Page 435 - 2018 National Home Improvement

2018 National Home Improvement Estimator, All Rights Reserved Page 348

Garage -- If local building codes and zoning ordinances permit garage conversions, a garage attached
to the house is another obvious candidate for expansion, especially if the garage is under the main roof.
Considerations for the job include adding partition walls and an interior wall finish, and running ductwork
for heating and air conditioning. Weigh the gain in living area against the loss of garage space and its
convenience. Garages are usually close to the kitchen to save steps when unloading groceries. Even if
you only use part of the garage for your addition, you may still lose that direct access convenience.

Cutting chases in a garage floor for the plumbing drain and supply lines seldom presents a serious
problem. But get expert advice on recompacting the soil once access lines are in place. Fill that isn’t
properly compacted will have expansion characteristics different from the undisturbed soil. The result
can be heaving or settling of the subsoil and an uneven floor in the converted garage.

Exterior Additions -- Most communities have minimum setback requirements. No construction is
allowed within a certain distance of lot lines and the street. The setback may be different on the two
sides of the house. For example, the setback could be 5' on one side of the house and 10' on the other.
If all the homes in a community have a similar setback, it’s safe to assume those homes are built on
the setback line. A hundred years ago, builders weren’t so careful about their use of space. By modern
standards, they squandered available land. You may have more possibilities for expansion when you’re
dealing with an older home. However, if setbacks restrict you from adding onto the front or side of a
house, the only alternative may be to encroach on the back yard.

When planning exterior additions, carefully consider how to meet the needs of the owner while
maintaining the overall design of the home. If the owner wants a larger bathroom, you could, as
mentioned earlier, convert an existing small bedroom into a bathroom and make the exterior addition a
larger new bedroom. Or partition off part of the existing living room for use as bedroom and bathroom.
Then make the addition a new family room or a larger living room. In any case, the addition should be
constructed to maintain the style of the house. Roofing, siding and windows should match the existing
materials to preserve continuity.

The addition won’t have a common foundation with the original structure. That puts stress on the point
where the existing roof, wall, floor and ceiling join the addition. Cracking along the joint between the
original house and the addition can be managed with control joints that allow for independent movement
on each side of the joint. To minimize the length of that joint, consider building the addition as a satellite
to the main house. See Figure 13-6. Connect the main house to the addition with a corridor that
includes the bathroom, a new entry and a closet. Notice that satellite additions have a large perimeter in
proportion to the enclosed space. Heating and cooling this type of addition can be a problem. Be sure to
provide good insulation and energy-efficient windows. Chapter 3 includes costs for framing the tie-in
between the existing structure and the addition.