Home Additions
Granger I Niles I Saint Joseph
Adding an addition to your home is often the best way to improve your house and/or accommodate significant lifestyle changes, such as children moving out, elderly relatives moving in, or a new baby on the way. Alternatively, many homeowners find that not all of their needs are met by their existing homes. Rather than moving, they choose to add-on to what they already have. While we can help you with just about any home addition, you may be limited by what can be added to your existing structure based on property lines, budget, local code, HOA regulations, and other restrictions. We’ll work with you to help you find the best solution for what you’re looking to accomplish.
Determine Your Property Lines: Understand where your property lines lay and consider how an addition will fit within those and how they will affect landscaping and utilities. This step is critical since most neighborhood codes have restrictions on how close you can construct to your next-door neighbor.
Establish a Design: Review the floor plan of your home. With the help of a 2C and an architect, develop a plan for a useful, cost-effective upgrade to your residence. Don't merely think about how you will reside in your addition, but also consider how it architecturally impacts your home's appearance from both the interior and exterior.
Understand the Cost: Property owners always ask what a home addition will cost and how to reduce the price without compromising on anything they can't live without. The truth of the matter is that unless money is no object, you may wind up cutting out some "wants" to keep all of your "needs," so enter such a project with that in mind.
No matter who you work with, your contractor will have to work off architectural plans, so it's a great idea to connect with an architect ASAP. If you have plans for your contractor to bid from, you'll obtain a much better sense of the actual cost since they will be bidding from the final plan's exact details. Don't neglect to figure the architect's expense into the job's total cost, as this step is often a necessary part of the project.
Smart Planning
Frequently, homeowners over-design their new addition with expensive floor coverings, furnishings, electrical fixtures, etc., only to later realize that the final product doesn't fit in with the rest of the house, leaving you feeling like you're living in two different homes. It would be best if you considered this real possibility from the start. Maybe you are looking for a total remodel of your residence, and the addition is part of that. Great! But if you weren't planning a total renovation of your existing home, you could end up with a love/hate relationship with your home's new addition.
We always recommend that clients coordinate the floor coverings in the addition with the space introducing it. An exact match to existing flooring, trim, paint and other finishes will be virtually impossible unless the house is relatively new. As home finishes fade with age, be sure to inspect any samples in the daytime, in the darkness, and in artificial light to make sure you have a match or coordinating solution.
Get in touch.
Are you looking to add on an addition to your home? Call us as early as possible so that we can help with every step along the way! We provide free estimates!
