More and more people are staying in the homes they have rather than buying new, larger homes for themselves and their growing families. This has led to a surge in home additions which in turn has led to a surge in the number of homeowners who wake up the day after their addition is complete and ask themselves: “What happened?” Unfortunately, these folks have made some common mistakes homeowners are prone to making during an addition project. Mistakes you don’t have to repeat.
Home Additions: Common Sense + Caution = Success
Before setting out on your home addition odyssey it’s helpful to compile a list of all the things you hope to gain from the project. This will help ensure things turn out the way you originally envisioned them. But just as helpful is a list of things to avoid during the process. These include:
- Putting Yourself in Charge – The best way to ensure your addition is completed successfully is to hire a general contractor to oversee the project. You may be tempted to take charge yourself, and that is certainly your right, but think about it this way: the subcontractors will likely never work with you again but the GC is their bread and butter. Who do you think they are more inclined to try and please?
- Building an Addition for Someone Else’s Home – Sure, that new addition is a sparkling example of mid-century modernism. Problem is, the rest of your home is a sparkling example of the beaux-arts revival movement. The point being this: the design of the current house must drive the design of the addition in style, volume distribution and materials.
- Rushing to Get Permits – Leave the process of gathering the necessary permits to the general contractor. It’s their job. If you rush out and obtain permits before the design is finalized you could wind up having to apply for more or different permits before construction gets underway due to last minute design revisions.
- Buying Bargain Basement Materials – The use of second rate materials in your home addition will only serve to drive down the value of your property rather than enhance it. Beyond that, you should not be the one purchasing house framing or other materials in the first place. That too is the job of the GC. They’ll know where to get the right material at the best price.
- Building Too Small – In an effort to keep the budget under control some homeowners will scale back their plans to the point that the finished product doesn’t fulfill their spatial needs. This is the kind of mistake that has ‘lingering regret’ written all over it and may even result in a call to the demolition contractor and a reboot of the entire process.
Mistakes are a natural component of any complex process. Some are the result of forces beyond our control. But not all. Many common mistakes like the ones listed here can be easily avoided once you become aware of them. And avoiding them will give your home addition project the best possible chance of turning out exactly as you hoped it would.
Integrity Contracting is known for quality work, honesty and professional results that increase value to our customer’s properties. We know we can provide you with answers and solutions to your projects needs; we are qualified, licensed professionals – proven & trustworthy – who always deliver projects on time and on budget. We specialize in Home Additions, Framing, Basement Underpinning, Demolition and Excavation in Toronto. Visit us on Google+.