Converting an Attic Storage Into a Second Story Bathroom: Project Overview
This Roseville home sits on a quiet street lined with mature trees and older estates. There’s a shaded park three homes down and a creek running through the neighborhood, so it feels tucked away while still being close to everything.
The owners have lived here for years and love the house, the street, and the location. This wasn’t the usual cosmetic refresh, though. It was a Roseville home remodeling project that took real construction experience and creative design to pull off.
A Well-Loved Home Missing One Thing
The first floor has 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, plus the kitchen, dining, living and family rooms, all laid out around a pool and a shaded deck. Most of the second story was one large open playroom for their two young children, with an office next to it.
One of the homeowners works from home in that office and the kids spend most of their day in the playroom, so the family had one clear wish: a bathroom upstairs.
The Challenge: An Unfinished Attic Built Only for Storage
A door on the back wall of the playroom opened into attic storage. The roof sloped down on three sides, so nobody had thought of the space as anything but storage. It had plywood subfloors, no drywall, insulation everywhere, and plumbing and ductwork running across the floor.
The only light came from burned out pull chain fixtures. The homeowners get a lot of credit for seeing a bathroom in there!
Planning an Attic Conversion Starts With an Accurate Floor Plan
Converting unfinished attic space into livable square footage works a lot like planning a home addition. It takes careful planning at every level. As a Roseville remodeling contractor, Usher Building and Design handles complex projects like this regularly, and we know how many details an unusual build involves.
We started with a detailed, accurate floor plan of the whole house. We needed to understand the limits of the attic itself, and also exactly where it sat relative to the first floor below and the roof above. Only then could we start on a new layout.
Designing a Bathroom Around Sloped Ceilings and Existing Plumbing
On this bathroom remodel, the sloped ceilings and existing plumbing lines drove most of the layout. The homeowners wanted a full bathroom, so every square foot mattered. California building code sets minimum ceiling heights and clearances for toilets, showers and vanities, and the plumbing already running through the attic narrowed down where each fixture could go.
Engineering, Energy Calculations and Permits
We brought in an engineer to confirm the structure and foundation could carry the added weight on the second story. We ran energy calculations so the new space would be insulated to code. Then came permitting with the City of Roseville. The design phase was anything but simple, and without the right team it could easily have turned into a headache for the homeowners. Our job was to keep every stage moving smoothly.
The Result: A New Full Bathroom
Today the family has a roomy, finished bathroom just steps from the playroom and home office. Space that used to be dusty storage is now one of the most useful rooms in the house.
Whether you’re thinking about a bathroom remodel, an attic conversion or a room addition, Usher Building and Design can help you plan it, design it and build it. Contact us to talk about your Roseville remodeling project.
Floor Plan – Before
Floor Plan – After
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