[JayCT]

Originally Posted by Cambium

I was told by an appraiser which I use to this day.... You can add granite, Marble, Viking Stove, and the works in Harlem but it doesnt mean your home will be worth double the price.... Your home is worth what it compares to in the area and if nothing compares to your home dont expect a giant increase.

Actually now Harlem is an up and coming section of Manhattan. I know people there that just bought a townhouse and did a very upscale remodel. And there are many other homes on their street doing the same thing. this however is a big exception to the rule. Jay

[JViello]

Originally Posted by derbyshire

We just had our low offer accepted on a house built in the late 30's. The kitchen is small and needs updating so we were thinking about adding on to the back of the house. Since we are built into a small hill, we were thinking about putting the addition on stilts over building a foundation. Does anyone have any thoughts on that?

We had the idea of building the addition up to the second floor and expanding the bedroom to make a master suite which the house lacks. DH is worried about getting a return on it because many of the other houses in the neighborhood are smaller and outdated.

We are trying to do everything with resale in mind, thanks!!

Yes you can absolutley do that without a question. You see it a lot on raised ranches, most times where the deck was off the kitchen or dining room.

It's just like building a deck, only you'll be putting up sidewalls and tying into the roof. What you'll need to do is have solid concrete piers, and then posts to a carrier beam. (Stick your head under a deck sometime to get an idea). Depending on code and/or your span it will determine your floor joist size. For instance, I recently built a 16x20 deck off of my kitchen on the rear of the house which is 8 feet off the ground. I used 2x10 joists to match the house and it also allowed me to put the carrier 12 feet out so I can now use the area under the deck as a carport if I wish or enclose it as a garage. (It would match the existing garage). It also allowed me to cantilever 4 feet past the carrier. *IF* I wanted to, I can now build exterior walls and tie into the roof and make it a family or whatever I want.

So long story short, yes it can be done and is done all the time.

Originally Posted by toddb

Moving past all of the ROI advice, if as of now you plan on being there for a long time, then beyond the crystal ball gazer's expectation of where your financial reward will be, you will get all those years of enjoyment of your home. Only in the last 10 or so years have people become so hard up to equate your home as a financial investment. People used to hope that they wouldn't lose money on their home (and maybe make a few bucks), but they were more focused on it being a home, not an investment vehicle. They assumed they would make their payments for 30 years, then not worry about a mortgage, then either leave it to the kids or sell it for whatever it was worth and move to Florida.

You don't get to live in a stock or have memories with family and friends in a bond fund (well, I hope you don't ), so if you can afford it then go for it. If in 20 or 30 years you get 72% return instead of 84%, well, stuff happens. You got 20-30 years of enjoyment, which is probably well worth the little amount of money in today's dollars. And who knows - people might see you making some improvements and follow suit. Or, the next owner of their house will. I'm sure Rich has a proper term for 1 nice house bringing the others up to snuff.

Well said, I totally agree.

[derbyshire]

Thanks for all the posts. I'm not a fan of additions that look like additions. The area of the house that we want to add on to is currently an L, we just want to fill in that L to make it a square. It will be about 6.5' x 10'. So that covers the raised issues of property line disputes or it looking like an addition.

What about putting it on stilts? Is that something you homeowners out there would consider or would you go for a foundation?

[derbyshire]

Thank you Jviello!

[JViello]

Originally Posted by derbyshire

Thanks for all the posts. I'm not a fan of additions that look like additions. The area of the house that we want to add on to is currently an L, we just want to fill in that L to make it a square. It will be about 6.5' x 10'. So that covers the raised issues of property line disputes or it looking like an addition.

What about putting it on stilts? Is that something you homeowners out there would consider or would you go for a foundation?

Did you read my post? Edit, nevermind.

What you may be able to do if the addition will be full height or at least close to it (7') underneath is turn it into a screened summer room. That will fill in the "gap" underneath and give it a more finished look for minimal dollars.

Concrete pier and post and carrier will be 10's of thousands cheaper than pouring a form foundation and building load bearing walls. One of the largest costs of building a home is the foundation.

Edit: Actually now that I've read the shape of your house and what you want to do, you may be able to get away with slab and just two exterior walls from the ground up without too much additional cost over piers and posts. It will cost more. Then again, if you have 8' high exposed concrete walls on that side of the house, it may look silly mixing concrete and siding. You can always side over the concrete to match...ah, money and options - money and options. lol

[derbyshire]

The screened porch sounds great but we only have 5 feet so it looks like it will be storage instead

[JViello]

Originally Posted by derbyshire

The screened porch sounds great but we only have 5 feet so it looks like it will be storage instead

Perfect! The most cost effective way to do this would be concrete pier and post. If you can "finish" it off and make it a storage shed, that will give you the finished look.

Good luck in your project!

[SailCT]

Do it for yourselves; not for re-sale. Rule of thumb on kitchens is you will only get back about 50% of what you put in. If you are pushing out the first floor for the kitchen; on a good solid, concrete foundation; you can add a second story on top for about 20-25% additional; since you will already have the cost of the foundation, and roofing. The added bedroom is where you will gain for resale; just make sure it is big enough to be viewed as a master; with good closets and a nice bath. Make sure in the bathroom you have room for the basics. Speaking from experience; it is well worth it to work with a local builder with connections in the building dept. of your town. Also, to save lots of money; you can use a draftsman to draw your plans you do not need an architect.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by SailCT

Do it for yourselves; not for re-sale. Rule of thumb on kitchens is you will only get back about 50% of what you put in. If you are pushing out the first floor for the kitchen; on a good solid, concrete foundation; you can add a second story on top for about 20-25% additional; since you will already have the cost of the foundation, and roofing. The added bedroom is where you will gain for resale; just make sure it is big enough to be viewed as a master; with good closets and a nice bath. Make sure in the bathroom you have room for the basics. Speaking from experience; it is well worth it to work with a local builder with connections in the building dept. of your town. Also, to save lots of money; you can use a draftsman to draw your plans you do not need an architect.

Their "first floor" is 5 feet above the ground.