A two‑bedroom second story over an existing bungalow.

A growing family of five in a 1,500 sq ft Craftsman bungalow in Pasadena. They wanted two more bedrooms and a bathroom, upward, because the lot was too small to expand outward without losing the back yard. The Craftsman exterior had to stay, exactly.

The existing foundation was poured in 1923. The first floor had no engineering for a second‑story load. The Craftsman details (rafter tails, exposed brackets, original siding profile) had to match, exactly. And the family wanted to live in the house through the build.

We tested the existing foundation in week one. It passed, with reinforcement at four corners. New steel posts buried inside finished walls carry the second‑story load. Craftsman details were milled to match by a Pasadena specialist. The family lived on the ground floor for six months while we built above them, with a sealed plastic divider at the stair opening.