As winter keeps families indoors and the house starts to feel smaller, many Middle Tennessee homeowners are deciding whether to add a room rather than move.
The quiet months are when that decision is best made, since spring is when building crews get busy. Guides that remodelers publish, such as the home additions page from Bartholomew Remodeling NC, a North Carolina company, show the kinds of questions a family will face, and the same questions apply in DeKalb County.
Reader’s guide
- What: A home addition can give a growing or changing family more room without leaving a house and land they love.
- Who it affects: Homeowners with aging parents moving in, children coming home or a household that has simply outgrown its space.
- When to act: This winter, so plans, permits and a contractor can be lined up before the spring building season.
- Who to call: A licensed general contractor, an architect or designer for larger projects and the county building department about permits.
Decide what the room is for
The first step costs nothing: a clear, written answer to why the family needs more space.
A bedroom and bathroom on the ground floor for a parent who can no longer manage stairs is a very different project from a family room for teenagers or a home office for a spouse who now works from the kitchen table. Each one shapes the size, the location and what the addition must connect to.
It is also worth asking whether the space already exists. A finished basement, a converted attic or a reworked floor plan can sometimes solve the problem with less disruption, and a good contractor will say so when that is the better route.
Homeowners often find it helps to live with the question for a few weeks. Where does the household crowd up in the evenings? Which doors and hallways become bottlenecks when everyone is home? Those daily frustrations usually point to where an addition belongs.
Families thinking ahead may also want to plan for later years. Wider doorways, a step-free entrance and a shower without a high curb are features contractors commonly suggest for any ground-floor room that an older relative might use.
What drives the size of the job
No two additions are alike, and the cost depends on a handful of general factors rather than a single figure.
Building out at ground level means a new foundation, new walls and a roof tied into the old one. Building up, over a garage or an existing first floor, depends on whether the structure below can carry the weight, a question only a licensed professional can answer.
Plumbing adds to the scope. A bathroom or a kitchenette means new water and drain lines, and in rural homes on well water and septic systems, a contractor will want to know whether the system can handle more use. Heating and cooling the new space is another question, since an older system may not stretch to cover more square footage.
Lots in this part of Tennessee add their own considerations. Hillsides, rock just under the soil and drainage that runs toward the house can all affect where an addition can go and how the ground is prepared. Lake property brings its own rules, and the county building department is the place to ask what applies.
Timing affects the job as well. Permits and plan reviews take time, materials sometimes arrive later than promised and spring storms can halt work on an open roof. Families who start the paperwork in winter generally have more room to absorb those delays without pushing the finish into the hot months.
Living in the house during construction is part of the decision, too. Dust, noise and crews coming and going are part of any addition, and the moment the new room is opened to the old house can mean a few messy days. Some families plan a week with relatives around that stage; others simply close off the work area and keep the kitchen running.
Questions to ask a contractor
Choosing the builder is the decision most worth slowing down for. Consumer guides and experienced contractors alike recommend getting more than one written estimate and comparing them line by line.
Before signing anything, a family may want to ask:
- Are you licensed for a project of this size, and can I see proof of insurance?
- Who pulls the permits, and who meets the inspector?
- Will the estimate break out foundation, framing, roofing, plumbing, electrical and finish work?
- How will the new roof and walls be tied into the existing house to keep water out?
- Who will be on site each day, and who do I call with a question?
- How are changes handled once the work begins?
- Can I speak with past customers about similar additions?
A good contractor will welcome these questions and answer them in writing. Vague answers, pressure to sign quickly or a request for a large payment before any work begins are reasons to slow down.
Larger additions may call for an architect or a designer as well. They can draw plans that match the existing house, so the new room looks as though it has always been there rather than tacked on.
How families used to make room
In years past, rural Tennessee families added space in whatever way the season and the budget allowed. A back porch was closed in with salvaged windows. A lean-to went up against the barn side of the house. A sleeping porch became a bedroom when another child arrived.
Many of those additions still stand, and anyone who has lived in an older farmhouse knows them: the step down into the back bedroom, the floor that slopes toward the yard, the room that never quite warms up in January. They did their job, but they were often built without plans, permits or much attention to insulation and drainage.
Today’s additions are held to building codes for good reasons. A properly built room keeps water out, holds heat in winter and stays cool in humid summers, and it adds to the value of the home instead of becoming a problem for the next owner.
That history matters for anyone buying or renovating an older house, too. An earlier owner’s addition may be the first place a contractor looks for trouble with the roof line, the foundation or the wiring, and it is worth having a professional inspect before building onto it.
The ground will be too wet to dig for a while yet, but the kitchen table works fine for planning. A written list of needs, a few contractor interviews and a call to the building department this winter can have a family ready to break ground when the redbuds bloom.