Addition to home...

Has anyone put an addition on their home? I have a cape and am thinking of adding an attached garage with a room over it, and having the 1.5 car garage in my yard torn down. Wondering if you did this if you felt it was worth it and how the process was. TIA!

Addition to home...

Whether it's worth it will depend on what you're looking to get out of it. Is this your forever home? Will the addition allow you to do something that will make it forever home, e.g., another bedroom that's needed, more room in the backyard, etc. This type of improvement may not add as much value as it costs, but if you're going to live in it and it makes your life better it may be worth it in the long run. I haven't done an addition yet, but we hope to in the next few years. However, first we'll look around at other houses to see if anything meets our needs without needing a major renovation.

Once you've decided that the addition is worth it, then you need to find if you can do it and what the process would be like. The best way to do this is to hire an experienced architect. They will research the zoning laws in your area to tell you what you can do, what might need a variance, and give you and idea of what the process and costs will be like for the permits.

Also, you may want to consider if you have any unpermitted work in the house. This could cause issues when you get the inspection. They're there inspecting your addition and then notice that you have a deck that isn't in their plans. Now you'll have to go get a permit for this.

Message edited 9/27/2017 10:17:35 AM.

Re: Addition to home...

We had a cape and we extended out the back and made 4 bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. Yes it was expensive but totally worth it. We wanted a room over the garage as well but the cost was to much so we nixed that.

Re: Addition to home...