I've must have looked through hundreds of house plans lately and I just came across the Don Gardner Cedar Ridge (aka SL Pine Ridge) and with just a bit of tweaking the first floor is perfect. However, the cedar ridge is designed with a walkout basement which house the additional bedrooms, and I do not want a basement. I would like the additional bedrooms and bathrooms (minimum of 2 beds and 2 full baths) to be upstairs.

How big of a modification will it be to change the floor plan to a 1.5 story? I was thinking the bedrooms could go above the kitchen/mud/utility and or the study side of the house. I do not want the kids bedrooms above the master and I would like to keep the living room's two story ceiling. How different would the roofline look? Any idea as to how much of a fee they would charge for this sort of modification? Would modifying the plan be cheaper than hiring an architect? Anything else to consider?

Here is a link that might be useful: Don Gardner Cedar Ridge