First & Second-Floor Addition

For First Floor

A first floor addition will take outdoor space

Besides the fact that your yard will become smaller, you might also have to reconsider pathways to and from your custom home, as well redesigning the landscape of your garden–if you have one.

Tip: Make sure you plan the overall design of your property, and not only interior design when it comes to your home renovation project.

A room addition can be build off an existing doorway

If the configuration of your custom home allows it, you can place a first floor room addition next to an existing doorway, and save on the cost of tearing down and relocating the walls.

Even more, this can also help you save up on architectural design, since the focus will be mainly of the interior design of that new room addition.

Drop us a call, because we’d love to hear more about your dream custom home vision!

You can opt for a bump out instead of room addition

If you only want to increase the size of a kitchen by a bit, a bump out is your best choice. This will be a cost-effective home improvement that will take less time, and it will work great even in smaller yards.

The same applies to most other room additions you plan to build, such as a bigger living room or bigger bathroom. One thing you have to remember is that not all walls can be easily relocated, with some requiring additional support structures.

An unappealing first floor will ruin the house design

Though it can apply just as well to a second floor addition, this is mostly noticeable on a room addition at ground level, since the aspect of your custom home might look askew, with the addition out of place. Even more, an unappealing addition will decrease the property value instead of raising it.

In order to make sure your new addition completes both interior design, as well as exterior design, the best will be to redo the entire house when it comes to final touch-ups.

Tip: Plan to paint the entire exterior, and not just the addition part, while the finishing touches should be added as a whole, and not only sporadically.

What works great as a first floor addition:

• New kitchen room or a kitchen expansion
• Living room addition
• Family room addition
• Garage addition
• Private suite
• Dining room

For Second floor:

A second floor addition is more extensive

Unlike a first floor addition in which a wall will be relocated outwards, a second floor addition involves a more elaborate home process.

A portion of the roof would need to be removed, new structural supports and flooring will need to be installed, and the house needs to be kept waterproof for the entire home renovation process.

Getting materials up and scaffolding needs will also add up to the second floor addition costs.

Make sure the foundation support it

Besides a support structure to withstand a second floor addition, you’ll also need to check that the current foundation of your custom home can withstand the extra weight.

If your foundation is not meant for that, you can still reinforce it. Yet retrofitting a foundation will increase the construction costs by quite a bit.

A second floor addition will take first floor space

That’s because a staircase is needed in order to get to the second floor.

So make sure you have enough hallways space for a staircase, or think of changing the interior design of your living room to accommodate that.

A second floor addition offers better sun & view

It’s only obvious that this type of home improvement comes included with a better view. So if you plan for a living area with a perspective, a second floor addition is the way to go.

Second floor is the ideal place to put a sunroom, which can also double as a family room with an airy and light interior design. After all, things look a lot brighter from above than at the ground level.

What works best on a second floor addition:

• Sunroom
• Second bathroom
• Study room addition
• Bedroom addition
• Exercise room
• Recreation room

Conclusion?

It all depends on what you want and what can be achieved within the available space.

Budgets also have a saying in it, but not as much as you think since an expert home company will find ways to work around your budget.

At SOD Home Group we’ve been getting the best out of our clients’ budget for almost 10 years, and we have dozens of satisfying examples to show it–first floor additions, second floor additions, and many other satisfying home improvements.

So why not get in touch for a non-obligation chat about that next home renovation project?