Looking to add more space to your current home? In today’s hot real estate market, you’re probably better off staying put and adding on than selling and trying to find a new house that’s reasonably priced.
There are many kinds of home additions that are best for adding square footage. Let’s go over four of them.
1. Conventional House Addition
This is a multi-room structure constructed onto the side of your house. It is permanently attached and open to the main house, blending both features seamlessly into one. A house addition can include a variety of useful areas, such as dining room, family room, great room, game room, bathroom, guest room, or primary bedroom.
Usually, kitchens aren’t included in this category, unless you plan to add on an in-law apartment that will have a separate entrance.
While the costs for this type can get pretty high, full-size house additions can give you a high ROI. The process of building such an addition is time consuming and labor intensive, as it’s basically like adding a mini house onto your existing one. You need to worry about permits, wiring, architects, contractors and sub-contractors, HVAC, plumbing, change orders, and delays.
2. Room Addition or Bump Out
This is a single room structure that is built onto the side of your house for a primary function, such as a bathroom or bedroom. Sometimes these bump outs will only expand the size of one room within your existing house.
These are like full-blown additions but scaled way down. Perhaps you just want to add another 50 square feet to your kitchen off the back to add an island, or maybe you want to expand your dining area so it’s a more comfortable place to sit, eat and entertain.
These kinds of projects often require the laying down of a new roofline, usually with a shed style or flat roof. These additions are less expensive than full-size additions, but you still have to worry about compliance with building codes, inspectors and permits.
3. Sunrooms
These include additions to one side of your house that provide a supplemental living area. They are usually closed off from the main house with doors such as French doors. These additions can be made of pre-fabricated materials, such as thermal-resistant glass, with the sunroom being assembled on-site. But other times, they are constructed from scratch with concrete, lumber, and other materials to create an extra living area that matches the existing house visually.
Sunrooms aren’t meant to be permanent sleeping areas, and you will never see kitchens and bathrooms in them. So because they’re not supposed to be year-round living structures, they don’t have to have heating or air conditioning but they can. It depends on the wishes of the homeowner.
4. Garage Conversion
This involves a one- or two-vehicle attached garage being converted into a living space through the addition of flooring, a solid wall instead of a garage door, insulation, and a ceiling. People convert their garages into many types of extra spaces, such as living rooms, bedrooms, game rooms, and living rooms.
The basic structure for a garage conversion is already in place, comprising walls, foundation, roof and concrete flooring. Plus, they usually already contain some electrical outlets as well as windows. And if you already have drywall on the studs, that’s one less thing to hassle with. However, plumbing and HVAC usually must be added.
Contact AD Construction
If any of the above home additions appeal to you, get in touch with our Boston MA contractors to see what we can do for you. Just contact us today at 877-345-BUILD.
