How to Start Residential Addition Construction

In 1814, the White House – the official residence and home-office of the President of the United States was set ablaze by the British Army. Reconstruction continued with the addition of the South Portico in 1824 and the North in 1829. Eight years later, President Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office. The third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. The East Wing, which contains additional office space, was added to the White House in 1942. Our home or commercial space is no different from the White House.

Besides providing a residential or commercial structure with more space, additions can be a terrific investment.

Why are you looking at an addition? Are you simply looking for more space? Are you planning on converting another part your home or office once you move into the new space? Is the purpose to create a separate area of the home to entertain in? Is this a private space for you and your spouse? Do you want your home to be the place where all the kids come to play? Answers to these kinds of questions will drive what your addition will become. An experienced and reputable design-build General Contractor can help you develop a plan where the addition enables other changes to your home to anticipate a larger family, a new master suite or other amenities as your family changes.

Ultimately, you determine what you can afford for an addition. An experienced General Contractor can help you make this decision.

Are you doing addition to enhance your life or simply improve the property for future sale? – As a rule of thumb, if you plan on living in the property for 3 or more years, it makes sense to move forward with an addition. You get to enjoy the life improvements an addition offers immediately. Property value growth will cover the cost of the improvement in that period. And, don’t forget, the additional square footage will increase your property value instantly.

The common examples of residential additions projects include: addition of bedroom over existing garage, addition of covered patio; addition of lanai, patio, outdoor kitchen, swimming pool and screen enclosures; addition of garage or shed, and addition of home office. The most common type of commercial addition projects are: expanding an existing warehouse or office space, addition of carwash in gas station, expansion of retail space in convenience store, expansion of medical clinic space.

Most important decision you will make throughout the remodeling process is choosing the right General Contractor for your specific project. Consider hiring a full service Design-Build General Contractor who can provide architectural and engineering drawings, who make sure that:

·         New floor heights match the existing floor;

·         An existing structure can handle a second story addition;

·         The new exterior matches or compliments the existing exterior with new materials;

·         Roof lines (elevation), overhang size, gutters and soffits fit with the existing structure;

·         Existing & new windows appear like they belong on the exterior;

·         Existing water, sanitary, electrical, heating and air conditioning systems will be able to handle the new loads from the addition;

Additions are the most difficult projects in the construction industry. They are actually more difficult and require more skill than building a new structure. It also means you need a contractor you can trust, who can take your dreams and desires and build concrete models, drawings and project plans to deliver an addition with fixed costs, time schedule and unmatched quality. In our next article, we’ll discuss Custom Homes.

Shubhang K. Patel, president of SAVITARA – General Contractors in Florida, can be reached at 1-800-245-9944 or e-mail at info@savitara.com. Orlando (407.427.2098). Tampa Bay (727.437.2098). General Contractors

Q. From our reader: I was thinking of home improvements, but am very much afraid of contractors. Any advice?

A. I understand your concern about the crook contractors. As you requested, I would like to recommend following steps to avoid scam:

·         Always ask for license number issued by Florida DBPR.

·         Never pay fee for estimate or for coming to your house/office/business to look at the scope of work. (Unless it's emergency related out of hour work).

·         Always get written contract signed by the Owner of the corporation, not matter how small the work is.

·         Do Not pay the contractor to get the material to start the work.

·         Never pay for the work which is not completed. It is okay to pay based on percentage of completion for projects value higher than $1000; but for smaller projects always pay after work is complete.

·         Consider hiring full service General Contractor; for example, it is NOT smart to higher a carpenter for kitchen or bathroom remodeling, because carpenters are not good at flooring, painting, plumbing, etc.