Crucial Considerations for a Home Addition

BRENTWOOD — Is your family outgrowing your current home? A great way to expand your living space without relocating is to build a home addition. However, adding on to your home is no small feat, and it requires careful execution in order to avoid problems in the future. Here are three crucial considerations for a home addition:

1. Foundation
Adding horizontal square footage to a home requires an expansion of its foundation. To do this, a construction team will drill holes into the existing foundation and insert rebar. The rebar should extend 32 to 36 inches out from the existing foundation. When the concrete is poured for the new foundation, the rebar will tie it to the existing one, resulting in a uniform slab.

2. Framing
There are two framing methods used for building a home addition: conventional stick framing and manufactured trusses. With stick framing, the framing is constructed piece by piece on site, whereas manufactured trusses are engineered and fabricated in a factory to ensure maximum stability. The method of framing you use should depend on the size of your addition. While stick framing will often suffice for a small addition, for a large addition, you’ll want to use manufactured trusses to get that added stability.

3. Roof
Another crucial aspect of building a home addition is expanding the roof. To avoid problems like leaks and pooling water, the roof expansion must be carefully engineered to allow for proper drainage. Your contractor will need to calculate the roof’s pitch and angles to ensure the new section of roof properly functions within the greater roofing system.