You may find yourself wanting to add a room to your house for a couple of reasons: you wish to have a personal home office, a dedicated recreation or exercise room, or an extra bedroom for guests or family members. But before you start looking for a bigger house with more rooms than your current one, it’s best to consider ‘adding’ a room to your existing home first (if you’re allowed to, that is). Adding a room instead of buying and moving into a bigger house is a lot less stressful and costly, and it’s easier than it sounds.
As such, we’ll be taking a look at different tips and options for you when adding another room:
#1 Dividing An Existing Room
One of the easiest (relatively speaking) and cheapest way of adding a new room is by sectioning off an existing room and add walls to it. This is the best option if you have a huge living room or a part of the house with a lot of unused space.
#2 Converting or Building Over Your Garage
If you need a big room, consider converting your spacious garage. Generally, a garage can be enough for you to add one or two rooms, and it’s a lot easier to do a conversion than actually bumping out or building a new room within your property. And, if you’re worried as to where you’re going to park your car or keep your tools after the conversion, you can always install a carport on to or separate from your home, and utilize a small toolshed for you to store your tools safely. Alternatively, you can also add another level to your garage by building over it — just make sure that you follow local building codes and ordinances for safety and legal purposes. It’s also important for you to add a vapor barrier or exhaust to prevent smoke and other fumes from permeating to your upper-level room.
#3 Finishing Your Attic or Basement
The attic and basement are often the makeshift storage areas of your home, which make them a good option when adding a new room. Do take note that finishing your attic into a livable room may be more expensive as compared to finishing your basement, especially if you’re planning on adding a bathroom. You’ll also need to properly insulate and incorporate your HVAC system into your attic to keep the temperature at comfortable levels.
#4 Bumping Out
Bumping out is exactly how it sounds — it’s adding a room or space by ‘extending’ from your home (like a bump.’ It’s generally a lot cheaper than adding a stand-alone room, but you’ll want to hire a trusted framing contractor in Utah to do it for you to make sure that it’s done safely and won’t compromise your home’s structural integrity.
#5 Adding a Stand-alone Room
While it may be expensive to add a stand-alone structure separate from your home within your property, it’s still cheaper and less of a hassle than buying and moving into a new home, and provides you with more ‘freedom’ in terms of space and design as you won’t be converting an existing space or simply extending outwards from the current structure. You’ll also have to install a line for plumbing and electricity. This would be perfect if bumping out, adding another level, dividing, or converting a room isn’t an option (which is common for older houses).
Conclusion
Adding a room is a lot cheaper and convenient than looking for, buying, and moving into a bigger house. So, if you’re looking to save money and do away with the hassles of moving to a new house, consider these options when you’re adding a new room.
