Thousands of homeowners throughout Ohio plan home additions on a yearly basis, and these massive construction projects are largely oriented around providing more functionality and living space for families.
If you’re currently considering a home addition at your property, the odds are that you have a lot of questions and concerns on your mind. After all, home additions are gigantic investments that require intricate planning and non-stop precision around every corner!
That’s why we’ve teamed up with the home additions beavercreek oh experts at Dream Big Contracting to develop this list of 10 essential tips for planning home additions, so check out the below sections to see what you should be keeping in mind during the initial stages of your next home construction project!
Gathering All Necessary Legal Documents
One of the first things that homeowners need to do when planning a home addition is obtain their property’s plot plan, which details the precise property lines and proximity of a property to other buildings.
Your new home addition must be constructed within your local municipality’s jurisdictional setbacks, and your project also must abide by all local zoning laws. This can be a lot easier said than done, which is why your contractor will likely support you as you gather legal documentation and make sure that you’re following the law.
And if you want to obtain your property’s surveys and plot plans on your own, you can get these documents at your local area’s Registry of Deeds.
Determining A Realistic Home Addition Budget
Another crucial part of the home addition planning stage is setting a budget prior to meeting architects and builders, and making sure that you’re fully comfortable with your estimated budget.
Although we all want to have beautiful home designs when we do home additions, these designs often aren’t worth it if they’re going to strain you financially. Your budget needs to include the project’s hard costs, as well as many contingencies that are likely to come up.
You’ll also want to keep property tax increases in mind, as well as increases in your home insurance and utility expenses, once the project is finished. Home additions are always stressful, but you can drastically reduce your stress when you know that your project is remaining within your personal budget!
What Does Your Home Really Need?
This is an important question to ask yourself when you’re planning an extensive home addition project, and it’s a good idea to make a list of functions and needs that your new space will end up providing.
This type of list should determine what your true needs are, as well as what your nice-to-haves are. Although it’s perfectly fine to add in some of those nice-to-have items and features, you’ll want to make sure that your budget prioritizes your necessities first and foremost.
Hiring A Home Addition Building Team & A Professional Interior Designer
Most of us think that we can design home additions and beautiful interior designs, but it’s typically better to face reality and know that architects are construction specialists and interior designers are home décor experts.
These specialists are worth hiring within their respective parts of your project, because you’ll obtain additional perks and insights that you otherwise wouldn’t have considered. This can go very far toward making your new home addition a true spectacle that you’ll cherish forever!
Tell Your Neighbors About Your Home Addition
This is simply the polite thing to do when you’re in the initial planning stages of a home addition project, because your neighbors will definitely appreciate a heads-up about your pending construction.
This also gives them an opportunity to present any concerns that they might have, and this is particularly important if your neighbors live within a close proximity to you.
Develop A Home Builder Shortlist
You’ll quickly start researching your local area for remodeling and home construction specialists, and this is undoubtedly the most important hiring decision of your entire project.
You’ll want to read through each company’s website and get a good understanding of their past projects, because this will help indicate if they’re a good fit for you and your property. It’s also a great idea to ask your friends and neighbors for contractor recommendations, because it’s likely that they’ve worked with local home builders in the past.
Once you’ve done your homework, you’ll want to create a shortlist of your top home builder options. Reach out to these companies and see if they’ll provide you with detailed, written estimates.
Why Home Additions Are NEVER DIY Projects
There are countless people out there who think they can watch YouTube videos and then conduct their own home addition project, but this is a massive mistake that’ll likely lead to all sorts of potential issues.
If a bank is financing your home addition, they’ll require a licensed general contractor to be at the helm, and pretty much all home additions require trade specialists like HVAC, plumbing and electric teams.
The good news is that general contractors have all these professional relationships and subcontractor partnerships, so they’re the go-to specialists when planning home additions.
Preemptively Evaluating Your Utilities
You should also have consultation appointments with HVAC and electrician contractors during the initial stages of your home addition, because they’ll assist you in determining the overall capacity of your property’s existing systems.
You’ll want to confirm that your existing system will be able to handle the additional load associated with your addition’s new space, because this is a significant factor while developing your project’s budget.
Double-Check Your Financing
You’ll also want to verify your project’s financing prior to initiating any construction.
The odds are that you’ll have to put a substantial amount of equity on the table, so just make sure that everything is squared away from a financial standpoint before you get started.
Maintaining Realistic Expectations
Home additions always require realistic expectations when it comes to things like your unique needs, your budget, and your construction timeline.
Even small home addition projects will cause significant disruptions to your daily routine, so be prepared for big messes and extended timelines.
Reach Out To Dream Big Contracting When Planning Home Additions In Beavercreek OH!
It’s an exciting moment when you feel ready to embark on a home addition project, but it’s important to remember just how much planning must go into these lengthy investments.
We’ve only listed a handful of planning tips for home additions, and the best thing that you can do is speak directly with local contractors who’ve been there and done that when it comes to the type of home construction project that you have in mind.
If you live in the Beavercreek OH area and are planning home additions, check out the link at the top of this page and speak directly with the industry experts over at Dream Big Contracting to learn more about what you should do to get your upcoming project on the right track!
