What To Consider Before Your Home Addition

Building an addition on your home is an exciting project. By the time you’ve decided you need an addition, you’ve likely been short on space for a while, so the thought of a whole new room feels like a breath of fresh air. But like any project, an addition can be a disruptive and stressful process. We know you may be feeling overwhelmed and that it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel once you’re in the thick of it. In order to make your role a little easier, we’ve gathered a few tips for your home addition that we hope will be helpful to you during your home addition!

CONSIDER WHY YOU WANT AN ADDITION

This may seem like a glaringly obvious tip, and one that you have likely already thought about. We’re pushing you to think a little harder- gather your family and write out a list of all the reasons why and how this renovation will benefit your home. When you go into a project with all the details and reasoning planned out, it will save you a lot of hassle later on down the line. It may also help you realize that the addition you originally had in mind can be adjusted to benefit the value of your home. Certain rooms add more value than others: bedrooms, bathrooms, and kitchens, for example. So instead of adding on a home office, or a children’s playroom, try adding on a new master bedroom and turn the old bedroom into the space you originally set out for. Get creative in the planning process!

KNOW YOUR BUDGET BEFOREHAND

Don’t let the cost of a home addition sneak up on you- get an idea of costs and your budget beforehand! We have a blog on pricing remodels that we’ll be pulling from for this section, so visit that post if you’re interested in more pricing tips! In order to price your project, develop a design and do your research for specific design selections and their costs early; for example, if you’re adding on a bathroom, those design selections would include showers, toilets, counters, and other necessities. Having your general design ready will mean you know your needs, wants, and how to communicate them with your project manager. Your project manager will then be able to help you get a general idea of cost ranges for your addition. They’ll also be able to help you with the scope of a project to determine final intricacies of the project that will be added onto your cost. 

PREPARE THE REST OF YOUR HOME

It may seem unnecessary to have to prepare the rest of your home when you’re adding an addition in one specific part, but your home life is going to shift more than you realize! You’ll have to adjust to living with noise, debris, and all the other, so take any and all precautions to save yourself from a headache later. Use tape and tarps to block off parts of your home connected to where the addition is being built to keep construction as separate as possible. If you have anything that you’re worried about being damaged or lost during construction, we suggest packing it up and storing it somewhere safe or renting a storage unit for the duration of building. Label your boxes well so that if you need to get something out, you know exactly where it is! We have a couple of other blog posts here and here that have more tips for preparing your home and your family for an addition or renovation.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF

We know how stressful an addition or renovation can be, and we want you to know how important it is to be kind to yourself during this! How you and your family live your lives will be drastically affected for the time being, so go into this project knowing things will have to shift and there will be plenty of uncertainties, and that you are handling it all the best that you can! Spend as much time outside as you can, and find fun things to do with your family away from home. When you are in your home, ensure that your kids stay away from the construction zone and that anything dangerous is out of their reach. If where the addition is being built disrupts any daily routines, make sure you accommodate and relocate amenities as needed.

When your home addition feels overwhelming and stressful, just remember how much better your home will feel with that brand new room! No matter what you are adding on, it will help your family for years to come, and bring a new and much needed space to your home. If you have questions, you can always reach out to us at Cedar Mill Group– we want to help you achieve your dream home however we can!