Lets start at the beginning . You find out if this is allowed and what are the codes. You rip out the garage you dig for footings like you are building an addition )which it is ) You make sure the plans are approved according to the rules where you live . You are building another house on the lot You get an architect to advise at the least and actually do a plan which is the best way. Then you hire contractors and GC who oversees all the construction . Is this worth the money in the neighbor hood where you live or better to look for a new house that suits your needs .Where will you live while this is being built ? This is no easty task believe me so do all the investigating before you touch anything.

The first thing to discover is the building code requirements for a foundation under your addition. The footings for a garage concrete surface in your area may not be as extensive as those required for what you'll be building. This is because of the added weight of a second story. If you were only converting the single story garage space into living space the requirements could be different.

Thank you. We live up in ND, and on family land going a couple generations back. The nearest town is approximately 3 miles away with a population of about 1,000 people, so finding is a house that better suites our needs isn’t going to happen. We will reach out to the county, get in touch with contractors and an architect to hopefully help us out. We were just looking for ideas on what a good layout would be.

Your first step before you spend a lot of money, is to see if your garage concrete will support a addition, if it wont, then, you will need to tear down the garage, and build a whole addition from scratch. Its always better to find out before you spend a single dime on plans, or anything else. I am guessing, you just need more space. If its just a room, you want to add, you could convert the garage to living space, with no addition above it. You did mention, you could build a new garage. Since you live where its cold and snowy, and could get a lot of snow on your roof, you need to also make sure, that the upper story, if you go that route, is meant to have a huge snow load on it too, (if you find out that the foundation itself would support an addition).

Thank you!!!

You've chosen a difficult, and probably expensive concept for solving your need for additional space. Split level houses are a challenge to add to, but an addition somewhere other than in the garage area will be much less problematic.

If you can measure your house and produce floor plans to scale (or get someone to do that for you) and post them, I'm sure you'll get some help here.

A popular ground-level addition for split levels is an all-one-level space for a master bedroom with bathroom, a kitchen or a living area. A Google Earth image or drone image of your house and lot is a good starting place to imagine where to build on. And of course you already know about elevation variations near your house. The original plans may be on file at city hall or county offices, well worth taking a look.

I have seen a second story added above the garage on a split level, but only on a style of split diffeent that yours. Done right, it looks fine, but a talented architect needs to be involved. And most additions locally also transformed the interior and exterior style. Very expensive to do right.

On your house, you say you want to expand the garage. The only choice may be to expand it to the back, unless you change the flow of rooms inside the existing house.

How much land are we talking here? Asking because my first thought is the expense and the second thought is you're turning the house into something it's not designed to be. Would it be more cost effective to build a new house on the land and demolish this one when that one is completed? This presumes you have enough land to do that, obviously (and whether the municipality would allow it).

The first time we were house hunting, we saw a very large, somewhat neglected (estate sale) split level. Basement, garage, living level (over basement), bedrooms (over garage), bonus room (over living level). So strictly from a design standpoint, I don't see the issue. Whether or not the foundation can support another level is a horse of a different color.

Yes, an architect would be my first step if that were my home.

Some inspro (rough mockup)

Get real financially first. A split level appraises as the lowest value of any type home. It is already the least desirable lady or the tiger layout, no matter what can of biscuits you pop the top to add to it. The costs to do this will never be recoupable in a sale, unless you live there for the next 30 years. Remodeling costs double, or more, the cost of new construction. Adding a 600K addition to a split barely nets you a 200K gain in value, but you still have to come up with that 600K. Your money will go so much further by adding that renovation money to that home sale money and moving to a different house that is bigger, and is not a split level.

Unfortunately, that isn’t an option. I live outside of a small town of approximately 1,000 people. Rural ND. We live on land and in a house that has been in the family for a couple generations.

Get the arcnitect that is who you work with to design this for how you live . I happen to live in a 3 level split we just bought and I love it so comments about split levels are personal .. But you need real help not crowd sourcing

You may pay as much for rebuilding the garage and adding on as you would for a whole new build. So, think about a teardown too. Unless you will 100% be doing all of the labor for everything?

This picture is actually the inspiration. It is off an architectural firm that I tried to buy the layout from.

Thanks for inspiration photo. I can see why that looks like a match to your set-up. It would require tearing down the garage, though, as well as reworking the existing house segment's roof.

Don't give up. Find an architect who works on projects in your price range.

