Perhaps you’ve got a little one on the way or your mother-in-law needs to move into your home, but you’re facing some difficult space issues that might make the addition of another person into the household a tight squeeze. Do you need to build an addition to the home, or can you renovate to find more space?
Packing the family up to move to a larger home might not be realistic for a variety of reasons. The cost of a new home, a family’s current location, and the family history in a present residence might make thoughts of a new house unattractive. Fortunately, several options exist for finding extra space in the home.
Finding More Space: Rearranging and Renovating the Home
Build a Home Addition By Looking Up
Adding another bedroom is a common goal for renovation in the home, but getting an extra bedroom doesn’t always mean that you need to add an entire addition onto the home. If your home has an attic, one option is to finish the attic and turn it into a bedroom. “This Old House” offers some important adviceon whether your attic might be suitable for such a conversion:
Follow the “rule of 7s”: Enforcement varies, but codes typically say that at least half of a finished attic must be at least 7 feet high, and that this area must be a minimum of 7 feet wide and 70 square feet. A contractor or a local building official can help you assess how the rule will apply to your attic and how modifications like dormers can resolve height shortcomings.
According to an article on CNN Money, one issue that some homeowners experience is a lack of space after the kids move out. Once the kids graduate from college or start their own lives in another home, a renovation might include getting a bigger bedroom and spacing things out. Sometimes all it takes is the removal of a wall to create a large, comfortable master bedroom. Your contractor will be able to tell you whether this option is viable structurally, but CNN also notes:
“You always want to keep your bedroom count on par with the neighborhood,” says Horen. “So, in a four-bedroom house area, dropping to three may not be a good idea. But in a predominantly two-bedroom neighborhood, you’d still be way ahead of the Joneses.”
Adding More Space: Building an Addition or Extending the House
The prospect of a home addition tends to be a fairly costly endeavor whether the addition is a major extension of the home or a subtle expansion of square footage. The pros at Bob Vila’s websitehave some key advice for deciding upon an addition or renovation project:
You need to decide whether the task consists of adding new space, improving existing space, or simply putting unused space to use.
Remember that adding space to your home through an addition will still require some remodeling of your present space. Perhaps you intend to push the wall of the kitchen out into the backyard by several feet. The project will require some work to remodel the kitchen for the expansion.
Get Advice On Your Expansion or Renovation
Are you thinking of remodeling or expanding your Indianapolis area home? Contact Gettum Associates for a Consultation.
