What Moms Should Know About Home Additions

No matter how large your home is, you might wish for more space or a room you can use for a specific purpose. And if you have kids in the house, having more space can certainly come in handy. You can change up an existing space to suit your purposes, but you might consider adding even more square footage to the area. A new addition to the home might be just what you are looking for.

Planning the Addition

The first step is to determine what you will be using the addition for. For example, if you plan to have a large family, learn from the parents of large families and consider a large second-floor addition to increase the number of bedrooms. And if your family is already established, you might add on to the main floor to increase the size of your family room. 

You will want to come up with a realistic budget for the project as well. Get some estimates once you have a better idea of what the project will entail. You could consider taking out a home equity line of credit since the renovation will increase your home value. If you are thinking about going this route, you can review a guide on everything you need to know. These often have very flexible terms, so you can pay it back once you have the necessary funds.

Expanding the Main Floor

One of the most common kinds of additions is expanding the main floor. There are a few ways you can do so, but most of the time, you will enlarge the house’s footprint. It will require careful planning and the result will need to fit with the current floor plan so it blends in well. Once the construction starts, the contractor might remove part of the existing exterior wall and frame up the new area. Then they can add the roof and match the architecture in the home. 

Adding this type of space can be a great way to add a bedroom or put in more floor space to be used generally. Adding onto a kitchen or bathroom is one way to use the new space. Or you might choose to use it as a kid’s bedroom. You could enclose a patio you already have to make more useable outdoor living space. Plus, it helps you take advance of the outdoors and nice weather. If you decide to keep a patio outdoors exclusively but want to revamp it, read up on patios vs decks and determine which is the best fit for your family’s needs. 

Increasing the Second-Floor Space

If you need quite a bit more space, you might want to follow a guide and expand upward, not outward. You could almost double the amount of space by adding a second story to the house. Or you could put that onto a specific area. It is a great way to add more bedrooms for kids or add a library, game room, or recreational space. If you would rather increase the amount of outdoor space, you could add a deck onto the second story. And you might choose to increase the amount of space over your garage or put in a covered patio. The options depend on what you feel your family needs, as well as any local zoning restrictions.