Do you have a photo of the second story living room, or are you talking about building a second floor above the downstairs living room? If the latter, there was a long thread on this same subject a few months ago. Someone had the same idea.

You need to consult a local architect or structural engineer. It's not as simple as throwing up some joists and plywood and putting in a door. It could be costly.

A new floor is heavy, and the existing walls and foundation may or may not be engineered to hold it. Then you have to deal with heating, cooling, fenestration, etc.

It may not be a cheap, easy or quick solution.

Probably silly of me to ask, but are there any other options? Creating a bedroom addition? Converting a garage? Bunk beds? I think adding a floor to the existing two story room would be challenging.

People do it, mostly to make useful space instead of heating and cooling empty ceiling areas. But I'm sure it is complicated and expensive. Here's an article/account of such a conversion.

http://blog.armchairbuilder.com/956/converting-two-story-rooms-to-add-space/

It is not a challenge if professionals would do it. And architect and contractors would do their job. People doing the same. Go for it and utilize space if you need to. Room has a big window, do not cover with curtains, add some lights.

Check discussions with the same dilemma at houzz.

Here is one https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3566582/splitting-a-double-height-ceiling-by-adding-a-floor

Do it... the current room is badly proportioned and hard to add art and drapes. I wouldn't expect it to be cheap though- 10-20K (electrical changes, flooring, drywall, hvac changes, framing...)

Sorry about the fire, it sounds like you have had a stressful year...

If you want, post measurements of the LR.

In the process, you might be able to expand some of the existing spaces upstairs.

I think there is a reason there is a second story living room. Code doesn’t allow for any more bedrooms.

Before you spend a cent, make sure that you can do what you want, legally. There may be restrictions. For instance, the town may require so many ft of land for each bedroom. My town requires 10,000 sq ft per bedroom. Another obstacle is if you are on a septic. 4 bedroom septic? That’s all you can have. Egress? Just the one staircase? Another fly in the ointment.

Of course, there are ways around it, but if you do anything structural (and against code), when you sell the house you will have to put the house back to its original layout.

I was just there for a second showing today and we measured floor to 2nd story ceiling and it is a little bit more than 16 ft high. The rest of the house has 8ft ceilings. We will have the septic and permits checked out. Thank you. Any other advice?

If you can enclose that 2nd story and create space, then don't worry about the lighting - now! It looks like you'd gain quite a bit of space.

Once it's done it looks like there is sufficient space for windows on the sides of the fireplace....Good Luck!

The current rooms are too small to share. Literally will only fit one bed.

Until you find out what you can and cannot do with that room, keep your wits about you.

Or, make an offer on the house, contingent whether or not that room can be converted.

Just don’t buy it expecting you can do whatever you want with that room. Codes can be very inflexible.

So a call to a structural engineer is required to see how you'll have to support floor trusses to make that span without a center support. Here is how the room might appear

THANK YOU for that photo! It helps me envision it so much more! We are actually thinking of moving the sliding door (in the bump out part of the yellow kitchen) to where the window in the living room is to allow for extra counter space in the tiny kitchen. The current living room will become the dining room.

What does the exterior of the house look like? Perhaps you could change the window from one to two.

JudyG has a good point regarding the number of bedroom, that’s often how septics are sized. If having a 5th “bedroom” is a problem, perhaps you could officially call the new room a “den” or “bonus room”. you wouldn’t be able to advertise the space as a bedroom when you sell though so there are obviously some drawbacks.

Bunk beds. quick easy solution. No stress. and extra $ in pockets.

Tiffany....I have many questions and some suggestions...just don't want to take up space in this thread...could you please email me?? Ravensmom13@Yahoo.com....so sorry about the loss of your home !!

FIVE teenagers?! Wow! Please write a book about that sequester experience lol!

Anyway, just throwing this out there: perhaps at least 1 of 5 teens will likely be out of the house pretty soon? This pandemic will end at some point, and its likely 1 or more will go live at college, or travel for a gap year, or backpack Europe? I wouldn't spend alot of $ taking away light I love in a house to accommodate my teenagers (I have 2), but ymmv.

