Sunday, July 16, 2017

Rules To Additions-Don't Build One Bigger Then The Original House

Lately a lot of people have been calling interested in putting an addition on their current home instead of having to leave their current area to buy a larger home.

Adding an addition can be a good investment as long as its done right, one of the rules that you should be following is that you should NEVER add an addition that is bigger then the existing house.

There is almost no reason to violate this rule, if you need to add an addition that is so large that it is bigger then the original house then you need to ask yourself some questions first;
  1. If you need that much more space then maybe it would be easier and actually cheaper to buy a larger house and sell the smaller one.
  2. If you love were you live and don't want to move then maybe you should consider tearing down the entire house and building a new one. Then you would have a completely new custom home.
  3. Adding that much square footage; are you leaving yourself enough lawn for your family to enjoy?
  4. As an investment; is it worth spending such a large amount of money on a house that is two small making it so much more bigger.
Most of the time when someone adds an addition that dwarfs the original building it looks like what it is, a large addition on a smaller house. Yes you end up with the square footage that you desire but there is always a compromise where the old house and the new house come together. This cross over space is usually a wasted space because its where the tie-in happened.

Most people renovate the rest of the existing home when they do their large addition, which makes the rest of the house nice but adds to the overall expense.

If you have an older small brick home adding an addition that is large will really look out of place as there is almost no way to match the bricks, this really ascents that there was an addition added.

Just because you want a lot more room doesn't actually mean that you should make your existing home that much larger. Its also quicker to sell your house and buy a larger one then to go through the process of designing, permitting and building a massive addition.

If you are wondering if you should really build an addition instead of buying a larger house call a contractor, if their honest they will tell you the truth.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Building A Custom Home-Talk To Your Neighbours

When you are looking to build a custom home, you've gone and bought your piece of property that is the perfect fit to what you want to build, you have the hired someone to do the design and you have hired your contractor to construct it, there's one more thing that you should do that will make it easier for you to build the home.

What is it? Talk to your new neighbours.

That's right talk to your neighbours, nothing gets people more upset then when something changes around them that they have little to no control over.

People go and make the biggest investment that they will ever make; their home. They spent years getting the inside and the outside of the home and the property looking exactly the way that they want it and then someone comes along and changes their entire world. They go from having no neighbour with nothing but trees or grass beside them to a house and landscaping and new people within sight of everything they do. A lot of people don't react well to it.

Add in the fact that they then have to listen to construction noise for what feels like forever and without you doing anything directly to them your neighbours can end up having a dim view of you, all of this before you ever got a chance to make an impression on them yourself.

So what do you do to make sure that they won't hate you before they get to know you? Simple before you start building anything go over and talk to them. Introduce yourself to them and let them see what type of person that you really are, tell them a little about what you plan to build. Try to answer all their questions, get them on your side when it comes to having new neighbours and a new house on the street.

Its easier then you think for rumours to start about who's moving in and the size and scale of the house that is going to be built.

I once witnessed a custom home builder have to call the local paper to refute a story that appeared in the paper about a large home that was being built on the outskirts of the town because the paper claimed that it was going to be a hotel and convention center because of the size and design that was still under construction. The reason that he had to refute the story was because the building department and the local council started getting complaints and demands to stop the build because hotels where not allowed in the area. The situation all came from the owner never talking to the neighbours or anyone in the area that could spread the word about what the home would end up being.

Things like property lines, fences, garages and other things can be kept out of lawyers hands with simple conversations before anything happens or while things are happening.

When you bring your neighbours into the inner circle of your home build then they feel like they are part of process and that they have a say in what happens (even when they don't).

So strap on your best smile and invite yourself over for tea and coffee to the neighbour, you won't be sorry.

When the home is completed try to have a street BBQ or at least have your next door neighbours over for drinks, you can show them your new home and make your neighbours into friends at the same time.

A little handing shaking and coffee chat can go along way.

Rob Abbott
Village Builders Inc.