First post so thanks to all reading:),

My roof leaks and robs me of curb appeal. The flatness gives it a squat buzzcut look. Any framing genius out there who sees a possible gable conversion? The house is 35x39 with lolly columns in it's full basement.

First of all welcome and later you might want to post something in introductions to say a proper hi!
I can start then well get an expert soon.
I would have to ask wher the load bering walls run and I'm not sure what lolly columns are I've done all my work in Texas and there NO basements here

The load bearing walls run down the sides of the house lengthwise. Lolly columns are poles that hold up the main header.

A gable roof is very possible here. I'm wondering what your Geo is. What's the rough budget ? That is crucial. In an all out project, since its an all block building ever consider tearing off the whole roof . Lay some block to level up the first floor walls and add another floor. If you are already thinking of putting a whole new gable roof on, the extra here would the second floor joist and walls and some siding.

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Oh yea a gable roof would make it look better
You do know that your talking about completely tear off the existing in order to do it right?

Would I would do is go in and attached a soffit on your existing gables this would take away the boxy look you have now and be way less intruding on the structure and more affordable

Sorry for the delayed response, I worked 5-2 today. Nice photoshop skills by the way. My geo is northern new england near the water. As far as my budget goes I was thinking 10-20k but I'm probably way off. And yes I know the whole roof would need to come down. Knowing there's the possibility 2 small bedrooms up there really makes me smile. The going rate for a second floor up here is $100 a sq foot. If the cost of this comes anything close to that I may go with soffits.

well if it could pay for itself in the increase in appraisal value id say go for it,it is a odd look what you have now.
I'm curious are there other houses around you that where built this way?

You know I was thinking gable roof but what I meant was a hip roof.

$100,000 for a second floor just isn't worth it to me. It's a nice neighborhood and yes I have the only block house. I've never seen anything like it before. Built in 1930 It has a 1300 sq foot garage behind it. Seriously though does anyone think I can squeeze out a small bedroom or 2 with sloped ceilings. I've only been in the attic once because the only way in is the hatch on the front of the house. The ceiling is approx 4 or 5 feet high in the front and you have to army crawl to get all the way back where it can't be more than 18"-24" (I was installing a ceiling fan) I can supply any pictures, dimensions, or measurements for a more educated guess.

Sure you could get some bedrooms up there. Keep in mind a set of steps from the floor below cutting up the first floor plan. You could build some knee walls and truss from there and put some dormers in.

This would get you the needed height up there and not look so boxy and high.

Actually a roof with gabled dormers is perfect for breaking up the roof line. Especially since you should have more pitch on the new roof to get more head room which can cause a roof to look out of proportion to structure below. Dormers breaks that up nicely.

21Boat, How much weight do you think a gable or hip roof would add vs what I have now?

I think a standing seam metal hip roof would be excellent. Weather protection, maintenance, tax incentives, energy efficient are all adds for this system. With Kynar paint, most companies give a 30 year minimum warranty.

It may be a bit over your budget, but it will give more curb appeal over shingles.

That's genius, it allows me to build almost the entire addition out of wood rather than risk the house sinking or crumbling under the weight of an all block addition. Another major plus is that I can probably find a contractor instead of looking high and low for a mason. Any ideas for a picture window off the back? There is a terrific view.

That was back in Feb, You should see it now. The guy behind me has 7 acres he spends hours each day maintaining.

All right I feel dumb, I just looked up hip roof and agree it sounds fantastic. Not only is it the most space for the buck but it might end up looking natural provided they side it with stucco.

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As a builder I would never build a standing seam roof in Northern New England.

The first bad Ice and snow will rip off the gutters. Snow guards only take so much. We have slate roofs here and standing seam roofs. Can't tel you how many Snow Birds Ive replaced over the years. My neighbor was almost killed walking out of his 100 year old home when he shut the door and the ice and snow slid off his first floor metal porch roof.


21Boat, How much weight do you think a gable or hip roof would add vs what I have now?


Weight here is a moot point if the walls are cement/cinder block walls. Maybe the previous owners that built the home thought of bad Nor Easterners and wanted a very strong house IE masonry block..

Again its block walls not framed walls.

Speaking about energy efficient. How are the walls insulated now? If and when you tear off the roof see if the block are 2 core or 3 core and if there is a solid cap for the last course which I doubt in that era it was built.
Reason I'm mentioning this there is a masonry block filler that you can gravity pour in the wall. Been using it since the 70s Its called Perlite.

