Master Bedroom Addition

Drumroll please....our current (and biggest!) project yet is a new master bedroom addition!  It is not a complete new addition outside of the footprint of the existing house, but will be above the existing garage.  The existing flat roof is designed as a deck with access via a sliding door from our office.  However, we don't use the deck (we prefer the patio and screen porch out back) and the New England winters bring the agony of shoveling off the roof.  We were lucky this past winter as the snow gods were good to us.  But the snow and water were affecting the condition of the roof.  We could see mildew sprouting out along the edges from beneath the rubber roof and feel the mushiness when walking on it.  Instead of simply repairing the roof, we decided to make use of the valuable space and enclose the space (yay no more snow shoveling!) to create a master bedroom.  After contacting a number of contractors and evaluating different design options, we made our selection and signed the dotted line.  The following is a list of wish list items that made the project:



-Master bathroom with linen closet
-Walk-in closet
-Cathedral ceiling

The wishlist items that didn't make the project (ahem budget):

-Clawfoot tub
-Double sinks
-Gas fireplace
-Shoe closet (a girl can dream, right?)

We had originally planned on taking over our existing bedroom as part of the master bedroom suite.  This would have allowed for a larger bathroom with soaking tub, sitting area in bedroom, etc.   But we decided to maintain the existing bedroom so that we will have two spare rooms that we will hopefully fill with kiddos some day.  In the end I think this was a wise decision.  The wish list items that we sacrificed were part due to space restrictions, financial limits, and weighing the necessities.  When we jotted down our 'wish list' we thought of everything we would need for the ultimate master bedroom retreat...so what if we imagined ourselves as king and queen for a day!

The project also includes:
-Recessed lighting
-Ceiling fan
-Windows (3 in bedroom, 1 in bath)
-Continuing interior hallway to the new room
-Demo and infill of existing bedroom window and sliding door.
-Replacing garage ceiling 2x8s with 2x10s for structural reasons

-Remove and re-install garage door.
-Hardwired smoke detectors throughout the house (Required by MA building code when adding a bedroom)
-New vinyl siding at the garage walls (the existing siding is stained from roof water run off)

Expect to see many posts regarding the progress of the project and our decision making process along the way.  Check out our 'Before' photos below to get an idea of the existing layout.

Before

Before - Close up of deck/future addition space

Before - Side view w/mildew stained siding

Before - Rear corner view

Before - Existing garage

Before - Existing office and access to deck

Before - Office sliding door to deck to be infilled

Before - Deck with existing bedroom window

Before - Existing hallway to be extended to new bedroom/existing exterior wall

  Before - Existing bedroom (The hallway wall will be extended through the existing
 bedroom enclosing and minimizing the existing room.  Will also lose this window.