What Are the Steps for Adding An Addition To Your Home In Houston?
It might be overwhelming when you don’t know where to begin with a home addition project. This article is intended to guide you through the process of turning your home addition fantasy into a reality. You must decide whether the project is creating new space, upgrading current space, or just making use of unused space.
A home addition is a bit like building a new house where you will have a new foundation, walls, floor, roof, and even doors and windows. These are larger undertakings that will almost certainly necessitate hiring a contractor, an architect, and the use of a building permit. Your project will be classified as a major addition in Houston where new plumbing lines or electrical circuits are required. This will also include new openings in exterior walls for doors or windows.
While there will be numerous decisions to be taken during a home addition, the planning process can be divided into these major and significant parts:
- Determine the Budget and Scope
You first need is to identify what type of addition you will construct. A bedroom extension is not only the least expensive alternative, but it is also the simplest to construct. A bathroom or kitchen in your home addition will cost you much more. Bathrooms and kitchens necessitate high-priced plumbing and specific materials.
The next step is to set a budget you are comfortable with. This budget is a figure you are comfortable with spending and may not be your total cost. You’ll have a figure that is closer to the actual cost once you meet with your contractor and design your addition. According to HomeAdvisor, the average home addition cost is $40,915. This is an aggregate national number with the high end of adding an addition to your house being $150,000 while the low end is $14,000. Room expansions are built to be physically and visually compatible with the existing property. Because a room addition is more difficult to build than a new home, home addition costs are typically 30-50 percent higher on a per-foot basis. (HomeAdvisor, 2017)
ProTip Task: Every cost related to the house addition should be assessed ahead of time to ensure you can afford it.
- Design
Examine the construction site, or where you intend to build the extension, as well as the surroundings. Consider the placement of trees or outbuildings you want to maintain, views you want to capture, and the sun, shadow, or prevailing breeze exposures.
Once you know how much space you have to work with, you can start preparing the floor plan of your home addition. You’ll want to plan something that not only works inside the existing area but also works nicely with the floor plan of your existing home. Professional contractors will supply these design services, but you can also engage designers and drafters like the ones we have at Smart Remodeling LLC to develop architectural blueprints for submission to the city inspector. The interior designer will assist you in selecting the majority of the materials required to create your idea. (Scott Merle Builders, 2015)
ProTip Task: Choose a home addition style that makes the most of your home’s potential.
- Select A General Contractor In Houston
It is best to hire a general contractor to complete the work on a room addition. The general contractor usually has a bigger team consisting of general carpenters who perform much of the work. They may also work with specialty subcontractors who will be hired for specific duties, such as HVAC work, plumbing, and wiring.
Finding a general contractor in Houston can prove to be difficult, but worry not we are here to help you. We have a licensed general contractor at Smart Remodeling LLC who will discuss with you the scale of the project, the timeframe, general design issues, and cost-saving strategies. Hiring an honest and trustworthy contractor will ensure that your job is done on schedule. The general contractor you select should give you a written contract outlining all costs involved with your project. (The Spruce 2021)
ProTip Task: The signed contractual agreement before work begins should include a schedule for making payments.
- Obtain Permits Then Prepare The Site
Different regions have different legal restrictions as well as building codes regarding what can be built on the property. Once you have a licensed general contractor, the first thing that will happen is obtaining the necessary permits and will then post the approved permits in a visible spot on your property. Other things that will happen include setting up a portable toilet and maybe putting up an advertising sign identifying the company that is building your addition.
Site preparation in Houston will include having large earthmoving equipment to strip the site to level, bare dirt. If there are any fences in the home they will be temporarily taken down to allow heavy equipment to access the site. Such kind of earthmoving will make the construction go more smoothly.
- Build Your Home Addition In Houston, Texas
Depending on your home addition plans, whether you’re building up or out, the crew will begin pouring a concrete slab or excavating for a crawlspace or basement. This will be followed by pouring concrete footers and foundation walls which can take several days before it’s ready for the framing crew to begin work.
Additional taxes may be levied as a result of a home addition. When you complete a house addition, the value of your home should rise. If the value your home will gain as a result of your addition is less than the cost of the addition, reconsider whether the addition is worthwhile.
- Structural Framing
The floors, walls, and roof are framed once the foundation concrete is cured. Framing can be done in two ways: “stick-built,” where the framing crew builds the floor platforms, the stud walls, and the roof rafters piece by piece before sheathing them. The other method is where certain elements are built off-site, then trucked in to erect in large pieces.
ProTip Task: Because there is an immediate need to get the building covered to protect it from the elements, framing takes place within a day or two.
- Wall And Roof Sheathing
Wall and roof sheathing are done shortly after framing so as to give the structure a good measure of weather-proofing and let crews continue their work under shelter. You will find that specialist subcontractors install the shingles and other roofing materials.
Adding a home addition in Houston, walls are sheathed with OSB panels and then covered with a fiberglass film which is also known as house wrap. Installation of the windows and doors follows next as it protects the structure from rain. This also allows the interior work to be completed in a more relaxed fashion. (The Spruce 2021)
- Electrical, Plumbing, And HVAC Installation
Electrical, plumbing and heating/cooling are crucial services. These services have elements like pipes, wiring, and ductwork are installed behind the scenes while the walls and floors are in their raw framed condition.
Before any additional work on the walls, floors, or ceilings can be done, these systems must be examined and approved. The biggest stumbling blocks are usually related to waiting for city inspectors to inspect and approve the construction. (Better Homes & Gardens, 2015)
- Finish The Interior
A mechanical inspection is mandatory in Houston and once approved the addition of insulation and drywall is added. The addition project will now begin to look like a real structure and then the interior can be finished. For the interior finish, the flooring and cabinetry to be installed, and the ceilings and walls are then painted.
- Install Fixture Connections And Complete The Landscaping
Installing fixture connections such as plumbing and light fixtures, wall switches and outlets, and HVAC equipment may be done simultaneously with the interior finishing work. Plumbers, electricians, and HVAC technicians will also return to complete the installation on pending areas. The landscape that was dug up during the site preparation will now be repaired. Earthmoving equipment may level and contour the yard while landscaping contractors may arrive to plant trees and shrubs and restore the lawn. Some homeowners in Houston Texas may opt to contract with a different firm to do the final landscaping work or even choose to do planting and lawn restoration themselves. (Sharrett Construction, 2020)
Read also about what to expect with master suite addition
Are You Ready To Know the Home Addition Steps From SMart Remodeling LLC?
We have the best contractors to help you with your home addition projects. We are a premier home addition company with years of experience to give you the best in Houston with a 100% satisfaction guarantee. During a design consultation, you will receive expert advice as well as a detailed estimate, so you will never be left wondering where your project stands in terms of budget and timeline. We understand how difficult it may be to locate a reliable home additions contractor.
