Should Your Home Addition Go Up or Out?
Are you and your family feeling cramped between the walls of your Atlanta home? Time to consider an addition! You can add that extra bedroom, home office, or playroom and finally have the space you dream of without having to deal with the hassle of moving.
When planning an addition, one of the first things you need to decide is if you are going to build up by adding a story to your home or build out by adding extra space on the ground floor.
Shared Changes for Up and Out
Adding square footage to your home, either upward or outward, increases the load on your heating and cooling, electrical systems, and sometimes plumbing. Electrical panels will need to be upgraded to handle the addition’s requirements. Heating and cooling systems can be either added on to or have new zones created. Plumbing updates are easily dealt with by a quality remodeling firm.
Taking that Upward Step
The construction of a second or third story addition involves several changes to your home. Additional stories require structural supports to handle a load that’s far greater than your previous roof. Plywood and steel connections are added at the walls on the main level and rooted down to the foundation. Stairs are needed to reach the second story and this cuts into the square footage on the lower level. You need to decide if you want the siding, windows and doors on the new level to match those below or choose new but complementary materials.
Branching Out
When you have room on your property for an outward home addition in Atlanta, you need to consider if the addition will complete the look of your home and solve your space issue. An outward addition is easiest on a flat piece of property because the original foundation can be expanded without being retrofitted. A main level addition needs to match or at least complement the existing exterior. Much of the groundwork and framing for the addition can be completed before any of the existing walls are disturbed.
If you want to build an addition to your Atlanta home, contact us at Renewal Design-Build and we can begin discussing your options.