Home Addition: Where to Start?

Nothing beats that feeling of coming home after a long day at work. You can kick off your shoes and enjoy your favorite book or tv show. But when your home is too small, there’s no way you can relax with everyone around you. If things are feeling crowded at home, or your kids share a bedroom, it might be time to consider a home addition.

Home addition projects can be daunting when you do not know where to start. This article is designed to help you navigate the process of making your home addition dream into a reality. Our years of experience as a licensed general contractor building home additions throughout the South Bay region of Los Angeles has helped us gain expertise in this subject. We have broken down our article into 5 different segments; you’ll learn how important it is to correctly identify, budget, design, contract, and build your home addition project.

IDENTIFY

This may seem as the most obvious and logical place to start, but sometimes homeowners don’t realize that they need more room at home. You would be surprised of the effect an extra bedroom will do to a home. Adding square feet to your home will also increase the value of the home. The next step is to decide what type of addition you’ll be building. A bedroom addition is the least expensive option, it’s also the easiest to build. You should expect to pay significantly more if you decide on including a bathroom or kitchen in your home addition. Bathrooms and kitchens require expensive plumbing costs, and specialized materials.

BUDGET

Your next step is to set a budget you are comfortable with. But keep in mind, your budget is a figure you are comfortable with and may not be your total cost. It is just a figure you are comfortable with spending. Once you meet with your contractor and design your addition, you’ll have a figure that is closer to the actual cost. A small and moderate budget can should range from about $32,000 to $52,000. If you decide to include a kitchen or bathroom in your addition, a reasonable budget should be of about $90,000 to $100,000. Home addition costs are usually 30-50% higher on a per foot cost basis because a room addition is more complicated to build than building a home from scratch. Room additions are constructed to tie into the existing home, both structurally and aesthetically.

DESIGN

Once a budget has been set you can begin to design your project. We always tell our customers to design towards a budget. You don’t want to have someone design something for you that you cannot afford to build. Professional contractors will provide you with these design services, but you can also hire designers and drafters to provide create your architectural plans to submit to the city inspector. The interior designer will help you choose most of the materials needed to design your vision. Once the design has been finalized you can turn your attention to hiring a contractor. 

HIRE A CONTRACTOR

It’s time to find a contractor, a licensed general contractor. There are two main ways to find a home addition contractor in your community. One, talk to family and friends about any reliable construction companies they may have hired in the past. Two, check online referral sites like Yelp, Houzz, and HomeAdvisor. You’ll be able to see customer reviews and experiences, as well as guide you to the company website so you can get a better feel of who they are and services they provide. Once you have compiled a list of 3 or 4 professionals, be sure to contact them for quotes and verify if they are licensed. You can also check the California Contractors State License Board website to confirm they are a licensed general contractor. If anyone hesitates to give you a quote in writing, this is a red flag, you’ll need to cross them off your list immediately. Once the licensed general contractor has seen your plans and your site you should ask for an estimated completion date. A professional contractor will offer you references that you can call, they will be able to speak of their experience with the contractor. The general contractor that you choose should provide you with a written contract the includes all costs associated with your project. Hiring a contractor that is honest and trustworthy will ensure your project is completed on time.

BUILD

After the contract is signed and a construction schedule is agreed upon, the building will begin. All major construction projects will require a building permit and will have mandatory visits from the city inspector. Certain contractors will not pull permits on your behalf, and you’ll have visit to city hall to pull permits yourself. Professional, full-service contractors will help you pull permits for your project. Choosing the right team to remodel your kitchen is extremely important. The key is to find someone who is able to stay within budget, while completing your project in a timely manner. Selecting the right kitchen remodeler based on competence will ensure satisfaction with the process as well as the outcome.