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If you’re in the early stages of planning an addition to your home, that’s a great place to be. Because that’s when you get to decide why you want it in the first place. Primarily, is it for your own enjoyment or designed to add to your home’s resale value, or both? Once you have that all figured out, your planning process should go much more smoothly.
Here are some tips for helping you get started on the right foot:
Why are you planning to build an addition?
If you’re doing this to add resale value, be cautious and first check out what houses in your neighborhood are selling for while determining your home’s current resale value. If, after all that, you find that your house is already at the high end of that curve, that new addition might not prove to be a very good investment.
What kind of room do you have in mind?
Knowing exactly how you intend to use the room will help answer a lot of questions going forward. A new master bedroom suite, for example, will no doubt require more square footage plus some additional plumbing, unlike a simple guest room.
Be careful before settling on a particular style.
The smart money is on building an addition that blends with your home’s current style, especially when it comes to maximizing your investment no matter when you decide to sell.
Do you have to give up precious yard space?
If you already have a smallish property, a room addition could chew up a chunk of what little space you have. In that instance, it might more sense to build up than out.
Choose your builder early in the planning process.
If you’re well past the “dreaming of it” stage and ready to get started, now’s the time to go through the builder selection process. Among other things, he or she can help you establish a comfortable budget range. You’re going to need that anyway, especially as you start working out such details as size, furnishings, and luxury features like a vaulted ceiling, built-in bookcases, and so on.
Can your home comfort systems comfortably handle more living space?
Here at GBT Heating & Cooling, we’ve witnessed many of our customers proceeding with an addition on the assumption their current heating and cooling systems can handle the extra load, only to find out later they couldn’t. So, before you get too far into your planning process, contact us to determine how best to efficiently heat and cool your new space. Is your current system up to the task? Should one or both systems be replaced? Or perhaps a stand-alone ductless air system will prove to be the right choice for your addition. GBT is ready and able to help you figure that out.