Before the late 70s we used Vermiculite which was a decent insulator. The problem was it compacted in the walls and setteled over the years and the top block courses wer void of insul where you need it most.

SCHUNDLER COMPANY--Perlite Block and Cavity Fill--Superior to EPS Inserts and Beads (http://www.schundler.com/comparison.htm)

This is a quick idea of what a metal hip roof could look like. Not sure how far north of northern New England the structure is in, but many NJ, NY and CT homes and businesses have metal on them.

The house is located in fairfield county Connecticut. That blue roof you slapped on sure is an improvement over my current situation. I think the reasoning behind the cinderblock is the land was inherited by 2 manon brothers who wanted a cheap reliable construction. I paid in the low 200's for this place and am not scared to throw a some money at it, I just didn't want to spend anywhere near what they were asking for a second floor. As far as insulation I doubt if I have much. The house has mainly plaster walls aside from what the seller replaced and we torched through almost 700 gallons of oil last winter. All the more reason to do it. With 4 pros on the job and minimal weather delays, how long should something like this take? Should the trusses be built on site or shipped in?

21boat is right. Builders up here insist you have some heat escape to melt snow and ice. They advise against Metal roofs as well as over insulating the attic. Imagine how much would build up on the roof I have now.

how long should something like this take? Should the trusses be built on site or shipped in?

Depends how fast the crew is in manpower. Once the prep is done and walls are figured out , if a crane can reach the site setting the truss and sheeting in could be in one day. The killer is the prep and flooring. Hears a rule of thumb in renovation. If you take the time to rough figure the materials it cost to do the job add 2 times that figure for the labor. The $100.00 figure you posted earlier is for NEW construction at best and not re -habs New is a 50/50 in basic cost. 50% materials/ 50% in labor. Renovation for example if its $20,000 for materials then its $40,000 for labor. Again it's a basic rule of thumb and can change either way. Generically use the $100.00 per square and add $50.00 per square to that.

The biggest burn time here is the prep for the truss. I'm assuming you need to rip down or build up the block walls to get them level unless the walls were level and they used a mini sloped wood knee wall to get the roof pitch. It could be both. A 4" block on the facade and 2by wall behind that laying on the 8" wall. More so then not the block are cut in for slope then a formed/mortared cap for roof plate set on that.

If no partial knee walls in wood then the block walls need demo to get level to the lowest point in the block wall. Then a course of 4" solid block cap needs laid and new 1/2' anchor bolts also needs to be grouted in the courses below. The code there may not be easily applied to your situation there. If they require so many inches in depth for anchor bolts and you have 3 core block its extremely hard to get an anchor bolt past the first full course of block. There is compression anchor bolts that can be used in the 4" solid cap but that may not pass code there. If you run into that ask if you can use them in conjunction with hurricane straps to back up the compression anchor bolts. I'm sure Hurricane plates will be required after the trusses are set. They only catch so much from truss to wood plate. If they were extended to catch the top plate and more side to the full 8" course of block wall then they may be a resolution for if if the issue crops up.

I would most defiantly buy truss for a couple of reasons. If you are going to tear off the old roof and expose the structure you need a new roof sheeted in and tar papered as quick as possible. Never know when an isolated rain wants to sneak in. Also you can't stick build a truss as cheap as buying them. Many people don't realize the reason truss use many different designs with smaller 2bys is the truss company use "stressed" lumber. Its not off the shelf at lumber yards. There is actually stress ratings stamped on the side of truss if you look closely enough. The other reason is the truss itself is cambered to "pre Load the truss for weight. I stick build truss or buy them depending on the access to the renovation work. When we stick build we have a couple of choices. Run a ridge board or jig out on ground and use Gussets to build the truss "no ridge board."

Wow! Thanks for the detailed response. A house is getting built up the road from me so that crew will probably give me my first quote. I am very confident this will work but concerned about the sunporch. The walls are not block like the rest of the house and the windows are 30" wide. If it's not possible to put a room above it how about a balcony?

concerned about the sunporch
Good question. A built up roof. Mopping without stone on it is about 2 to 3lbs per square foor depending on the build up. A square of shingles is about 240 pounds per 100 sq ft. To get and idea of what that roof is carrying in load see how many layers of mineral roll is up there. I betting it is a mineral roll and a roof coating over the years on that or more. What's there now?

A deck over the porch may be as heavy as the new roof depending on the deck board etc.