Planning a home addition can be a deeply satisfying project. Whether expanding for a growing family or adapting to lifestyle changes, it offers essential space without the disruption of moving. Space is a valuable commodity, and with thoughtful planning, your addition can not only meet your immediate needs but also potentially increase your home’s value, providing lasting benefits and financial gains.
Get Familiar with Your Room Addition Options
When planning a home addition, you can explore various options such as side or back extensions, cantilever additions, adding a new level, expanding into the basement, or incorporating a sunroom or veranda.
Budget it Right
Room addition projects can be quite expensive, potentially reaching thousands of dollars. To ensure you can cover all expenses, it’s essential to plan your budget carefully. This budget should account for architectural and structural plans, city permits, construction costs, and all finish materials. The risk is high and it is definitely not for DYI projects. Therefore we in Beverly Builders Group have developed a unique way for helping home owners achieving their goals and ensuring it stays within budget.
How Big and How High Can I Build My Room Addition?
The size and height limitations for building a house or room addition can vary based on several factors, including the zoning of your property, local building codes, and any specific regulations from the Department of Building and Safety. Generally, these regulations dictate things like maximum allowable floor area ratio (FAR), setbacks from property lines, building height limits (often measured in stories or feet), and sometimes even design guidelines related to neighborhood character. As a Design – Build contractor, we offer complete service to make it happen. From the beginning of learning about your property to submitting plans and constructing your home.
Understanding the Timeline and Potential Delays in Building a Room Addition
Like many things in life, the duration of a construction project depends on your perspective. A typical build takes an average of 3-8 months, while plans and blueprints, permitting, and adherence to municipal codes and regulations can add another 2-12 months on top of the build timeline, depending on your city where you live. Many factors can delay the project, so it’s crucial to hire a reliable team to monitor and handle potential hold-ups. Common reasons for time delays include the size and square footage of the new building, project complexity and weather conditions, land condition, and the availability to deliver manpower and materials to the site.
Living Under Construction
In most projects, you can live in the house without needing to find another place. Exceptions occur when homeowners decide to upgrade other systems in the house during the project, typically to save time and money. However, living under construction can be very uncomfortable. Dust may spread everywhere, wind can enter the house due to improper sealing, and you might experience occasional shortages in electricity and water while utilities are being worked on. Despite these inconveniences, staying in your home can save you thousands of dollars in temporary housing costs.
Going Out or Going Up
Single-Story Addition
Additions can be built as either a single-story or a two-story (second-story) level. If your lot is big enough, you might consider a single-story addition. This is a perfect solution for homeowners who are seeking to add a bedroom and a bathroom or simply expand their Kitchen living spaces. Another benefit of building a single-story addition is that the roof of the addition can be utilized as a deck or porch area.
Second-Story Addition
On the other hand, a second-story addition is ideal for maximizing space without reducing the size of your lot, unlike a single-story project of the same square footage. These projects are usually more expensive and complex, requiring more time and adhering to additional regulations. The most efficient way to design a second-story addition is as new construction rather than as a remodeling job to an existing house.
Cantilever Addition
Cantilever Additions are similar to a second-story addition project. they are built off the ground, typically they match to to the second-story of the house. When they are small (typically less then 2 ft) they do not require any footing and foundation work, which make it more cost affective when building.
on other hand, a full size Cantilever Addition is require to have supporting posts and a foundation system. One advantage of a Cantilever Addition is that is preserve yard space.
If you found this article helpful and are seeking more information or expert advice, don’t hesitate! Contact us today!
