Adding on to a house. Any BTDT?

[sarahsthreads]

Someone walk me through this?

DH was planning to take the lead, but things at work have apparently gotten to busy for him to make phone calls. He wants me to start talking to architects and decide on my own which one to work with.

I've done this with landscapers, floor refinishers, etc, etc, but this feels way too big!

So, we're thinking of building out over our attached garage. There is nothing larger in our school district that is affordable for us (bought at the right time ages ago) and the resulting increase in square footage/home value would not price us out of the neighborhood (some have already done this.) The biggest complication is that our chimney for our (unused) wood-burning fireplace is on that side of the house. Yes, it sticks up out of the garage. Stupid, stupid design. We've always wanted to convert this to a gas fireplace, but it's never been high on the list of home improvements.

The resulting new space would be our new master bedroom - maybe we could even put a gas fireplace in there, since the chimney's right there? Our old master bedroom (which would be adjacent) would become a fifth bedroom (we'd be using it as an office/sewing room) and would need a section walled off to be a hallway. It is large enough that doing so would bring it in line with the size of the other bedrooms in the house, it wouldn't be ridiculously tiny. We have some ideas which would allow the new master bathroom to be over the house part still (I think there are some issues with having plumbing over a garage?) and maybe even carve out a closet-sized space for a washer and dryer. (Honestly, the laundry moving up to the second floor from the basement would be my biggest reason to tackle this job!)

So, back to the architects...

What kind of questions do I need to ask? How much should I expect an initial consultation to cost? Or should just coming out to the house and taking measurements/discussing options be free? We have a pretty standard housing-development colonial, 35 years old or so, so we're not looking for anything too fancy here. Essentially a box over the garage and some new walls/plumbing in part of the existing house.

If you've made it this far, thanks for any advice!
Sarah :)

[trales]

I met with three architects to talk about adding on to our house. There was no consultation charge, if we went with them, then we would pay for the design etc. They all had really different ideas and opinions, it was kind of crazy.

[zukeypur]

No advice, but watching for replies. We're kind of in the same boat. I would like to just sell and move to a bigger house, but I'm toying with the idea of adding a room over the garage and kitchen.

[westwoodmom04]

We've considered but never started an addition to our current place (we actually were given plans that the last owners had done). Anyway, I'm not sure if this is accurate, but several people told me that if your addition is really basic and you are working with an experienced GC, you don't need a separate architect. Maybe others will have experience with this.

[123LuckyMom]

If you know people in your area who have had work done, call for references. The most important thing is not cost but quality and dependability. This is particularly important when selecting a contractor, and different architects may want to work with particular contractors.

There shouldn't be any charges for initial consultations. The architects will know the demands of your local inspectors if they're used to working in your area (and you should choose architects that have long standing relationships with local trades and know the inspectors. You can choose architects from outside your area, but for the kind of addition you're considering, there's no need to do that.) The architects will know best where to put the bathroom, hall, etc.

[clb]

Haven't read the other replies but my thoughts:
Do your neighbors/ friends in your area have suggestions? Or have you viewed anyone's space that was expanded in a similar way?

I ask because I know multiple people people who go to an architect and pay $5K+ for plans. The architect estimates the finished cost at $125psf but the builder looks at the plans and estimates the cost at $250+ psf. Maybe it isn't so much of an issue for you. It doesn't sounds like you are adding a huge amount of space and it is over the existing structure.

We are thinking about an addition. We've met with 3 builders. All of the large ones in my area have existing relationships with local architects. We wanted a realistic estimate of what our project will cost. (Yes, it was even more than I was expecting and I'm not a naive HGTV house hunter.) But I have been in multiple homes that each of the 3 have done additions to so we were comfortable with that/ know the quality of the work.

[sarahsthreads]

I met with three architects to talk about adding on to our house. There was no consultation charge, if we went with them, then we would pay for the design etc. They all had really different ideas and opinions, it was kind of crazy.

OK, this makes sense. And I can't really imagine how different the ideas could be, but I suppose you never know!

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

No advice, but watching for replies. We're kind of in the same boat. I would like to just sell and move to a bigger house, but I'm toying with the idea of adding a room over the garage and kitchen.

No kidding, I feel like that would be so much easier. But anything bigger in our district is a much newer build and would cost much more than the (in our opinion inflated) appraised value of our house. It's supposedly worth about 50% more than what we paid for it. We really think it would unlikely to sell for nearly that much. It's a moot point, because we'd only be able to afford a comparably sized, same-era house in this area, which doesn't solve our space issues!

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

We've considered but never started an addition to our current place (we actually were given plans that the last owners had done). Anyway, I'm not sure if this is accurate, but several people told me that if your addition is really basic and you are working with an experienced GC, you don't need a separate architect. Maybe others will have experience with this.

DH spoke with the village code officer and was told we'd need detailed architect drawings to get the permits? Also that we need to upgrade our smoke detectors on the second floor to pass inspection after the work is done, but I'm thrilled with that - we only have one on each floor, which doesn't feel safe to me!

Sarah :)

[sarahsthreads]

If you know people in your area who have had work done, call for references. The most important thing is not cost but quality and dependability. This is particularly important when selecting a contractor, and different architects may want to work with particular contractors.


Haven't read the other replies but my thoughts:
Do your neighbors/ friends in your area have suggestions? Or have you viewed anyone's space that was expanded in a similar way?

Unfortunately, we don't actually know the people who have done this (we barely know the people on our street, and most of these houses are a few streets away). There were several a year or two ago that used the same contractor - naturally they put up their business sign in the yard - but we think it must have been someone who passed away recently, because the company seems to no longer exist and DH found a recent obituary while searching for it. :(

We've been thinking about this idea for a while (impending DC#3 kind of gave us a kick in the pants to start the process) so we'd watch with interest while these additions were put on, kwim?

I hadn't thought about the idea of picking a builder and then seeing what architects they'd suggest. I'll run that idea past DH. For some reason (maybe because my (unfortunately out-of-town) grandpa is one) I feel more comfortable with the idea of talking to a builder than an architect. Weird, I know. ;)

Sarah :)

[mypa]

We've added (a square box) over the garage and used a contractor that came recommended (we interviewed others as well and checked out references). I knew exactly what I wanted: move laundry upstairs, created closets, storage space, etc. So, after hiring the GC he used his architect/engineer to draw up detailed plans to be submitted for permits, with several back and forth from the city back to the structural engineer. This process took the longest time, about 5 months. The actual construction was only 2.5 months.

3 things:
1. Building over the garage means an unheated space below and that means that the room over the garage will fluctuate more in temperature. Our heating/cooling system was not changed, just extended to the new space and it is very inadequate. At some point we will have to change out the location of our furnace to the attic instead of the garage so the source of the strongest air flow will be closer to the bedrooms.

2. Do not worry about any flooding issues with an upstairs laundry. There is new technology with sensors and automatic shutoffs that will shut your water off if any water is detected on the floor (I've already tested this out!). Make sure your flooring is structurally over-supported (not just meet requirement) over the W/D as the vibrations will be more pronounced.

3. Don't be surprised if you have to do "extra" work. In CA, there have been updates to building codes (for us due to earthquakes) so we had to gut the garage and add more supports and finish it off with drywall so this was an added expense. Plus, we decided to put in a whole new roof instead of just adding on as the original roof was close to expiring.