How to Plan a Home Addition: 5 Things to Consider

Adding onto your home is a big and exciting project; however, many home additions get out of hand and end up costing homeowners more than they had initially anticipated. While it's best to work with a professional designer, we have some tips on how to plan a home addition and the costs accordingly.

1. Is it Cheaper to Add On or Build New?

Are you sure that a home addition will meet your needs? While home additions are generally cheaper and easier to manage than building a new home, the cost and complexity of the project will depend on scale. If you want to add a substantial home addition relative to the size of your home, it may be more worth your time, money and effort to upgrade to a new home instead. 

2. Is It Cheaper to Add an Addition Up or Out?

Usually, it is cheaper to add an addition to your first floor, on ground level, rather than add a second or even third floor. That's because more advanced engineering is involved when adding stairs and building on top of an existing structure. However, your local building codes may prohibit you from adding more to your first floor, depending on how much space you have. Therefore, it is best to first learn about your local municipalities' building codes and how that will affect your build.  

3. Consider Your Budget Carefully

It's best to be conservative with your budget rather than assume you'll have enough money for a significant addition. Otherwise, you may get into a situation where you cannot afford to complete the addition or cannot complete it to a high standard, which can impact the value of your home. On the other hand, you also don't want to set a budget you can barely afford since any extras or problems that crop up will push you over budget.  

Planning a home addition? Let the experts at Team Shane help you. Contact us today and we would be happy to guide you!

4. Talk to a Realtor

If you plan on selling the home one day, it is worthwhile to consider how your addition will impact the home's value. A few smart decisions can help make your home more valuable while still allowing you to get everything you want out of it. Mistakes like making a room too small, failing to add a full bath, or taking other shortcuts might work great for you but be undesirable in the future market. Even if you don't end up following the real estate agent's recommendations, making informed decisions is always worthwhile. 

5. The Contractor Makes the Difference

Keeping yourself within budget, getting your top priorities from your addition, and getting the highest quality build are all much simpler when you have the right contractor on your team. 

Reach out to Team Shane to start planning your home renovation today.