As a household grows, with changing needs, you may start to think about expanding your home. This can be an exciting project that will almost seem like buying a new house.

But to prepare for your add-on — and make it a tasteful, well-designed addition for extra living space — keep these tips in mind.


1. Designate the Building Area

Seek a county engineer, city planner or architect’s advice to determine the best type of structure for your property and its location. Assuming it will be adjoined to your current home — as opposed to being a stand-alone shed or office — the new construction will need to adhere seamlessly to your original house.

Make sure the design flows smoothly and continues the home’s structural framework.

You also need to decide the best place to arrange the new expansion, whether as a side, rear or front addition, and ensure it does not disrupt the function of existing areas.


2. Prepare the Ground

Find out if the open property on which you plan to build is strong enough to support the new structure. You may need to excavate rocky soil or establish slope stabilization to get the ground even, stable and solid before construction begins.

The first step will be to remove tree trunks, boulders, branches and other types of debris to clear the area. Then the building site can be solidified for the new addition.


3. Match New and Existing Designs

In addition to preparing the ground and soil areas for building, you may need a blueprint to orchestrate cohesion between the current home and your planned expansion.

If your current residence is a colonial-style home, your addition should naturally follow suit. The new section should smoothly integrate with the existing structure so that casual observers would never guess that a home extension had been added.

Use the same windows, siding and door designs as you have on your original home.


4. Update Your Landscaping

When the expansion is well under way or finished, you might want to add new landscaping. This should match other landscaped areas of your property unless you plan to redo the entire lawn and garden areas.

While you can add new flowers and shrubs, avoid greenery that differs noticeably from your other landscaped areas.

Building an extension to your current home is an exciting project that will add more room for your family’s growing and changing needs.

Follow steps like these to make sure everything falls into place and complies with local property rules so that your home looks better than ever while providing additional safe, comfortable living space.

Editorial Contributors
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Danny Lipford

Founder

Danny Lipford is a home improvement expert and television personality who started his remodeling business, Lipford Construction, at the age of 21 in Mobile, Alabama. He gained national recognition as the host of the nationally syndicated television show, Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford, which started as a small cable show in Mobile. Danny's expertise in home improvement has also led him to be a contributor to popular magazines and websites and the go-to source for advice on everything related to the home. He has made over 200 national television appearances and served as the home improvement expert for CBS's The Early Show and The Weather Channel for over a decade. Danny is also the founder of 3 Echoes Content Studio, TodaysHomeowner.com, and Checking In With Chelsea, a décor and lifestyle blog.

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