What to Consider When Adding On

Additions can be a good way to get more functionality out of your home. Your addition might be an extra bedroom for your expanding family, a home office to provide you with a space to work from home, or even a sunroom or hobby area. Your add-on might even be a way to add more space to existing rooms, removing or extending walls to let your current kitchen, bedroom, or other area flow seamlessly into your new addition. There are just so many possibilities.

Regardless of what you plan to use the room for, though, adding on to your house is a big undertaking and may be kind of a big investment as well. Even relatively small additions can be a big project, so it’s important that you know exactly what your plans will entail before you start work on expanding your home. To help with this, here are a few things to consider when making plans to add on to your home.

Planning the Expansion

Though you may have a good idea of where you want your addition to go, it’s important to spend some time actually planning it out. Consider details such as where the property line is located, whether there are any size or location restrictions based on state and local building codes, and whether there will be issues with the location of utilities or the slope of your property that could cause problems. Taking the time to rule out potential problems with your addition now will save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Another thing to keep in mind is how well your addition will combine with your existing home. While you obviously have a good reason to want more square footage, if you just have an added room tacked awkwardly onto your home, it can have a major impact on your home’s overall value. A good addition will blend seamlessly into your existing home, matching the exterior and making it difficult to tell that an add-on was made down the road.

Cost and Investment

Depending on the sort of addition you want to make, the budget for your add-on can fall within a pretty wide range. It’s very important that you spend some time researching exactly what it will take to make your expansion plans a reality. The time of year, materials costs, and factors such as the size and types of materials you choose will all affect how much you’re going to have to spend. Taking the time to do a bit of research and consult with your contractor about the options available to you can end up making a big difference in the final cost of your expansion.

This is important not just because of the immediate impact to your pocketbook, but also the overall difference that it makes on your home’s value. All the money that you put into your addition is an investment in your home, and you want to get the biggest return on that investment that you can. Making smart choices and not letting your budget balloon out of control will go a long way toward maximizing your home’s value in comparison to the cost of your add-on. It’s more work now, but you’ll be thanking yourself if you find yourself wanting to sell your home at some point down the road.