Floor Addition

Adding a floor to an existing building is one of the most structurally sensitive construction tasks. Before any design was proposed, we conducted a comprehensive structural assessment of the existing structure — core sampling of columns and beams, concrete carbonation testing, and load calculation review against the original design drawings.

The assessment found that three of the eight columns were undersized for the intended additional load. A column jacketing scheme was designed and executed — encasing each column in additional reinforced concrete to increase the section size and load-carrying capacity — before the first-floor slab was cast.

The new first floor adds two bedrooms, a bathroom, and an open study area. A new staircase was inserted in a location that minimised disruption to the ground-floor layout. The roof was extended over the new floor and waterproofed with a torch-applied SBS membrane — a higher-performance system than the existing ground-floor roof treatment.