# Forum Home Renovation Roofing  Raising the roof

## pdoc

I have an old Victorian house with an extension on the back that is approx 15 years old. I am planning to extend further by putting on an open plan area at the back. 
the current extension roof hight is about 3 feet lower than the old front part of the house. 
My question is when i put an additional area out the back would it be worth raising the whole back section of the house by three feet, and put a flat roof on (to save money and keep the overall height down) this would give me a celing height of around 13' same as the older section of the house. 
i'm in the inner suburbs of melbourne and also looking for a builder who works in this area and on heritage homes 
thanks

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## barney118

Look what you might save today you will pay down the track, resale etc not sure where heritage comes into it.. I just finished an extension on my roof, originally I planned to have a skillion roof but went back to council and made it a roof extension so it all appears as one by using trusses. They are quite simple and they are made like a jigsaw labelled etc. My roof was zinc now its colorbond and didnt have blanket now it does.
According to all the calcualations I had to make the extension 15mm lower to sit trusses on because of the exsiting birdmouth rafters. However I have just fitted the ceiling and you wouldnt pick it with the eye of the taper where the old meets the new. I was going to plaster over the top of the old but didnt need to in the end.
As far as cost go, is the new extension going to be inside/enclosed? you will pay more for treated timber against the cost of non treated if you choose a skillion roof.
I have spoken to a lot of people about these extensions and they all say the same a skillion looks like it costs. Not sure on what type of roof is there as steel roof its easy to match in if tiles can you get matching ones?
In the end you pay for what you get.

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## Jappa

I always think that flat roofs look like an after thought. I agree with the comments above about the resale being more with a pitched roof. 
I would get costing done for both and compare. 
From an asthetic point of view, if you can blend with the old then I would definately go down that road

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## phillta

Whatever you decide to do pdoc, please write an update here. We face the exact same thing with our place (which sounds very similar to yours), and will face a similar decision in the not too distant future.

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## gsouth

we did this in our current extension, but was a little different situation than you. The previous owners had done an extension with a flat roof that stepped down by about 45 cm, so the roof in the back room was lower than the rest of the house and they put a flat roof over it. It screamed EXTENSION 
When we renovated and extended further one goal was to mould all the add ons the previous owners had done into one house and make it look like it was built from the ground up that way. We raised the back ceiling (wasn't all that expensive) and extended the pitched roof over the entire area.

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## AlexJ66

Gsouth, when you say   

> We raised the back ceiling (wasn't all that expensive) and extended the pitched roof over the entire area.<!-- / message -->

  , how exactly was this achieved? 
We have the same situation in Brisbane, where the back addition ceiling is about 3 feet lower than the hallway ceiling. It already has a flat roof, so we just want to lift the roof/ceiling height to match that. 
I have been reading up on "sistering" studs, but am not sure if this is legal in Australia. It involves attaching studs/timber to existing studs to extend the wall, upwards. I know some will say knock the wall down and rebuild it, but if we do this we have to move the wall in another 500mm from the boundry (advised by the council after submitting previous building plans), so it is not an option. 
I suppose the question will be, is "sistering" studs an option under Australian building codes?

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## gsouth

Alex,
The original beam that was going to support the gap was raised into the ceiling and the ceiling joists (rafters?) were all tied to it (so we could have a continuous ceiling line without the standard boxed in beam) 
The internal walls were raised using what looked like small frames that were tied to the original frames. The roof in the mean time was extended out over the back area. 
PM me your email address if you want pics.
Geoff

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## AlexJ66

Thanks very much Geoff, I have PMed you my email address. 
Cheers, 
Alex

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## GraemeCook

> I have an old Victorian house with an extension on the back that is approx 15 years old. I am planning to extend further by putting on an open plan area at the back. 
> the current extension roof hight is about 3 feet lower than the old front part of the house. 
> My question is when i put an additional area out the back would it be worth raising the whole back section of the house by three feet, and put a flat roof on (to save money and keep the overall height down) this would give me a celing height of around 13' same as the older section of the house. 
> thanks

  Many councils now require professionally drawn plans before they will consider building extension applications.   It would not cost much more for the draftsman to draw two sets of plans - with the existing roofline and with the raised roofline.    These should specify all dimensions and finishes. 
Then you might consider hiring a registered valuer familiar with your area (ask your bank branch for some names if you do not know one)  and then get the valuer to value your property as it now is and with each of the two possible extensions.   The correct decision will be self evident. 
Poorly planned or executed extensions can really destroy value;  good design can enhance it.
 Good Luck 
Graeme

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