For several years our company
has specialized in adding
second stories to some of the
average and often humdrum ranch
homes that crowd the northwest
suburbs of Chicago. Many of these
homeowners, faced with a growing
family or a desire for more space,
cannot afford the larger homes in
their neighborhoods. Yet they are
not willing to give up their proximity
to the city and their jobs for the
lower prices they'd find farther out
in the suburbs.
Building up, rather than out, can
double the square footage of a house
without taking up more of the yard.
Most of the homes we work on average
about 1,200 square feet, so
adding onto the first floor makes the
house sprawl.