Home Additions & Remodels
Remodeling your home or putting on an addition is a great way to make your older home your new home. Design Loft has decades of experience helping homeowners navigate the challenges of remodeling or putting on an addition. We can take your ideas or offer you some of our own on what possible changes you could make to your existing home. Our expertise will help give you perspective on how we can design a structurally sound addition and /or change an existing structure to be functional and add value to your home. It’s easy to “dream big”. We offer realistic possibilities that can be accomplished while staying within your financial parameters resulting in a finished product that our pleasing to our clients.
In today’s world the idea of “aging in place” has become an obtainable way to stay where you are without having to move to meet your needs. Adapting an existing home to make senior living simpler and more convenient can be a sound investment. There are also many other situations that have become much more common in this day and age. Providing living space for multi-generations, young families, adult children, etc. Adding accessories like chair lifts, elevators, wheelchair ramps, second kitchens, separate entrances are items to consider.
The following is a list of several different types of additions and/or remodels that we have completed over the past few years:
- new deck
- covered decks or patios
- family rooms
- main floor master suites to 2 story homes
- expanded kitchen and dining areas
- great rooms
- additional bedroom or office
- sun rooms
- Expansion of rear of home that includes all affected rooms including basement. We have removed the back of 2 story homes and basement and expanded every level. We have also removed corners of homes to allow them expansion in 2 different directions.
- pool house (or swim spa room)
- sport courts
WHAT KIND OF ITEMS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN PLANNING A REMODEL AND/OR ADDITION?
- Experience of designer (Design Loft has been creating custom homes and doing remodels/additions since 1964)?
- Building codes required by each individual city/county
- How to deal with a difficult lot
- Your “building team” which will consist of: surveyors engineers builders/contractors (their reputation as well as their willingness to provide counsel for budget)
- Energy efficiency
- Individual needs such as pantries, closet space, new trends in home design and innovations
SOME THINGS TO PLAN FOR BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE:
- Hall and stairway widths
- Closet sizes and locations
- Space for kitchen cabinets
- Laundry rooms
- Plumbing for future additional baths and/or basement kitchens
- Ceiling heights
- Special nooks/built-in shelving
- Window placement and sizing
QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE ASKED:
- Cost?
- What is included?
- How long will it take?
- Architect or designer?
- What does the client need to provide before plans can be started?
- Would I benefit by looking at stock plans first?
- What are the advantages/disadvantages of using a stock plan?
- What engineering will be required? Why engineering is required? Cost?