Experience adding a level to a house
hi,
We just had our first child and are quickly realizing how much smaller our house feels. We’ve been trying to figure out if we should sell our house and buy a larger one. We would have to spend a considerable amount to do this. And real estate, as everyone knows, is crazy now. We see more value in keeping our house - which is in an “up and coming” area - and adding on to it. We could add to the back but adding another level would give us the most space. Looking for anyone with experience in adding a level / overall guidance would be much appreciated!
Feb 17, 2018
Parent Replies
we just started looking into this process and are still meeting with design/build firms. but just letting you know it's so much more expensive than we thought it would be. we're currently 3bed/2bath at 1080sqft and ideally, want to add 500-750 sqft in a 2nd story. it's about $500k which is SO much more than we thought (a friend built their house from scratch for 500k in the south bay). we may end up doing a staged approach where we just extend the first floor and do the foundation work for the second story and then in a few years decide if we want to invest the rest or sell the house.
We are in the throes of this same decision process. What we've learned so far: 2 different architects and a contractor have told us that adding on at ground level is MUCH simpler than going up, because you don't have to worry about retrofitting the foundation for more weight and finding a place for a stairwell in your existing floor plan. If your existing yard is not postage-stamp sized, might be worth evaluating if you have space to add on at ground level. The other thing we did was contact our realtor and ask him the "move or add on" question -- he says that he rarely advises people to move if their only goal is more space, because moving is expensive and if you like your existing house and neighborhood you'll probably be happier just staying put, especially if you've already put a lot of work into your existing house (we've redone both bathrooms, new roof, new windows, etc., so the idea of having to do all that stuff again on top of a bigger mortgage and learning a new neighborhood just feels like a nightmare :-p). Will definitely be following to see the advice you get, as we're not much further along in the process than you are :) Good luck!
We were in the same boat as you last year and decided to stay and add to our existing home. In addition to the financial calculations, our decision was swayed by the fact that we love our home and are attached to it, it is very near the elementary school, and we know and like our neighbors. You can't put a value on these things.
See my post here for advice based on our experience so far: https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/questions/where-begin-major-home…
For your particular situation, going back and up could be a great solution that's really popular in our neighborhood. A typical addition is a family room connected to the kitchen at the back, and stairs going up to 1-2 bedrooms above. An advantage of this design is that you may not have to reinforce the foundation of your existing structure - a huge cost saving. A good architect will be able to come up the best space plan to maximize usability and minimize cost. Good luck!