Homeowners needing more room are in a tough spot these days. They want to trade up, but sell now in a depressed market and they lose money. One alternative is expanding the place you already have — adding on instead of leaving and taking the loss.
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It might be a two-story wing of extra beds and baths, or a simple bump-out that opens up a cramped kitchen. Whatever the scope, you won’t have to go house hunting or pay thousands in closing costs and real estate commissions, transaction fees that could buy concrete and wallboard for an addition. It may take a while for housing to recover. But when it does (it always has) the investment will pay off.
To start, check plan books or shelter magazines or come up with your own sketches. Try different versions, the ultimate space versus the practical space. When you get one or two that work, the question becomes how to make them part of the house.
Expanding up In homes with an attic that’s framed with rafters, not a maze of trusses, dormers can turn dead space into airy, well-lit living space. Framing in an attic can be tough, particularly when new 2-by-4s join existing timbers that are a little cockeyed. On the other hand, you don’t need to excavate, pour a footing, or build a foundation. The only intrusion into living space below is a stairway. Pull-down attic stairs won’t cut it. The only major framing job (in most homes) is to beef up the floor joists. Extra strength is needed because loads in unfinished attics are usually figured to be lighter than loads in finished spaces with people and furniture. Where you’ll find 2-by-10 joists on the first floor, the attic is likely to have 2-by-6s. Expanding even more and raising a full second story on a one-story house is more difficult. Loads are the problem because the existing structure down to the footings is designed to carry what’s there, not almost twice as much.
Read more at: http://www.chicagotribune.com/classified/realestate/home/sc-home-0618-diy-plan-expansion-20120623,0,7980127.story
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