Lol, I actually have 7 awesome kids. The oldest two are out of the house already. We homeschool so quarantine has not been a big deal. We are used to being together most of the time. The fire has been a difficult season for us as we had to live in campers for two months and then all got Covid 10 days after the fire! It’s been quite a summer!
But finally giving the kids separate rooms (they’ve always shared-at one point 4 to a room!) are a non-negotiable for several reasons I won’t get into here.
Actually, no matter what we do, we have to create, at minimum, a hallway across the second story room because the garage is on the other side of that wall. Above the garage is a partially finished room that we will be turning into a master suite. BUT, the room above the garage doesn’t connect to the rest of the house (it does have stairs going into the garage)! I don’t feel safe having it not connect, so we need to build a hallway or preferably a hall and a bedroom across the 2nd story space so we can all have access to each other.

I am hoping that putting a sliding door where the double window is, will give me more light. The living room will end up being a dining room since it is right off the kitchen. If we can afford it, I’d love to even add another window next to the slider for more light. We can’t do a window at the far end (where the brick column is) because that is the garage on the other side.

It's easy to understand that you are desperate to get into permanent lodging but regardless of what adjustments you make to the house, it doesn't seem as if you will ever be happy with it, It's easy for me to say, take a deep breath and keep looking as this one won't make you happy.

So we need a to scale floor plan of the whole house to even beging to help and as for closing off that ridiculously high ceiling and making a bedroom makes total sense to me but you will need an architect to plan this and where I live there are no rules as to bedroom number as long as we don’t exceede the footprint of the house . I think the loss of light could be dealt with with larger windows on the maon floor . You need to get some pros into this issue to even figure if this doable within your budget .So first call your HOA or town to get the rules you need to live with then call an architect. I hate doulble height ceilings that only create sound issues and gobble heating and cooling$$$$

I'm sorry about your situation and you are forced to buy what you feel can work. I have learned that once kids reach college age they move out and the big house is not needed.

I've seen it done on HGTV's Love it or List it and it turned out nice. As long as you use an architect and engineer, go for it.

I think the suggestions of talking to a designer and engineer before you purchase the house are good ideas. Since you have other projects you want to do to the house, you don’t want to buy it and then realize some changes are not feasible structurally and/or too $$$$. I don’t like those cavernous 2 level rooms. It is difficult to heat and cool, usually has poor acoustics. When my daughter and her husband built their house, the den was a 2 story room in the plans. they opted to make it one story and the space upstairs is used as a play room.

The house is too small . Buy something else. Don’t try to fit a size 14 into a size 8 shoe.

Does the house have a basement? If so, perhaps there may be space there that could be developed into bedrooms, as long as there are egress windows. I had 4 teenagers, and 3 of them had basement bedrooms in our cab-over house; because of the split levels, the basement windows were larger than standard, so make very comfortable bedrooms!

Yeah I wouldn’t believe anything I saw on Love it or List it. It’s fantasy tv.

Personally I’d be really hesitant to pay out tens of thousands of dollars to make a house fit my needs for only the next two or three years. It would probably take a year to finish the project, then you are looking at only one or two years.

Save your money and suck it up for a couple of years. Or buy something else.

I am so sorry for you. It is really an ordeal and I certainly understand you' re looking for a housing after several months in campers, you certainly want a house.

It is hard for people on the Internet to advise you, but is there any possibility for you to rent something until to find something that you like? I know it is not always easy with a large family, but if you dont like this house, this may be worth exploring.

I am sure that what you are proposing is possible, but you should ask the HOA/the relevant department in your town whether it is allowed. In addition, do you know a contractor that can give you an idea of how much it would cost. I am not sure that the double living room is a question of code (it was a fad at some point and you see a lot of those houses, but it is worth checking. It is not because it is done on Love it or List it that it is a bad solution (or a good one )

Another solution that you could envision, assuming that your older is close to leave home, is to ask 2 of your kids to share the master and that parents sleep in one of the smaller room. Not great, but if it is a short time situation, it may be workable, but again who knows for how long colleges will be closed.

Thanks everyone! I have a contractor meeting me there on Friday to look it over and give me an estimate and see if it’s structurally Sound to do. If anyone has other ideas on how to lighten the space, let me know.

