Whether your home is small or large, a room addition can be an invaluable investment. Apart from expanding your living and storage space, adding rooms with desirable features make homes more marketable to future home buyers and can increase your home’s value. But before you start on your home remodeling, it’s important to make smart choices when it comes to your home additions, particularly regarding logistics.
Logistics
Consider the following when deciding where to put your home addition.
- Check out the Property – You need to locate your property lines and develop a plot plan. This includes your home, the location of the utilities, and the landscaping. Think about how the addition will have exposure to shade, sun, and other conditions. Be sure to check the area for other obstacles that will need to be relocated or removed such as septic tanks, utility poles, satellites, and other structures. Local codes are strict regarding how close you build to your nearest neighbor, so this is an important step.
- Complement Your Home – Make sure that you and your home renovation team come up with a plan to locate your addition in a place that complements your home’s current floor plan. Don’t just think about the addition itself; consider how it will architecturally affect the overall appearance of your home from the outside.
- Get the Stamp of Approval – Be sure that any plans drawn up by you or your residential contractors are approved by your city before anything is finalized. Look into the building codes and legal restrictions that govern what can be built on your property. Setback restrictions can sometimes govern how close a structure can be built to property lines. Other legal constraints include building area ratios, height restrictions, historic-district preservation ordinances, and design covenants.
Addition Ideas
If you need some ideas for your home addition, here are a few:
- Second Story – While a big project to undertake, a major addition is adding a second story to your home. This will add significant square footage and resale value to your home. You must work closely with your remodeling contractors to make sure that your home’s foundation and structure can handle the extra weight.
- Build over the Garage – Building an apartment or bonus space over the garage is a great way to add extra square footage without turning your house upside down. Since the foundation is already in place, you just need a roof and walls.
- Build a Dormer – Dormers expand your attic, adding both light and curb appeal.
- Add on to your Kitchen – The kitchen is one of the most used rooms of the house and a kitchen remodel will see a great return on your investment. When you enlarge the size of your kitchen to include a walk-in pantry or open it up, you are sure to recoup your investment at resale.
- Bump Out Addition – While a bump out can range from two to fifteen feet, it can add a considerable amount of square footage to a room. It also costs less than a conventional addition.
Great projects are the result of teamwork from experienced companies. At Vesta Homes, we understand that choosing a builder is the most important part of your project. This is why we work with a hand selected team of vendors, subcontractors, architects, and designers that come together to provide an elite product. For professional results from an efficient, hard working home renovation team, contact us today. We provide a complete package of services, including design consultation, construction drawings, and project management.
