Room Additions & House Plans

Evaluating Your House

• Planning a successful room addition begins with a professional assessment of your current home. A professional home inspector can identify load-bearing structures, existing mechanical structures and the home's foundation. They can also identify any existing maintenance that you need to address before tackling a room addition such as termite infestations, foundation problems or mechanical issues. You will also need to know the easements, code limits or permits required to build on your current lot.

House Plans

• Hiring an architect to draw your house plans will expedite your proposal through the permit department and make it easier on subcontractors. A good set of plans contains site plans, floor plans, elevation drawings and a materials list.

Integrating a Room Addition

• A room addition has been completed successfully when you are unable to tell that the new room was not an original part of the structure. It is important that the room transition well from the rest of the home. Be sure that access to the addition is through an entrance that is sensible and that flooring matches the concept of the current home design. It should also match the visual flow on the outside of the home, with a matching roof, windows and siding.

Scheduling a Room Addition

• The last thing you can do to ensure a successful room addition is to schedule the subcontractors so that the project can flow seamlessly. You will want to plan from the ground up and the outside in. Begin with any foundation work, then framing and roofing. You can then schedule doors and windows and then siding to be installed. Next, line up the contractors that will work on the inside of the house, beginning with any mechanical work, followed by any insulation work. Then you can hire your finishing contractor to install flooring, trim and paint.