Speaking of variances and plans to raise the roof, the buyer of the 1,170 square foot two-bedroom house at 105 Hoffman over is seeking permission to raise the Noe Valley property two feet and build an all-new first floor with garage underneath.
In addition to the garage for one car, the expansion would add two new bedrooms, a new bathroom, and a laundry room to the house. Click on the proposed plans to enlarge and see how it’s all proposed to be done:
The project would also reconfigure the existing kitchen and rooms on the main floor.
No word on the fate of the vintage O’Keefe & Merritt stove.
Already extending 10 feet into the required 34 foot rear yard, the proposed height increase and first floor expansion will require a variance to proceed, a variance which was slated to be decided upon today. The property was purchased for $880,000 last year.
Certainly not out of proportion vs. the surrounding houses. In fact, it looks more out of place as-is.
seems awkward to walk through the kitchen and the dining room for the person in bed 1 to use the facilities….
It’s not too awkward for SF. Some older vics have the same issues already. Many bathrooms and laundries are at the the back, often reclaimed from an older staircase landing.
It also made sense at the time when considering your bathroom would enjoy plenty of light and a large window. 2 assets that were very valuable for obvious sanitary reasons.
Today people want their kitchen with big windows on a garden view and will have their bathrooms more to the center.
Are there examples of places like this which were raised higher, to make a proper first floor?
Nice to get so much more with such a minimal increase in height as seen from the street, but the floor plans are truly awful.
Though it seems counter-intuitive because of all the drama, to add space, it is often less costly to jack up an existing house and rebuild the ground level than to try to build a new top floor. This is doubly so if you need a new foundation anyway.
It also works best from a design standpoint because (particularly with SF older homes) the elaborate roof detailing remains at roof level and the the ground level, even on the most ornate victorian, is trimmed very simply compared to the upper floors, so you can save there as well.
The really main issue, for a good design, is if you can fit the larger/longer entry stairs onto the site.
The Roof, The Roof, Just Two Feet Higher
Double the square footage, let the neighbors yearn!
Couldn’t resist.
What is the ballpark estimate of the cost to do something like this?
seems awkward to walk through the kitchen and the dining room for the person in bed 1 to use the facilities….
True, but if it’s a guest room, the occasional inconvenience is worth it to avoid a bathroom opening into a kitchen. Icky.
Floor plans are truly bad, on both floors. Awkward, rooms to walk thru to other rooms. Baths remote from the bedrooms; bath off the dining room? Bedroom off the kitchen? How awful is that?
Wonder what the ceiling heights are in the lower level.
Cost: I never say something WILL cost a certain amount. My opinion of probable construction cost for the work shown and the house raising would be in the range of $250k-400k, plus permits, design and engineering fees.
Would love it if you can please estimate cost for *just* jacking up the house.
Rebuilding the ground level, I think, should be just your usual no-frill $200-$250/sq.ft., yes?
The problem with lifting up the entire house, as it was explained to me, is that these folks may lose most of the original plaster. As I understand it, the joists aren’t quite all the same depth so when they are supported by long beams underneath to lift up the house, everything warps and twists a bit while the lifting is happening.
But maybe if all is shimmed carefully, it might hold together. Kudos for these folks keeping the house together and retaining the spirit of the old.
About those old stoves…. the folks at Apple Stoves in Oakland told me that SF won’t allow them as they are both inefficient (pilot is always on) and unsafe (if pilot light goes out, gas enters the house if the thermocouples are stuck). There may be a threshold amount of renovation which triggers the designation of a ‘new’ kitchen but this one seems kind of restrained so maybe they can keep it.