Thank you apple_pie_order. For the previous posters. We own 145 acres. We’ve thought about selling what we have and rebuilding, however our location is the perfect location. That’s why we are looking to just add on. My husbands dad grew up in the same land that we live on. The house his dad lived in has since been torn down. His uncle built the house we live in now. We bought the house from him and he since has built a Shop with living quarters about a 1/2 mile away from us. The trees are matured and provides an amazing shelter belt during the strong winds and intense winters.

Good reason to do a teardown and new build, and stay put. Remodeling older houses, especially split levels, is a big old abandoned well hole in the ground. Once you take the lid off, money just keeps flowing down that hole, and it never fills up.

Get a pro involved early. You might find as many do, that garage footings are enough to support living space over the garage.

The inspo house is not the same as yours. You have more of a side-split (don't know what's behind the garage though) which is a variation on a raised ranch, whereas the inspo was a traditional split-level. In a remodel, the design is based on the existing, so nothing would really apply from that particular architect's project.

But backing up, since all you've stated is "more space," you need to specifically determine what your family's needs are and prioritize those goals. A 2nd Family Room? A Master Suite with a rotating heart shaped bed? Ground floor main living instead of upper deck walk-out? Pantry with multiple deep freezers? Then, an architect can provide various schemes and advice to move toward those goals. Because building on top of the garage may not make sense for a Family Room, but could be a solution for a Master Suite.

The budget will be, as for everyone, a factor in some way, but at this stage those defined goals are needed to even understand what's in the scope of project. And those goals may involve just a new footprint addition, or topping off the garage, include a new patio/deck location, extensive regrading, added capacity to a septic system for additional bedrooms, moving the Kitchen, etc. If you need help in evaluating the existing house and defining those goals with respect to a preliminary budget, and cannot find a local architect in your area, then someone with talent who understands design/building/cost-and-their-intertwined-relationship (a designer, a contractor, your uncle who built the house) can help you.

Just so I understand - you want to turn the existing garage into living space, and add a second level above that? Or keep the garage, extend it, and put living space above? What living space do you want to add?

It seems to me that with plenty of land, the easiest solution (with minimal disruption to the existing house) would be to convert the garage to living space, and build a new garage.

I live in North Dakota as well, and splits like yours are probably one of the most common house type we see. Our first house was a split; my parents built one in northern MN in 1977. While they may not be popular in other parts of the country, they are pretty efficient here - the frost line is about 4', so footings have to go that deep anyway. Having a level of finished living space with full size windows, but not exposed to our wicked winds, makes it more energy efficient than a 2-story.

You are right AnnKH. I’d like to turn the existing garage Into living space but extend it out toward the house and also build up above it. Then add a new garage.

You could leave the existing house and garage as-is, and add onto the house on the right side, or on the back.

Partim, we have also thought about that as well!

I think that would be more like your inspiration photo, more so than adding above the garage. But as far as layout, an architect will need to be involved because you'll need a new roofline.

Your house looks more like a raised ranch to me, with a split entry between the garage and the house. Because it all looks one level except for the front door.

"Raised Ranch: Think 2 levels, up and down: A style of home with 2 floors. From the main entrance, a flight of stairs leads to the main living areas on the upper level – and a flight of stairs leads down to the lower story at ground level or partially submerged below grade."

3onthetree-what is the difference between a side split and a traditional split? I’d say my house is more of a traditional split?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Split-level_home

Partim, that’s an interesting link, but sometimes a bit confusing. Not to mention, one’s tax assessor may have their own definitions. We thought we lived in a split, so did the seller’s realtor’s listing sheets. The assessor called it a tri-level. We asked him about that. He said, in a tri-level three levels are above grade. Our lower level was partially below grade. He came out to take a look, change our property description to split, and our property tax went down.

According to your link, our next door neighbor’s house would be a back-split. But it was nearly identical to ours, it was just placed sideways on a narrower lot, with the front door facing the side yard.

I think around here the OP’s house would be a split entry, where from the front door with just a foyer it’s half a flight up to main living space, half a flight down to lower level.

Screenshot from the article. You are correct that there are regional differences in terminology. This house has living spaces on 2 levels with a split entry to the side, and short flights up and down from the entry landing.

That sounds like an exciting project! While you can’t use the exact blueprints, a local architect or designer could help create plans tailored to your house’s dimensions and your vision.