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Home Expansion Experience
Posted on 1/2/24 at 2:31 pm
Posted on 1/2/24 at 2:31 pm
H&G Board,
Wife (no pics) and I have been in our house for ~5 years now and got in at a really good time. Got a deal on the house, low intrest rate, love the neighborhood, etc. Only thing is now that we just had our first child and will be looking to add 1-2 more over the next few years. I can already see that we are running short of space, particularly storage.
House is 60's era in an older neighborhood, 3 BR / 2 Bath about 1,600 sqft. Rather than re-entering the market, I have toyed with the idea of staying where we are and expanding our house by ~1,000 SF. Probably add on space for a new master bed / bath, small office, dining space, and a storage closet. I wanted to know if anyone had experience doing something along these lines and if it was worth it or not. I figure it would be more costly per SF as retrofitting an existing structure is a PITA, but that it could be worth it. Thoughts?
Wife (no pics) and I have been in our house for ~5 years now and got in at a really good time. Got a deal on the house, low intrest rate, love the neighborhood, etc. Only thing is now that we just had our first child and will be looking to add 1-2 more over the next few years. I can already see that we are running short of space, particularly storage.
House is 60's era in an older neighborhood, 3 BR / 2 Bath about 1,600 sqft. Rather than re-entering the market, I have toyed with the idea of staying where we are and expanding our house by ~1,000 SF. Probably add on space for a new master bed / bath, small office, dining space, and a storage closet. I wanted to know if anyone had experience doing something along these lines and if it was worth it or not. I figure it would be more costly per SF as retrofitting an existing structure is a PITA, but that it could be worth it. Thoughts?
3
Posted on 1/2/24 at 2:39 pm to Rob Perillo
We're seeing ranges between $150-$250/sq foot to add to existing houses right now. Another 1,000 sq feet is basically a small house. IMO sounds like you're better off buying a bigger house.
For storage, can you add better attic/crawl space usage? You can also toy with the idea of outdoor sheds.
For storage, can you add better attic/crawl space usage? You can also toy with the idea of outdoor sheds.
Posted on 1/2/24 at 2:49 pm to BilbeauTBaggins
I am building a shed this spring for sure. My attic space kind of sucks because I have a pretty low slope roof. Its a hands and knees operation.
I figured it would be $200/sf but alot of houses I see aren't far off that range, and I would only be taking on ~1,000 sf @ $200 /sf whereas I already have the other 1,600 sf locked in at <$140/sf with a 2.5% rate to boot.
Whichever option I choose, I would like either move to be able to get me through our children's high school years assuming we stay in town.
Do you know what the appx. cost would be to get a legitimate consultation? I feel like each situation on price could vary significantly based on each person's situation. Would it be best to go to a custom home builder or an architect?
I figured it would be $200/sf but alot of houses I see aren't far off that range, and I would only be taking on ~1,000 sf @ $200 /sf whereas I already have the other 1,600 sf locked in at <$140/sf with a 2.5% rate to boot.
Whichever option I choose, I would like either move to be able to get me through our children's high school years assuming we stay in town.
Do you know what the appx. cost would be to get a legitimate consultation? I feel like each situation on price could vary significantly based on each person's situation. Would it be best to go to a custom home builder or an architect?
This post was edited on 1/2/24 at 2:58 pm
Posted on 1/2/24 at 5:33 pm to Rob Perillo
I'll chime in ...
My situation is a bit different than yours, but I did an expansion last summer (2022) and could not be more pleased with it.
My house was built in 1959, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and @2700 sq ft. My kids are 14 and 12. My biggest goal was to get an isolated space for them and their friends to hang out it, instead of the middle of the house where I usually am.
I ended up having the carport closed in make a multi-purpose room @400 sq ft that could be closed off from the rest of the house. I had a new, open carport built in front of the old one.
As you expand your house, you might want to consider how the additional space could be used in the future as your kids get older.
ETA: I've been in this house 18 years, so I never really looked at moving elsewhere to get more space, even though I started the project when interest rates were still really low.
My situation is a bit different than yours, but I did an expansion last summer (2022) and could not be more pleased with it.
My house was built in 1959, 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, and @2700 sq ft. My kids are 14 and 12. My biggest goal was to get an isolated space for them and their friends to hang out it, instead of the middle of the house where I usually am.
I ended up having the carport closed in make a multi-purpose room @400 sq ft that could be closed off from the rest of the house. I had a new, open carport built in front of the old one.
As you expand your house, you might want to consider how the additional space could be used in the future as your kids get older.
ETA: I've been in this house 18 years, so I never really looked at moving elsewhere to get more space, even though I started the project when interest rates were still really low.
This post was edited on 1/2/24 at 5:35 pm
Posted on 1/2/24 at 7:38 pm to Rob Perillo
(no message)
This post was edited on 1/18/25 at 12:26 pm
Posted on 1/2/24 at 7:57 pm to lnomm34
It’s a mixed bag. I’d be probably one of the biggest on my street, though expanding to the back wouldn’t make the house look any bigger from the curb. In other parts of the neighborhood there are certainly houses over 3k sqft. In my OP stating 1,000 sf addition, that is probably too high of an estimation and it would be something more like 600-800.
I appreciate the responses, and agree that more than likely the better move is probably to just sell and move on. I mostly wanted to see if anyone had positive experiences that might make me want to further pursue this idea.
I appreciate the responses, and agree that more than likely the better move is probably to just sell and move on. I mostly wanted to see if anyone had positive experiences that might make me want to further pursue this idea.
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