Are You Considering a Great Home Addition?
When looking for a home addition contractor
There are many things to take into consideration if this is now a new option on the table for you. Generally speaking, home additions can be some of the most complex construction projects to take on. Your general contractor will have a very specific way of approaching this kind of project. The two most common home additions are building out or building up. In new home construction building up can often times be more affordable as there is less ground work, concrete costs, trucking costs and other factors that tend to cause surprise costs like soil conditions and underground conflicts. With that said, building up when renovating can at times be more costly depending on a few factors that we will discuss below.
Project Feasibility
As a contractor here at Mavish Homes Inc we will access a few key specifics to narrow down the viability of this project. Typically when we are early stages of communication with our clients we will contact the municipality building and development department to ask a few questions regarding code, zoning and relevant topics that may conflict with the viability of the project. If the proposed home addition is located in Vancouver, BC we will contact the building and development website.
Here are the most important elements that we need to assess.
- Existing Foundation. Assess footing size and load capacity (PSF)
- Existing Structure. Assess beams and columns to support new load.
- Existing Elevations. Assess roof design/options/restrictions.
Home Addition Building Out
During project feasibility we will want to determine the size of the lot and compare it to the existing size of the house. For example, if you are considering a home addition North Vancouver BC you can review the district website to see allowed property sizes for your zoning. This will tell us if the city will allow us to add the additional square footage to the home or not. There can be property line set back issues that may restrict us from building a space that is accommodating to the needs of the addition. No sense in building a room addition when the room can only be 5 feet wide.
Home Addition Building Up
The fun one. The builder will go through a simple process to determine the feasibility and predicted cost of this project. Depending on the client and builders understanding of the scope and budget of the project, we will be able to determine some key possible show stoppers easy on.
As the home addition contractor Mavish Homes wants to know the 3 things stated above (existing footings, structure, elevations) and simply knowing the age of the building can give us some quick insight into this.
Footings and Structure
The first question we will always ask our client is if they have a current set of plans. Now, if the house was built in 1960, we can bet there is no city records of floor plans. We can assume the existing footings may need to be upgraded and the structural components of the building will also need to be upgraded such as beams or columns to support the new floor addition.
If there is an existing set of plans we can assess the drawings and determine what is sufficient or not. This will help us discuss the expected rough cost of the addition so we can very quickly and easily determine how feasible this project is when compared to our clients budget. A quick review with our engineer can make this determination quite easily. Although we can confirm these elements for the feasibility of the project, the real investigative work and budgeting will take place during our planning stage.
House Elevations
Lastly, we will check the municipal code to see what the specified max height the building can stand. This will let us know right away if this home addition project is allowed and if so we can discuss roof design to potentially limit the total finished elevation height. Often times a lower slopped roof design will be proposed by an architect and engineer to accommodate the elevation allowances.
Home Renovation Budget
There are many things can can be determined during project feasibility and there are also things that can only be best assumed. Home additions in Burnaby, North Vancouver and the Greater Vancouver area can easily start at around $300 per square foot. Our detailed and efficient planning process will determine the best options for our client giving them the best value for their budget. If you would like to schedule a consultation for a project you are ready to start contact Mavish Homes today!
