Planning a room addition can be an exciting yet daunting task. Whether you’re looking to create extra space for a growing family or simply want to expand your living area, careful planning is essential. In this blog post, we will share four valuable tips to help you navigate the process of planning a room addition. From considering your budget and desired functionality to finding a reliable contractor, we’ve got you covered.
In this day and age, with the current economic conditions, it may make more sense to bear the expense of a room addition. The family is getting bigger, a relative may be moving in, and you just need some more space. A room addition can add value to your home, but if done incorrectly, will have a negative effect.
Ever see a room addition that didn’t come out right? Or worse, never completed. Very often, a homeowner runs out of funds before the project is completed. This is a sure sign of bad planning. Try to sell your home with an unfinished room addition. Not a pleasant thought.
What makes the most sense is to take on this project with a great degree of discipline. Keep tight reigns on every aspect of the job. Start out by figuring out a realistic budget, but include room for error. These kinds of projects can easily go over budget, so be forewarned.
So, let’s dive right in and discover the key steps to successfully planning a room addition:
* Check Local Building Codes: Good idea to get to know the people in the Building Department. These are the people that will be granting you a Building Permit, and making Inspections. You need to go there with a copy of your survey, if you can dig it up, and find out if a home addition is possible on your lot, and if there are any size restrictions.
* Make A Preliminary Room Layout Sketch: This is for your own use. After you figure out the possible dimensions of the room addition, you can make a sketch for each floor. Show exactly how you envision the room to look. Locate the door and windows. How about the closet location, etc. Do some Elevation Sketches, which simply show what it would look like if you were standing outside looking at the walls.
* Hire A Professional To Draw The Permit Plans: You are going to have to pull a permit for this job. The plans that you submit with your permit application are going to have to be sealed by a Licensed Architect, Engineer, or General Contractor, especially Planning a Room Addition. You can’t escape this, and it is important, so that each contractor knows exactly what is expected of him.
* Hire Contractors: Now you have to make the choice —— Hire a General Contractor to oversee the entire project, or sub-contract and manage it yourself. If you are not familiar with construction methods, don’t even attempt to just sub-contract the project.During this estimating phase, you can take care of other problems in your home, like water damage repair.
This is a critical process, you must do your due diligence. Perform a Google Search and see what comes to light. Don’t settle for just a couple of bids, get several. Make sure that you can visit some past jobs, and speak with the past customers. You may be surprised. Get a thorough explanation of the Contractor’s Warranty. When you draw up the contract(s), be as specific as possible, thus avoiding problems further into the job. Speak to your attorney about the General Contractor putting up a Performance Guarantee Bond.
If you take care of all the preliminary steps correctly, you will enjoy a great project.
Author Information:
Steve Stanley, CEO of PRD Marketing Group, is an esteemed figure in the marketing industry for over four decades, offers his expertise on the subject. He is a well-known serial entrepreneur and has taken small companies and made them huge. His Architectural Signage company is Miami, Florida grew to become the largest sign company in South Florida with 37 employees. Steve is also an author and a marketing consultant. He is legendary in the ICO and NFT Crypto sectors.
