Building full-scale room additions are among our favorite projects! When planned well, they offer tremendous benefits for our customers by boosting home values and extending their living space. With the right combination of expertise, tools, and talent, anything is possible! We do our very best to help customers maximize the return on their investment, by keeping projects on-time and on-budget to make homes more pleasurable to live in and enhance their character.

With proper planning (and required permits), room additions can be built in any direction and can be constructed in virtually any shape or size. But whether you’re looking for a screened-in sun porch or a full second story, there are many details to consider:

Often residential room additions entail expanding the layout of the ground-floor level of a home. This is primarily because most additions are constructed on the first-floor, whether you are adding a family room or expanding your kitchen.

Building out usually includes a minimal amount of disturbance within your current space — this is especially important if you plan to live in the residence while the construction is being completed. Since a new room addition isn’t supported by the existing structure, we can usually keep the construction mess contained outside your current living space.

That said, however, building out will usually cost you some yard space, and sometimes even a deck or patio, depending on where your yard is located and the size of the new room(s). There could also be limitations from your city’s “floor to area ratio” evaluation, which determines what ratio of a lot can be constructed on including driveways, garages, and houses.

Handymen Unlimited specializes in this type of work. True, we’re not architects, but as far as construction goes, we have you covered … From pouring the new foundation to framing the walls, adding the roof, installing the electrical, plumbing, and HVAC, all the way through the final details of connecting an existing space to your new room, we do it all!

If you’re tight on space or don’t want to sacrifice your backyard for a room addition, there are other options. Many homeowners choose to build up instead of out … in fact, there are a number of ways to extend living space without increasing your home’s footprint:

• You can renovate an existing, un-finished attic space,
• Or, if you need even more room, a full second story might be a better option.
• You can also expand your current top-floor by installing huge dormers in a pitched-roof.
• Adding or renovating living space over a garage, sunroom-porch, or any other one-story area is also an option.

Though you won’t necessarily have to renounce part of your yard for a new foundation, as your contractor we will probably have to expose and then reinforce your current foundation and wall structure beneath the new room to make sure that it can withstand the additional weight. Keep in mind that adding a room means adding a tremendous weight to all of the rudiments beneath it!

Many cities in the metro area have codes in place to limit the permitted height for homes, which can sometimes get in the way if you want to build up. And keep in mind, that if you’re adding a completed floor-level, we will need to add a stairwell that can eat up a significant amount of living space. As your contractor, we will probably have to tear away walls and ceilings in the space underneath to strengthen the structural-supports to feed in the heating lines, plumbing, and electrical. It can be a messy job, but we will do our best to keep things as tidy as possible!

A “bump-out addition” is a smart, safe, and economical option if only limited amounts of additional living space are required. If your home’s finished-floor is over the grade of the exterior landscape, we can always build a bump-out of around three-feet deep and as long as ten to twelve feet. This may be enough space to add an additional dining area to your kitchen or an additional shower or bathtub to your master-bathroom. Bear in mind that because no foundation work is required, you can save approximately 15% compared to a traditional addition. Moreover, you might be able to save an additional 10% to 15% by placing it under an existing roof.

Building a room addition is one of the best ways to expand your interior living space and enhance your home without having to pack up and move. Contact us for additional information and options that won’t break your budget.