Step by step Home Additions

 Add Room  Home Additions   

  Add More Value to Your Home at less cost

 Plan them better

       Design them better

                Build them  for less money   

"Home additions aren't an expense, they are an investment"

Help from a retired remodeling contractor

A website for homeowners contemplating adding a new room addition to their home. Links  to pages with information about room additions- Dormer additions, second story additions, room over the garage additions, garage conversion additions, split level  additions, finished basement additions & do-it-yourself room additions.  Help with Kitchen remodeling & Bathroom remodeling

Choose the page that has the information you are looking for:

1. If you want to hire a general contractor to do all the necessary preparation & construction of your addition see here

2. If you are looking for free, no obligation contractor bids or quotes on your proposed addition, see here

3. If you are looking to contract out the addition yourself, see here

4. If you are interested in "How Much it will cost?" see here

How to add an addition to your home. Here is what you have to do:

1. You need enough space between your house & your property lines. There is no sense even starting unless you are reasonably sure you will not encroach on your property lines. Either call the zoning department or ask any addition contractor & they will fill you in quickly.

2. You need to know how to design your addition or have someone help you. It is not difficult but you may need some help. Many homeowners do a great job by themselves.

3. You need to know how you are going to finance your addition. Home equity loans can sometimes be enough. Sometimes the contractor can get you great financing.

4. You need to plan in detail exactly what you want to build.

5. You need building plans & permits.

6.  You need to either hire a general contractor to do or help with all of the above & then build some of the addition or all of the addition. You need to know nothing about construction. See here

                                                                                  or

You can build some of the addition yourself & contract the rest of the work.  See here

7. You will need a Certificate of Occupancy & an Underwriters Certificate. Not difficult but necessary.

That's all there is to it.

(If you are interested in "How Much" go here )

You will have access to everything you need to know on this web site. Some of the information is free, some is not. Building an addition can get pretty complicated to the uninitiated & I have tried to lay out everything that you should know before embarking on a project that will take several weeks (& a bunch of money) to complete. It's not difficlut but you really need some sort of a guide & some step by step direction to make it less expensive & add more value to your home.  

You have a need

At least one of your rooms is too small, like a bedroom, kitchen or dining room. Perhaps one of the rooms is missing altogether, like a den, family room, home office or bathroom. You can say this about most houses. There is almost always something in your house that you want either added or made larger than it is now. Your kids are crowded, you & your husband could use another closet, a little peace & quiet in a home office would be nice. There is no end to what you want or need.

You need help

Many homeowners just don't know where to start. "Who do I call first, a contractor, the building department? "I wonder if I have enough rear yard or side yard clearance" How much is this thing going to cost? How big should I build the addition. Maybe a dormer would be better than going out. I wonder how much the payments would be?" These are just a few of the questions milling around your head & they all need answers.

Now that I am retired I can help you add an addition, or extend an existing room. It will probably take a little more knowledge than you have now. I'll lay it all out for you & show you how it is done. You are going to find that you can build an addition for less money than you think.

I am not trying to sell you a home addition. I did that for twenty five years. What I learned during that time is that most homeowners don't have a clue about how to buy  an addition. It is usually a one time thing & almost no one has any experience doing it.....except the contractor.

Avoid  problems

For 25 years I watched people making bad decisions, only because there was no one to guide them through the remodeling process. I ran my own contracting business so I can tell you from experience that some contractors do not always have your best interests in mind when they are trying to sell you a room addition.The biggest problem homeowners have to overcome is complacency.

Buy it for less

Wouldn't you love to know that you bought your addition for the lowest price available? That is what you will learn to do by reading any one of my ebooks. I will guide you through the
process step by step. There will be no contractor issues & probably none of those dreaded extras everyone wants to avoid. You will get an insider look at contractor secrets & see how the business works.

Add more value to your house

It will become very clear that you can make considerable savings & build a better looking addition.

If you take the time to plan, design & choose a contractor carefully, you can reduce the costs considerably.
Take a look at my e-books that describe how to plan & design several types of room additions. I guarantee you savings of at least hundreds of dollars & probably much more. "If I were you" ebooks are a guide to a successful room addition on your home. I explain everything I have learned, to help homeowners buy a better addition at a lower cost.

Profit by learning how the remodeling business is run

I'll give you a peek inside the contracting business & how to avoid costly design decisions. Read about how to get started with a new home addition. You will be glad you did.

 If you want to do your home addition right, plus save a bunch of money, then my best advice is:

If you are going to use a contractor. I can show you how to get started Here

 If you want to do some of the work yourself & contract out the rest or contract all of the work then I can show you how Here