Setting up defaults for complicated existing

[mslewis620 0]

Looking for advice on a complicated remodel. Normally I would set up my floor default then if needed adjust a room or two for ceiling and floor height changes.

 

Adding a partial second story to the center section of a house with different ceiling and floor elevations in almost every single room. Some rooms have 8' ceilings, one steps down two steps then has an 11' ceiling another steps down 6" with 9.5' ceilings. There was an addition done at some point that further complicated matters with angles and more steps and ceiling heights. 

 

To make matters worse, when the living room 19'xwas framed the ceiling must have sagged so the ceiling framing was 2x6 then they put a 16" LVL on top and strapped everything to it with a 2x12 running perpendicular to the whole mess. And that room has the tallest ceiling in the area of the 2nd-story addition.

 

Builder prefers to overbuild the entire thing so as not to disturb the electrical, HVAC, etc so it means in rooms with 8' ceilings the subfloor for the 2nd story will be as much as 45" in some areas. It's a large house (6,000SF after) so scale is important to the owner. the rest of the house has a 15/12 roof so the roof is almost overwhelming the house as a single story structure. 

 

Any of you pros have suggestions I'm willing to listen. Don't want to spend hours setting it up then have it blow up at the end. 

 

 

[DRAWZILLA 784]

I have been doing this for 30 years, you build up you floor in the floor DBX and it will build it anywhere you have a second floor area but you have no control over the direction of the existing ceiling joists, just fix it in each section. If you have larger and smaller heights, then just adjust the space between top of ceiling joists and the bottom of the floor joists.