Planning Your New Addition

If you have the room to meet the easement requirements for your city, adding on to your home can be a wonderful way to improve your equity position as well as your living quarters!

Start by deciding what functionality you want from the additional space. Do you want a larger kitchen so more “cooks” can participate? Do you want an additional bedroom or bathroom? Next, carefully sketch out what needs to be removed and added using exact measurements made to 1/16″ of an inch (required by most city building departments). You will also need to create an accurate floor plan of your existing home.

As most of us are not trained draftsmen or architects, using a computer program to handle the details is the best way to quickly create something on paper to show a contractor. Keep in mind that what you create may have to be modified by a professional, or professionally engineered.

Chief Architect is being used by many architectural and design professionals today, but has too high of a price tag and too much complexity for most homeowners. There is a version of Chief Architect sold in Frys Electronics that is sponsored by Better Homes and Gardens – this has adequate functionality for most and is easier to use.

Once you create your computer generated drawing, this program allows you to hit a button, and see it as it will look when completed! You can then take these drawings to your contractor, who will then help you find a professional to turn them into a set of prints that will be reviewed and signed off by your city building department.