The best home additions

A home addition is one way to get more out of a house and can be a financially responsible alternative to selling and buying a larger home. Additions add value to a home as well, which can pay off when it is time to sell. The best additions are those that balance current needs with adding value to a home for the future.

Some older homes were built sans garage. Adding a garage onto the home will provide a much nicer place to park the car when unloading groceries and small children – out of the weather! They are cheaper to build than rooms that are considered living spaces, as codes do not require the same insulation, finished flooring and other amenities the rest of the house has.

Expanding the kitchen can make food preparation and storage much easier.

An additional bedroom will benefit an expanding family, and turning it into a “suite”, with the addition of a bathroom will increase the value of the home.

Additions are often thought of as expanding the homes footprint, but we find that many clients in Whatcom County prefer to keep their yards and landscaping, and instead, have a partial second floor built, usually above the garage.

This Bellingham home addition was built over the garage.

Another cost-effective “addition”, is converting the garage into a bedroom or family room. This will require upgrading the space to code requirements for such spaces; increased insulation, building up the floor over the concrete garage floor, and heating the space.

This photo shows an addition that was built between two tiny cottages, to connect them into one home, and add a bathroom and bedroom.