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Residential Palo Alto, CA

Thornwood Addition

A 1,800 sf second-floor addition to a 1960s ranch house — a primary suite, two bedrooms, and a flex office — delivered with zero visible seam between old and new.

Project details
Location
Palo Alto, CA
Year
2022
Size
1,800 sf
Duration
10 months
Budget
$920K
Architect
Client-direct / KEYSTONE Design-Build
Thornwood Addition — completed residential project, Palo Alto, CA 2022

The Challenge

The existing structure's roof framing was non-standard — 2x6 rafters on 24-inch centers with no ridge beam — and had to be largely replaced to bear the new floor load. The clients required the ground floor to remain fully livable during construction, with a single-day 'blackout window' for the roof opening.

Our Approach

We pre-fabricated the new second-floor structure in a series of LVL moment frames that could be craned and bolted in a single 14-hour day. The existing roof was removed and replaced in that same window. Exterior cladding on the addition matches the original horizontal board-and-batten profile, repainted as a single unit so the transition reads as intention rather than accident.

The Outcome

The 10-month schedule was met. The ground floor was unavailable for just 1 day (the roof day) and 4 weekends of interior rough-in. The addition appraised $340,000 above cost in the first post-completion valuation.

Disciplines
  • addition
  • residential
  • design-build
  • second story
By the numbers
1,800 sf
Addition size
10 months
Duration
1 day + 4 weekends
Ground-floor disruption
$340,000
Appraisal lift
None
Visible seam old/new