Planning Your Home to Avoid Growing Pains!
Creating an expandable plan that can be enlarged as your family grows.
by Edsel Breland, AIBD
During the turbulent years of the sixties and seventies, many Americans
built homes with the idea that homes were somewhat temporary. After all,
with high inflation, most homes provided a good profit when sold, even if
owned only a few years. The prevailing opinion was "build only what you
need" and if your needs change, "sell it and build again." Tax laws for
capitol gain on your home offered encouragement to sell and move on too. By
selling your home, the profits could be pocketed as long as your new home
cost more than you sold the old one for.
Well, the tax laws may not have changed too much in regard to selling your
home, but people's ideas sure have. More and more people are planning their
homes for the long term. It seems that we kinda missed becoming established
in a real neighborhood. A feeling has returned that we want to belong to our
communities, one with sidewalks that our kids can ride their bikes on, a
place where we get to know the grocery store clerks and the mailman. We want
to live near to churches and schools that we can become a real part of. This
sounds great but it does pose a problem. How do we build a home when we are
young and have limited budgets, that will serve our needs as our families
grow or our needs change.
Past generations that were very stable faced a similar irony. They most
often chose to solve the problem with additions. Many families made numerous
additions over the years. They were normally pretty easy to spot because
most often they were unattractive or at best, did not really blend to the
home's original design. In today's economy, additions can be very expensive,
often costing far more per sq. ft. than the original structure. Trees must
sometimes be removed to accommodate our quest for more space. So, how do we
avoid this mess?
The best way of satisfying today's budget and tomorrow's need for more space
is simple. Choose a design that allows for future expansion without costly
additions. A design that allows us to push into attic spaces that are
pre-engineered to handle the loads, and a plan that has multi-use spaces
that can change with our needs. Most important, a design that will require
no exterior modification at all. Such changes are far more cost effective
than additions because they do not require exterior walls, or roofs. They
are contained within the existing structure.
To demonstrate how a plan can be expanded & modified, we have chosen plan
THD-220-0. This plan has been designed especially for expansion. Our model
plan is one story, 3 bedroom, 2 bath plan with an informal living room. It
features a loft library with doors leading to the attic spaces. The ceiling
of the living room is 2 story in height allowing the library to overlook the
room below. This creates a spacious feeling and one that interconnects the
loft to the lower lever. The open stairwell and small loft adds a minimum
amount of square footage and cost; however, it is the nucleus around which
all expansion will occur. The following examples illustrate how this home
can expand from a modest 2200 sq. ft., to a luxury home with over 4000 sq.
ft.
Option 1-Adding 2 Additional Bedrooms
Because this plan has been pre-designed for expansion, adding the bedrooms
is a snap. The windows for each bedroom were included in the original design
as gable end windows. Even the walls and ceilings are partially included as
the original roof bracing and collar ties. Doors that served as access to
attic spaces now serve as entry doors to new found living area. About all
that is required is the interior finish. For a minimum of cost, your 2200, 3
bedroom home is now a 5 bedroom with over 2700 sq. ft.
Option 2-Changing a Bedroom to a Formal Living Room
With the addition of two bedrooms indicated in the change above, one of the
existing bedrooms on the lower level can now be converted to other uses,
such as a formal living room or a music room. Because the bedroom is located
only a wall thickness away from the foyer, this modification is a snap too.
Your home has now become a 4 bedroom formal design. The master bedroom and
guest bedroom on the lower level, and the kids' bedrooms upstairs.
Option 3-Adding a Game Room
WIth the kids' rooms now upstairs, a game room offers a central place for
their activities. Just an in option 1, this space has been preplanned. With
the addition of finished walls and trim, your game room is complete. Your
home has now grown to over 3000 sq. ft.
Option 4-Adding an Office Over the Garage
With a bit of preplanning, the attic over the garage can be converted as
well. Because it offers an optional outside entry & isolation from the rest
of the house, use as an office is perfect. WIth so many people now working
out of their homes, this space is in big demand.
Your growth and modifications are now complete. The modest but stately 2200
sq. ft. informal plan that you started with has grown with you as your needs
and your family grew. You now have a luxury home with over 4000 sq. ft. But
best of all, all of these expansions occurred with absolutely no change to
the exterior (including disturbing your lawn area) and a minimum of cost.
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