Adding a dormer to your house

[Family Fun Mom]

Has anyone here ever added on to their home? We have completely outgrown our house and selling it to upgrade just isn't happening in this economy. We need more space so we are thinking about having an addition put on. We really don't know where to begin. If anyone here has been through it could you give me some tips, advice, ect? I'd really appreciate it since this is totally new to us.

 

[tvguy]

Check with friends for a good contractor. Have ideas of what you want ahead of time.
We have a U shaped house, added 256 square feet on the back of the U off the family room....it's a bedroom with a half bath, a laundy closet, and a 6 x 10 walkin closet. Converted the existing 6 x 6 laundry room into a pantry.
That turned a 1744 square foot 3 bedroom 2 bath house into a 2010 square foot 4 bedroom 2 1/2 bath house.
At the time, in 1993, it cost $23,800. Buying an existing house would have cost us about $100,000 more than we could have sold the existing house for.
Also got lucky, we found a contracter who had three weeks open between the completion of one house, to the start of another. Yep, from ground breaking to final inspection, 3 weeks to build.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have not done this however the first thing you have to look at is can you afford to do the addition and not lose money on your house.

If your neighborhood (financially speaking) can support the addition upgrade then yes go for it.

However if you are going to put a 50,000+ addition on and then you will not gain that money back in resale then don't do it.

If for whatever reason you HAD to sell, you will be totally upside down on your house.

Now if you have the liquid cash on hand to pay for the addition then you will be OK. If you have to take out a loan or second mortgage to pay for the addition then I would say don't do it.

In other words you have to see if you can financially take the hit of the addition. Run all the numbers and scenarios financially with your financial situation before you do it.

ETA... I see you are in Detroit. Very "iffy" to put on an addition in your neck of the woods. You really need to scrutinize your numbers and pay a lot of cash up front so you don't shoot yourself in the foot.

 

[PatsGirl]

I added a full dormer to my house 5-6 years ago and it has been great I have a typical Cape-style home, 24x36 that originally had a vaulted ceiling over nearly one half, front to back, which I closed down.

With the dormer I was able to add a master bathroom, full bath with stackable w/d and large closet, and a den/computer office loft-style which quickly became my favorite room in the house. I'm not sure how it broke down $$, but the dormer, together with new paint, wallpaper, and floors throughout the first floor (switched from carpet/linoleum to mexican tile), and new appliances in kitchen totalled $80K. There is no question the value of my home increased by that amount so it was an investment for sure.

 

[C.Ann]

If you're going to go "up" the first thing that has to be determined is how your rafters run - so you know if the existing part of your home can carry the weight..

When I went "up" in my old home, it was actually cheaper to go with a full size second floor than just a dormer.. (This was many, many years before my DD met her DH, so we had to hire someone to do it..)

Can your DH do any of the work at all? If so, that would keep costs down.. You could contract out only what is needed.. We had the enclosed "shell".. My late DH and my late father did the insulating, and sheet rocking.. Hired an electrician for the electrical.. I did all the taping, priming and painting.. Just a thought..