Your Basic Guide to Getting a Home Addition

These days, it isn’t uncommon at all to find yourself and your family growing. Or maybe the house is getting smaller? Whatever the case may be, it’s time to add some room onto the house that will suit your needs. Here are the first steps to getting the details of a home addition ironed out so that the process can begin:

1. Create a Portfolio – From magazine pictures to pictures from websites, collect a significant amount of images that reflect what it is that you are envisioning with your addition. Don’t worry about size and price at first; this can be taken care of later.
2. Examine Your Budget – Once you have determined the type of look that you want, you need to figure out how you plan on paying for the work. Some will take out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit. Whatever you choose to do, you need to figure out how much money you have to work with so that you can move forward with planning the addition.
3.  Plan the Addition – Most people don’t have the architectural skills to design the addition themselves, which means a professional will be needed. This is why you created your portfolio, as it will help the designer properly understand what you want. The designer can work with your portfolio and your budget to determine the best addition possible that corresponds with both of these.
4. Hire the Professionals – Once the home addition has been fully designed and is ready to build, you can hire the contractors, plumbers, electricians, etc. Make sure to ask for references and proof of certifications and insurance before you hire them to make sure they are qualified enough to work on your project.

Once the professionals finish the job, you can do what you’ve probably been waiting for – decorate it. Then, you can enjoy the space.