs a traditional gable roof?



Thanks

 

[Nealtw]

Appreciate your comments! I have a very good idea of how to talk to the architect about the various options.



What would you say are the pros/cons between a low sloping shed roof vs a traditional gable roof?



Thanks

It is all about water and or snow. I would work hard on getting the highest slope I could get. Even of you went with the 2 hips or 2 gables you still have same low slope between them.

 

[Old Thomas]

Brainstorming. You could lower the outer roof height a little and have a couple of feet of sloped ceiling. Keep the roof a few inches below the upper windows to have flashing room. You could flatten out the roof more and use metal roofing.

 

[pinkchry]

Spoke with the architect and we came up with a couple of plans. The first is 4:12 pitch except with crickets? that are 2:12. The second is a 3:12 shed roof which will involve resizing the windows and moving one.


Thoughts?


Thanks!

 

[Nealtw]

Spoke with the architect and we came up with a couple of plans. The first is 4:12 pitch except with crickets? that are 2:12. The second is a 3:12 shed roof which will involve resizing the windows and moving one.


Thoughts?


Thanks!

In the last picture you can see that 1/4 of the water from both roofs has to find it's way passed the meter box on the wall. I vote for the shed roof.

 

[Nealtw]

You can do things to make that look better if you don't like the look
Maybe you could just make the bedroom window smaller in the same spot.

A few things you also want to talk about.
Head flashing under the windows and raised heel cut for better insulation.
Both of those steel some slope.

And then discuss with him how you would like to use the attic space, it needs to be built for that.

This type of attic usually has an air tight lockable door out of the bedroom 2'x3' needs a header.

 

[pinkchry]

That modification to the shed roof looks interesting. The wife is not too happy with the smaller windows, but if we have to make it work we'll do it.


As far as the other alternative, we do have gutters currently and will also have them installed onto the new roof.



Attic access is an issue. We are also looking into possibly putting the furnace in the attic.


Thanks!

 

[3onthetree]

I'll try very hard to bite my tongue about basic knowledge an architect should have. Do not do the parallel gable, you'll have water issues forever. If you are relocating the only furnace to the attic of this addition, how do you get the ductwork to the rest of the house, and which room sacrifices space for a large access to this attic?

Usually, you don't design a footprint and stick on a roof later. You design the entirety at once thinking about the roof, and that may alter the footprint and upstairs rooms and fenestration. Also I'm really surprised a SoCal addition is not opening up the walls for as many windows as possible and have a usable covered outdoor space.

PS the addition windows are higher so you either have a step up or some wrong heights were put in the software for the existing or new dimensions.