Hi Tiffany, we are currently doing exactly this to our house we have lived in for 11 years. Our family room is 19’x21’ and it was able to be supported with proper trusses and beams. Lighting is a snap now with so many beautiful adjustable choices in LED trim kits. It didn’t cost as much as we thought it would either, and with what we gained in square footage, we are way ahead of the cost in added value to our home. We are on city sewer so no septic issue and we don’t have a maximum rule on bedrooms either. You do need a closet to call it a bedroom. But you could also make it a bonus room, flex space, play room etc later if needed. Once you’ve found out if it’s allowed, I would really think about the ceiling heights. Remember you’ll have beams, flooring, ceiling etc that will take up a lot of space. If you have 16’ now and wish to keep an 8’ ceiling downstairs, you’ll likely end up with a 7’ ceiling upstairs. Other than that consideration I say go for it! Take care of your family. Paint and lighting go a long way in making a home beautiful. Sounds like you’ll have the only 5+ bedroom in your area which should help your resale when the time comes. Look at the upside! Best of luck to you and your family!

Shamindy, thank you so much for that encouragement! Could I ask how much it cost you to put it in? Our room is a similar size.

Sure! Our project is about $23,000 including all the trusses, beams, AC ducts, sheet rock, drywall, new carpet in the new upstairs space, lighting and paint. And we really spent up on the downstairs light fixtures and a ceiling treatment. It started out at about $17,000 bare bones but we spent more on finishes.

PS - someone mentioned it’d probably be a year long project - no. We are doing a major remodel. Whole project is 10 to 12 weeks. If we were doing only this part it would only take 3 or 4 weeks including ordering material. This isn’t that big of a deal. Once they get going it’s remarkably fast for such a big change.

Full disclosure: That $17k includes a GC fee because ours is a part of a big project so that’s another 20 to 25%. So I think it can be done for less.

I meant joists. Not trusses. Sorry. And also they had to ensure our house could support this additional weight. For us it was no problem because of how our house is built... But keep in mind it might not be possible in every house. A structural engineer will need to evaluate the construction of the home.

I am so happy to hear your family is safe from the fires! they are so more important then a house and things. though im sure its still not easy starting over with 5 teens.
As for that space, I am actually planning 2 lofts in our addition and I love them! but must admit.. this "loft" is quite awkward isn't it?... its not really a loft and I would have expected a pitched ceiling at least... 🤔
Especially if this is to be turned into a dining room, I see no love loss with making that a true 2nd story to add square footage. Whether a beloved child be moving out sooner rather than later, do it soon! I understand the need of our teens needing their privacy sometimes (and it can help us moms with sanity! 😂) I homeschool too! (before it was cool🙃) and my kids are each others best friends. Id love to give them seperate rooms so it can remain that way 😂

im no structural engineer, but i believe anything can be done... sometimes it just might cost a pretty penny... if current walls can't support it, some steel beams should. and then run posts to the concrete. good luck and God bless with finding well priced wood and osb. it has skyrocketed past couple months.

Hi TIffany, first let me say how sorry I am you had to go through the fire and then get Covid, not to mention the gypsy-life. I'm glad you came through it with so much drive and enthusiasm. A lot of people would have just given up.

So, you will have a dining room in that room. One of the things you could do to bring in more light is to have some lovely built-ins constructed (don't know your style) facing the window with mirrored doors and maybe a mix of clear glass as well to house your dishes, trays and ornaments. I assume you will have a chandelier (light!) and possibly some down lighting or spot lighting.

I saw an interesting dining room, though I doubt this is your style, but they painted the ceiling a metallic gold. It was fairly muted but it reflected whatever light was in the room in a subtle way. I saw another application where the designer created a coffered ceiling but instead of paint the little squares were mirrored. It was lovely because in daylight it picked up the green of the outdoors and cast it about the room. You could also hang pictures with picture lighting on top, paint the room a fairly deep rich color and have the pictures pop that way. You might be able to do all of the above if you're careful. Also, could you modify the window and have a glass canopy at a 90 degree angle extend out above it so that even more light will enter. Alternatively you could put in a small bay window there which might bring in more light. Not sure what you're going for in terms of style.

Hi again Tiffany, Sorry, didn't explain the canopy correctly. It would be a bump out, so that the whole window would come out xx number of feet and a small floor added as well. But the sides could be glass as well as the top, almost like a little greenhouse. You could do a large round table right in front of it because the room is so, so rectangular, so it appears.

Hillary Farr did this on Love It or List It one time and it was a great idea, looked perfectly normal with enough light . ... imaging walking into a living room without vaulted ceilings, like most of the planet has... .it will be ok. Get an estimate form an engineer.

@Tiffany Trautman -- we are contemplating a similar remodel and I'm wondering what you ended up doing? Did you buy the house and renovate?