Adding a room to your home can be a very expensive endeavor. The cost of adding an addition can actually exceed the costs of building a house on a per square foot basis. This is due to the additional costs of tying in the new structure to the existing one. Throughout almost every phase of the construction process, each new system of the structure must be tied into the existing system. For example, both the interior and exterior walls, the plumbing and electrical lines, the roof, and the heating and air-conditioning systems must all be connected.
Because investing in a room addition is such a costly undertaking, you'll want to carefully examine the potential resale value of your home before doing so. The most important factor to consider in your analysis is the relevant size of your home compared to the other houses in your neighborhood. If your house is one of the smallest houses compared to those around you, then it may make sense to expand the size of yours by adding another room. On the other hand, if your house is already one of the largest houses in the neighborhood, investing your hard-earned money to make it even larger would most likely yield negative returns.
Expanding the size of a house by adding on a room can actually cost more than the house's current resale value due to the difference between construction costs of 20 years ago and those of today. This holds true even after compensating for the cost savings in land.
A less expensive alternative to an addition that is tied into the existing house is a sunroom or an all-seasons room. The cost of this type of structure is generally much less than that of adding on an actual addition that is designed to match your house. A sunroom, for instance, typically has exterior walls made of mostly glass reinforced with metal framing, unlike a full room addition that will have exterior walls made of vinyl or brick with insulation and drywall on the inside of them. Furthermore, the roof on a sunroom is usually a lightweight design and does not offer the protection or longevity that a roof with composition shingles on it.
Because investing in a room addition is such a costly undertaking, you'll want to carefully examine the potential resale value of your home before doing so. The most important factor to consider in your analysis is the relevant size of your home compared to the other houses in your neighborhood. If your house is one of the smallest houses compared to those around you, then it may make sense to expand the size of yours by adding another room. On the other hand, if your house is already one of the largest houses in the neighborhood, investing your hard-earned money to make it even larger would most likely yield negative returns.
Expanding the size of a house by adding on a room can actually cost more than the house's current resale value due to the difference between construction costs of 20 years ago and those of today. This holds true even after compensating for the cost savings in land.
A less expensive alternative to an addition that is tied into the existing house is a sunroom or an all-seasons room. The cost of this type of structure is generally much less than that of adding on an actual addition that is designed to match your house. A sunroom, for instance, typically has exterior walls made of mostly glass reinforced with metal framing, unlike a full room addition that will have exterior walls made of vinyl or brick with insulation and drywall on the inside of them. Furthermore, the roof on a sunroom is usually a lightweight design and does not offer the protection or longevity that a roof with composition shingles on it.
|
|