Things To Think About When Deciding The Size Of Your Home Addition

Home additions are an exciting project to take on. They offer a completely blank slate to create exactly what you’ve envisioned as well as a chance to transform the utility of your household. The biggest question you have to ask yourself is, what is the purpose of this addition? There’s an endless number of reasons to add onto your home, and each is as unique as the homeowner themselves.

Maybe you have a growing family, and you need to add another bedroom. Maybe it’s just the opposite, and you’re looking forward to being an empty nester but first, you need to create an ideal living space for your lifestyle. 

Whatever it is that you plan on doing with your home addition, it’s going to have a big impact on the creation of that addition itself. Here’s a few factors that you should take into consideration in order to decide how big of a space you should consider for your new home addition. 

The Size Of Your Lot

Before you get your heart set on any particular home addition, you need to take a look at the lot itself. Look into the size of the foundation and whether or not it can handle a significant addition first, but on top of that you also need to look at the shape and the positioning of the lot. 

These bring along a lot of factors that you should also be taking into consideration. Where does the sunlight come from on any given day? Are there certain areas that will be blocking the natural light from your home moreso?

Or perhaps the shape of your yard impacts where you can make this addition. If you have a skinnier lot, you might not want to be pushing out towards the property line too much, but at the same time you don’t want to pick a spot that reduces the utility of your backyard too much. 

Regardless of your plans, just make sure that you strategize beforehand because you need to make sure that you’re making the most of what you have to work with without affecting the rest of your assets. 

Your Home’s Existing Layout

You also need to make sure that the addition fits into the flow of your home properly. It’s got to make sense in relation to the rest of the rooms in your home. You can’t just tack on an addition on the edge of your home without proper access to a hallway or the other amenities of the house. 

Depending on how your home is configured, you may have to bring some other rooms in on the addition. It may become necessary to reallocate some space from another room to ensure that the new addition is accessible and has the proper space to function as it was designed to. 

Purpose Of The Addition

Each addition has its own requirements that go along with it. If you do happen to be adding a new living space for your family, you need to make sure that it isn’t too cramped. However, if you’re looking to create a home office or room for extra storage, the amount of space doesn’t have to be a pressing concern. As long as you can go into the process with confidence that you’re going to be able to use the room comfortably, you shouldn’t have much to worry about. 

Is It Smarter To Build Up?

If your home is a bit lacking in terms of extra space, you may want to consider building the addition upwards. It’s a great way to ensure that you preserve the square footage of your home as best you can. 

Regardless, both options have pros and cons. Building a second story is the more expensive of the two options, but if you have the budget for it, it also adds more perks to your home than building outwards. You have the benefit of better views in addition to enhanced privacy.

Expanding horizontally is a less expensive option, and in addition to that, if you’ve got the space, it’s a fantastic way to improve your home’s entertainment value. You can expand your kitchen or common area, increasing the space you have for social functions. 

Budget

This is one of the most important factors that influences what you can do with this addition. Once you’re able to get a quote for the addition, you can expect 10 to 20% to be added onto that number in the form of unforeseen expenses. If you can account that into your plans, you’re going to be a lot happier in the long run. 

Once you’ve pieced together this part of the plan, you’ll be able to decide how you’d like to fund the operation. If you have the funding saved up, that is an ideal setup going into it, but you may also need to look into a potential loan, depending on the size of your addition. 

Conclusion

Take all of these factors into careful consideration when you plan on making an addition to your home. Everyone has a unique situation when it comes to the projects, so only you can decide what is right for you and your family at the end of the day. 

If you live in the greater Sacramento area, and you need some advice about the process, feel free to reach out to the friendly experts at Vinson. We’ll be happy to provide you with all the information you need.