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Planning for an Addition

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If you're thinking about building a home addition, there are a number of factors you should take into consideration when drawing up your home addition plans to ensure you end up with the most cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing design.

Software and Mail Order Home Addition Plans
Planning for an addition is a long process, and there's nothing wrong with taking advantage of home addition planning software, or the multitude of mail order plans you can purchase from magazines or over the internet. Both of these options give you a great place to start, are relatively inexpensive, and can provide you with a wealth of ideas to bring to your builder when you take the next step. Once you get serious about planning for an addition, however, it's time to call someone experienced in designing home additions to help customize your building plans specifically for you.

For Quality Home Addition Plans, Talk to an Expert in Home Additions
By far the best way to end up with good home addition plans is to consult a professional experienced in designing and building home additions in the first place. General contractors, architects, and structural engineers are all excellent resources when it comes to planning a new addition to your home, though the nature of your addition will help determine who's advice you ought to start out with. Here's a quick look at each, and a few tips as to who to call first.

  • General Contractors are building specialists with a wide range of experience and knowledge about all phases of constructing additions. Some general contractors do most of the work on an addition themselves, while others "subcontract" out different phases of construction to the appropriate service professionals. For most additions, a general contractor will be the only resource you'll need to develop good, sound building plans, and to get your plans built. And if the services of architects or structural engineers are needed, a quality contractor will let you know, and have a list of architectural firms and structural engineers that they can recommend to help move the planning phase along.

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  • Architects specialize in building design and are a great resource if you want to design plans that will put your neighbors' additions to shame. For most basic home additions, however, they aren't really necessary, and you can save a lot of money by trusting the planning to your general contractor instead. If you're looking for something a little more distinct, out of the ordinary, or innovative. However, talk to an architect about turning that vision into reality.

  • Structural Engineers should only be necessary if your home addition plans might result in significant strains on the structural integrity or foundation of your home. Their job is to evaluate your home, your home addition plans, and then to draw up building plans of their own that ensure your new addition will be structurally safe and sound. It's rare to have to contact a structural engineer on your own. Usually your general contractor or architect will consult these professionals on an as needed basis as you begin planning for an addition and drawing up your blueprints.

    Why Planning for an Addition is Important
    Drawing up home addition plans ahead of time is important for a number of reasons. It gives you a chance to test out different ideas and to come up with a design that's going to match your needs and blend in seamlessly with your pre-existing home. Home addition plans are also very important from a financial perspective. Drawing up detailed building plans is the only way to get a firm idea of how much your home addition is really going to cost you. With that knowledge you can decide for certain whether you can afford your plans or not, and you can move towards acquiring the proper amount of financing to pay for the job once things get underway. Everything's got to start somewhere, and a home addition isn't any different. Planning for an addition is the logical jumping off point if you think a home addition is looming somewhere in your future.

    Matt Goering, formerly a carpenter and house painter, is a freelance writer for the home improvement industry who has published over 600 articles.

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