When it comes to expanding your living space for your family, there are plenty of ways to do it. Even though downsizing your belongings or moving to a larger home to accommodate your needs might sound like an easy solution, adding another room to your house is sometimes the best choice, especially if you have a specific purpose in mind.
Whether you already have a plan to add a room to your house or you’re just starting to consider it, here are some of the things you’ll need to know about adding a room to your house.
1. What Kind of Room?
One of the first things you should identify is what kind of room you want to add to your home. This will likely impact the specifics of the project and the very first steps you need to take.
For example, if you want to add more living space or another bedroom, you’ll need to know how to apply drywall and how to cut openings for windows and outlet boxes. However, if you want to add something like a sunroom, you probably won’t need to know that. Once you identify the purpose, it will be easier to move forward with the rest of the project.
2. The Resale Value
Something that might be important to consider is the resale value of your home. Even though adding a room to your house is definitely an investment, expanding the square footage in general can add a lot of value to your home. Even expanding your garage can bump up the resale value of your home.
3. What You’ll Need
Although this was already addressed a little bit when you decided what kind of room you were going to build, it’s important to understand exactly what you’ll need when you begin building.
If you plan to take on the task yourself, you’ll need foundation tools, framing carpentry tools, finish carpentry tools, roofing tools, plumbing tools, wiring tools, and HVAC tools. Additionally, you’ll need a variety of materials in order to fill out the actual room itself. The specifics of this will depend on your budget and the exact specifics of what you want to build.
4. Knowing Your Budget
Speaking of budget, it’s important to gauge exactly what kind of budget you have so you can start thinking about realistically building the room you want.
On average, adding a room to a home tends to cost somewhere between $20,000 and $72,000. This can seem like a lot of money, but even if you think about it per square foot – which is usually between $80 and $200 – it shakes out to make a little bit more sense in the long term.
5. Finding a Professional
It’s more than likely you will need to find a professional to help you accomplish your goal of adding a new room to your house. Although there are some people who have the time, skills, and expertise to accomplish the addition to the home, most people will need at least a little bit of professional support.
Once you figure out exactly what kind of room you want to add, find somebody who specializes in the kind of professional home builders you’re looking for. Ultimately, find a balance that works for you between working on things yourself and allowing the professionals to do their job.
6. Getting Your Permits in Order
Even though you definitely don’t need a permit or approval for every renovation you make, there are definitely certain projects that are more likely to require approval than others. Of course, the specifics of this will depend heavily on your state and local municipality, but it is common practice to look into any of the necessary permits you might need before you start building.
If you’re working with a professional or a contractor, they will take care of this for you. However, if you’re going at it alone, projects like putting in new windows, adding plumbing and electrical, installing siding, or replacing a water heater will usually require permits.
7. Blend It Into the House
One of the most important things you can do when adding a new room, no matter what that room is, is to make sure that you blend it into the rest of the house. This can be through decoration, adding seasonal touches or even through incorporating the common styles that are present in the rest of the home. What’s important is that the room feels cohesive and like it’s been there all along.
Add a Room to Your Home
There are so many important factors that go into adding a new room onto your home. Specifically, building onto the home that you already know and love can be different for everyone, but it will still have common factors like adding to the resale value and possibly requiring certain permits. Regardless of whether you are doing it yourself or having a professional get involved, there’s nothing sweeter than expanding in a way that works for you and your family.