Q. The roof on my house is just a big flat area. I’ve seen similar style houses that have a dormer on the roof. This structure makes the house far more interesting. What does it take to add ...

3. Truss worthy? In the case of trusses, the dormer will probably be just decorative. You can cut into trusses and modify them to make a real dormer, but it's very complex.

Since you can't effectively use an attic space that is filled with trusses, you might as well create the decorative dormer and play fool-the-neighbors-and-passers-by.

If your home was built with trusses, you can install a make-believe dormer that looks good from the street but isn’t visible when you pop your head up into the attic. In the case of trusses, the ...

Question: I use my attic for storage, but it’s dark. I thought about adding a small roof dormer for light and to improve the appearance of my home. How do I design one? Answer: Adding a dormer ...

Q: Tim, I grew up in an older home with an attic. I love storing things up there. When I watch new homes being built, all I see are trusses with all sorts of cross supports that make it impossible ...

Dear James: I use my dark attic just for storage, but the underside of the gable roof is low. I think adding a dormer would help a lot. What is ...

Some old houses have attics the size of a small barn, complete with dormers for light and air. You want a few extra bedrooms or maybe a bowling alley, no problem. But in most houses these days the … ...

If your vision of a dormer is a small raised roof in the attic, you’re in for a surprise. Dormers come in many sizes and can do much more than create head room in an attic.“A dormer can really ...

My attic is not tall enough for living space, but I use it for storage. I thought about adding a small roof dormer for light and to improve the appearance of my home.

Q. Our Cape Cod home was built in 1999. We have one dormer, which we think is the source of a water leakage problem. The leak only occurs in the winter, due to ice build-up. The builder says ...