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General Guidelines To Add A Room To Your Home

By
Services for Real Estate Pros

Many factors may encourage you to add a room to your existing home. The new room could be a man cave, a study, make for more or a larger living space, a small bedroom, a small library or just a room that you can use for more than one purpose from time to time. While you can suddenly decide that you need to invest in room addition, you cannot do so overnight and you cannot make a random investment and just add a room. There should be substantial planning in the works.

 

doorway-690338_640Here are some general guidelines to follow while adding a room to your home.

  • Adding a room will change the size and structure of your home. Unless you are adding a room within a room, your exteriors will change. For a room within a room or large space, it will change the layout of your home. You will need to factor in the viability issue. That is why you should hire a designer who can work on the whole project.
  • You will need to get the necessary permissions to adhere to the building codes. For a room within a room, you wouldn’t be violating the building codes but you do need permission for expanding a home outwards. Any external room addition or expanding an existing room outward that makes a property larger, higher or wider will require approval. Check the local zoning laws, building codes and get the permits. You would need a blueprint of the plan to get approved.
  • Have a pragmatic budget. Don’t fall for what others are telling you. Do not have very low or very high budgets. Set aside the money that you can affordably spend and do what you can with it. Of course, you should factor in what you need. You may want any kind of attributes in your new room but you must first think of the needs. From insulation to electrical wiring, walling and possibly flooring, you must first account for the imperative expenses.
  • DIY home improvement projects are economic but they are not ideal when it comes to adding a room. Also, hiring a designer and hiring another contractor to get the project done would be unwise. Get the same company work on the blueprint or design and construct the additional room. With such an approach, you would have the architect and the contractor in the same team so you have only one company to hold accountable.

 

 

 

Regina Minton

Real Estate Assistant

www.acworth.cc

Kartik Subramaniam
Adhi Schools, LLC - Rancho Cucamonga, CA
Market Analysis--Educational Content, Adhi Schools

Great post Regina Minton. Not a topic covered often on AR, so thank you for pointing out some of the (sometimes complicated) basics for us!  

Jul 26, 2016 08:02 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Regina, you have some terrific advice here.  I think you should also plan to spend twice as much as you think you will and have it take twice as long to finish!

Jul 30, 2016 03:00 AM
Dick Greenberg
New Paradigm Partners LLC - Fort Collins, CO
Northern Colorado Residential Real Estate

Hi Regina - That's excellent advice for home owners considering embarking on that journey - it's going to require forethought and planning to make it happen as intended. And BTW, a belated welcome to AR!

Aug 31, 2016 06:23 AM
Sharon Tara
Sharon Tara Transformations - Portsmouth, NH
Retired New Hampshire Home Stager

Very informative and I'm sure very helpful to anyone considering this type of project!

Aug 31, 2016 06:37 AM
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

Having a Class A, licensed contractor would be the way to go when taking a room addition on as a project.  We did it to our family home forever ago.  Was so worth the money.

Aug 31, 2016 08:21 AM
Beth Atalay
Cam Realty and Property Management - Clermont, FL
Cam Realty of Clermont FL

Great advice Regina Minton! Stay away from DIY when it comes to adding a room.

Aug 31, 2016 09:38 AM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

Excellent advice, Regina. My neighbor has added a room over his garage and had to change the roofline of the house. Bu, it looks great.

Aug 31, 2016 10:32 AM
Jack Mossman - The Nines Team at Keller Williams in Lodi
The Nines Team at Keller Williams in Lodi - Lodi, CA
The Nines Team in Lodi

Regina ... very good advice and while full of warnings, it still is encouraging!  I like the balance ... thanks for sharing

Aug 31, 2016 01:31 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Hi Regina

These are some important things to keep in mind when adding a room - we don't see much about this here. I agree with Pat - the cost is usually more than expected and these sorts of things always take longer!

Welcome to ActiveRain - keep up the good work!

Jeff

Sep 01, 2016 12:05 AM
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

I can't begin to tell you the number of homes with additions with no permits in my market.  It was a deck, then a porch, then a sun room... no permits. Ugh.

Sep 01, 2016 01:05 AM
Sussie Sutton
David Tracy Real Estate - Houston, TX
David Tracy Real Estate for Buyers & Sellers

I have to agree with Cody Carmen, this topic has never been been posted about. So you did good. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees.

Sep 01, 2016 06:41 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is very good information to share with home owners.

Have a most productive September.

Sep 01, 2016 09:14 AM
Gayle Rich-Boxman Fishhawk Lake Real Estate
John L Scott Market Center - Birkenfeld, OR
"Your Local Expert!" 503-739-3843

My husband is a big advocate for staying debt-free, so working with a REASONABLE budget is so smart. This is exactly what he would agree with that you put so well:

Do not have very low or very high budgets. Set aside the money that you can affordably spend and do what you can with it. 

Not only is this good advice for adding a room, but also for a new build, too. 

 

Sep 01, 2016 12:56 PM