Study

Case

Second-Story Addition & Historic Remodel

Humboldt Street, Denver

Before—A Tiny, Single-Story Historic Home

The Background

We began work on this historic single-story house on Humboldt Street in Denver just a month before the clients—two busy, working professionals—welcomed their second child to the family.

They had access to the finished basement and kitchen while we transformed their home. To accommodate their young children and elderly golden retriever, we scrupulously maintained a clean work site, free of dust and stray nails.

(In most cases, we can arrange for clients to remain in their home while remodeling is under way. However, the process is usually a bit faster if you stay elsewhere during the remodeling process.)

The Project

The clients wanted to:

Add space to their century-old home (built in 1921) and
Extensively remodel the existing living space.

To accomplish the first objective, we took off the existing roof and added a second story. The neighborhood had tight zoning requirements for use of the property’s vertical space (called bulk plane restrictions), but we worked closely with the city to maximize the home’s new square footage and include a vaulted ceiling on the new second floor.

To accomplish the second objective, we remodeled nearly the entire ground floor (everything but the kitchen.)

After—A Spacious Two-Story Home with Historic Charm

Second-Story Addition

The second-story addition included:

A new primary suite. The primary bath included a steam shower that the clients requested while the remodel was in progress.
Two new bedrooms for the clients’ children.
Skylights in the hallway and master bathroom. The clients requested these while the project was underway.
A large front balcony. We worked with the city during construction—after design was finished—to extend the balcony as far as possible. It features a railing with ten rows of stainless steel wire strung across an aluminum frame that’s safe for children and allows great visibility.
New siding for the entire home. We removed the old siding on the lower level and installed new siding on the entire home. This made the second-story addition seamless—it looks as if it was part of the original home.
A solar-ready roof. (This is now required by the city of Denver, but it wasn’t a necessity in 2021 when this project was completed.)

Ground-Floor Remodel

The ground-level remodel included:

Removing a structural wall to double the size of the original living room.
Converting the previous primary bedroom into an extra sitting room.
Adding stairs to the new second floor.
Preserving the historic home’s original interior (including the ceiling) and front porch.
Preserving the original hardwood floors and transitioning seamlessly to LVP (luxury vinyl plank) flooring on the new stairs to the upper level.