Increasing the size and space of your home is something you need to consider when your family is getting bigger, or you want to change the look of your home. Some homeowners may go for outward building, meaning just increasing the square footage of the ground floor. But if your lot is not that big to accommodate such a plan, you may consider building upward. This means adding another storey or level to your home.
This may sound complicated, especially because you will have to dismantle your roofing system and add another layer of the walkable floor. But that is not always the case. You can make this project much more efficient with a proper plan. A streamlined plan will also keep you from making wrong decisions that will cost some money. If you are still clueless about the benefits and how you should conduct the building process, let this article provide you with a useful guide:
Identifying the Benefits of an Additional Storey
As mentioned, adding another storey to your home comes with several benefits. One of them is it makes your home much bigger. You can accommodate more items while expanding the rooms within your home. When it is beautifully done, you can quickly increase its resale value. While you are at it, you have the opportunity to increase the height of your ceiling or come up with a mezzanine or a loft, which will help in hyping up your home’s aesthetic value.
Factoring in the Costs
Adding another level to your home has a lot of costs. But treat the entire project as an investment. First, you may look for an inspector who will check the foundations of your home whether these can bear or carry the additional load. The costs will also depend on how many rooms and utilities you will be building, which inevitably include the bathrooms and the walk-in closet. The services of an architect and your contractor should also be taken into account. Creative staircase designs, the materials for building, and contingency funds should also be considered.
Plotting the Timeline
In renovation projects, time is also money. The longer the project takes, the more expensive it will get. With that, you need to plan the timings of your project. First, you may need to pick the right season. Second, you have to make sure that your foreman or project manager has a practical plan.
Finding a Good Contractor
You will have that second level for a very long, long time. So you must make sure that the people who will be working on it know what they are doing. You can ask your family and friends for recommendations on contractors. When you have shortlisted the possible contractors, check out their portfolio of works and get their quotations.
There are many ways to increase the size of your home. And one of them is adding another floor or storey to your property. This should not be a complicated project, especially when you know what you want, and you have a streamlined plan you can always refer to. This could be hard work, but remember that this project will come with a lot of benefits in the end. It will help you increase the resale value of your property.