How to Add a DIY Room

Look for Existing Space

• Measure all of the floor space in your home. Include the basement, garage, porches and attic. If possible, find space to carve out a new room under your present roof. If you cannot find any space to utilize, you will have to construct a room on the side or back of your house. To make construction simpler, look for a yard area that is relatively level to add the room. Try to fit the room under a roof line that can be extended versus redesigning the roof line altogether.

Interior Bonus Areas

• Search for tight spaces to use. Consider building a room by combining a few feet from the garage and a hallway off the kitchen, for example. Look in the attic of the garage or attic above the home for space. Consider extending the roof of your back porch in some fashion. Another option is to extend the front porch roof toward the front road of your property.

Framing the Space

• Build the room's foundation first, if you are going to build under a new roof area. Use 2-by-8 lumber boards to frame the new room. Include a closet, wall space for bookshelves or storage, plus windows and doors. While the room is under construction, box in window seats or a built-in media cabinet. To save on electricity, it's a good idea to frame outer walls in 2-by-12 lumber boards to make insulation thicker. Secure framing to the floor or concrete foundation with anchor bolts or concrete nails.

Advantages of Open Walls

• While your room is being built, it's a good time to add a fireplace, recessed lighting, a hot tub or a small bath. Most amenities are easier and cheaper to add when the room's walls are open. Plan how you will run electrical wiring, plumbing lines and vents and ductwork for heating and cooling. It's difficult to go back after the room is finished to add anything requiring interior wall access.

Recycle Materials

• You can cover walls and floors creatively by using recycled materials. For example, you can install drywall in the room but make one wall a focal point by installing cedar board paneling left over from another job. Recycled plywood can be nailed onto the bottom half of the wall for covering in Venetian plaster in a textured design. The top half of the wall can be covered with drywall. Use chair railing trim to divide upper and lower walls. If you have leftover ceramic porcelain tile from another project, install this in a small area around the fireplace. Cover the rest of the floor in wood or vinyl flooring.