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Compare ProposalsRemodeling IdeasHow to add a room addition without going bankrupt[ADSENSE_0000000144] Choices & Options Choices & options, there are hundreds of them & each decision impacts the cost of your new addition. For some reason many homeowners seem to think that choosing an addition is like ordering from a Chinese take out
menu. It doesn't work that way for room additions. True, the very basic addition is the same no matter who builds it. I'm talking about the foundation framing. But everything else is a choice Roof design, window types & size, doors, flooring, wall finish, outlets, switches, heating & on & on & on. Every selection you make changes the cost. Should it be off the back of the house? Maybe on the side of the house? There's always an option to build a dormer or maybe a room over your attached garage. Ever consider the basement? How about converting your garage that's filled with junk. Ever consider extending an existing room & putting two people in it instead of one? You have many options don't you. Do you have enough rear yard or side yard clearance so you don't encroach on property line regulations? How do find out? Where do those building plans come from anyway? Is the location going to interfere with existing windows or doors? Is there a pool or deck or patio interfering? Maybe overhead wiring will have to be relocated. What do I do about those things? What I am trying to do is to get you to think of the ramifications of your selections. All of the items I mention are going to add to the cost of your addition. Anything that has to be removed, rebuilt or relocated is going to add to the contractors costs & eventually hose costs become yours. Here is an excerpt from an article I recently wrote: Want an exterior door on your addition? Sometimes an exterior door isn't necessary e.g. on a bedroom addition, but the majority of times a door is either desired by the homeowner or sometimes required by the building department. The cost of a basic exterior door is but a few hundred dollars. Let's examine the expense ramifications of installing this door. The door you buy is usually pre-hung in a jamb (frame). The door then requires hardware (lock), sometimes a door saddle & weather proofing, interior moldings & additional framing by the carpenters. After the door is in place, it requires a place to step when entering & exiting. That requires either a set of steps to ground level or if a slab house then usually a slab of concrete to step on. If it requires a set of steps then that requires a handrail. In either case it requires a wall outlet for a light fixture. That requires a wall switch to light the light. That requires an exterior weatherproof exterior outlet. That requires a separate electric circuit. Last, but not least, you probably want a storm door. The original cost of the basic door coupled with items that will be required by the building department has now doubled or tripled. You may have thought when you included a door in your room that it was a simple inexpensive part of your addition. Sorry to say it gets a lot more complicated & more expensive than you imagined. I could go through a number of items with the same process. Fireplaces, windows, step-downs, step-ups, staircases are only a few that have expense ramifications & can vary wildly in cost. I am trying to get you in the right frame of mind. Room addition choices can either make the addition or break the bank. You have to consider each one carefully. I show you the best way in all of my books.
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