What should you know about additions?

First, you need to decide what kind of addition you need. Many decide to build up – usually over the garage, although not always. Another method is to completely renovate an unfinished basement. And then the final method is to build out into the yard.

Building over the garage means adding stairs, usually inside the garage, which takes space away from whatever you may be using that area for, but is an excellent way to increase square footage without losing any of your yard. A structural engineer will be needed to show that the walls and foundation can handle the additional weight.

Building into the basement means ensuring the basement is watertight, and if a portion of the basement will be used as sleeping quarters, there must be a proper emergency exit available in case of fire.

Building out into the yard keeps everything on the first floor, and does not require an engineer to assess the structure.

We have built all types, and one home even consisted of 2 small structures, which the owner wanted joined to make one larger home. There was a slight difference in elevation between them, and this was easily solved with a couple of steps in the joining structure.