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This is probably a goofy question - but when you are adding a room to a home, on a one-story house (a whole new room ie foundation, roof, etc) while living in the home - is there a point where the house will more or less have a hole in it? As in, potentially someone could easily break right in if no one is there, or at night while you are asleep?
I live in a city that unfortunately has a lot of crime and break-ins. I can't imagine having a gaping hole in my house for a week that is covered only by a tarp.
This is probably a goofy question - but when you are adding a room to a home, on a one-story house (a whole new room ie foundation, roof, etc) while living in the home - is there a point where the house will more or less have a hole in it? As in, potentially someone could easily break right in if no one is there, or at night while you are asleep?
I live in a city that unfortunately has a lot of crime and break-ins. I can't imagine having a gaping hole in my house for a week that is covered only by a tarp.
The addition is built to completion and closed in with doors, windows, siding and roofing. Normally you have an exterior window in the old structure where the addition is being built. The workers use that for access to the inside of the new addition or make it an interior door for the new room.
After it is complete outside they will break out that wall.
But I wonder if your builder/remodeler did not tell you this, should you be using them?
Oh, no we haven't contacted anyone yet. Just thinking down the road.... We may need to add on a bathroom at some point in the future. I am trying to figure out what the mess will be like I would defintely get the details from whoever came out to give estimates. However, there is no existing window or door, just the wall where the addition would go.
I would not recommend living in that home while it is under construction and especially if it is part of you home which you are now living.
desertsun41 is giving you excellent information because it is only after the add on structure is completely enclosed that the break through will proceed and should proceed. Nothing less is acceptable. Is your remodeler well known and have you seen other structures he has completed? I would suggest that you do before you hire him/her to see and hear for yourself.
You are probably paying somewhere in the range of $145-$175 a SQ FT and it depends how precise the interior is expected to be finished and completed. Also, are you aware that a steep roof is more costly but lessens the risk of leaking and lenthens the time for replacement. It also looks better when combining a 3 tabbed roofing material. You should not be given any surprises.
CristenS -- not a goofy question at all :-) It's good to be thinking ahead so that you can ask your contractor about the whole process and what you can expect.
My parents built an addition onto our family home when I was in high school. It was a sizable area (probably 1100 sqft) and took a few months. We lived there while the addition was built and I don't recall it causing too many hassles (except when it rained and the yard was a muddy mess).
I don't exactly recall there being an open hole in the wall during construction. They had to knock out a wall that used to contain a window and boarded it up, but that was after they'd done the foundation, roof, framing and door and window installation. The board and plastic, if I recall correctly, was to try to reduce the amount of noise, dust, and cold air entering the area we were living in (and probably to give us some privacy by keep the construction crew from drifting into our living room).
I agree with the PP, just be sure to discuss everything with your contractor beforehand. I was just a teenager, but watching the entire process unfold taught me a lot. It's good that you're planning ahead and thinking about every caveat.
whats the exterior of your home built out of? What room in the existing does the new room have access through?
With planning on adding a bathroom down the line , is it going to be part of the new structure or atleast next to it? If thats the case , I would have it built with the bedroom even if you leave it unfinished and maybe have the drains roughed in if it makes it easier while the foundation is going in.
If they need to make the doorway before the shell is up , plywood screwed from the inside is just as or more secure than a door or window.
Another thing you might have to consider , is the electrical power entrance if it gets in the way of the addition. Ive had to move it on atleast 70% of the additions Ive done.
And I would expect a clear battle plan in writing from the contractor about the schedule and what to expect with the impact on your everyday living.
Also have in writing the plan for cleaning up when they are done.
The Slob Next Door had an addition put on the back of his house (siding is still falling off on occasion) that was finished in August, and the construction debris sat in the back yard all winter. It would still be there (3 years later) except another neighbor called the city and raised Cain.
Apparently there was no stipulation in the contract for cleanup because TSND was going to do it. Knowing The Slob Next Door it would have never been taken care of by him without the city telling him to do it and threatening him with a fine.
Make sure your contract includes cleanup. All debris should be removed, and not just the big stuff. A good contractor will come out with magnets and cover the area with them to make sure all nails, screws, etc are gone.
We are having a 10x10 foot room added to our bedroom. It will be for our hot tub and will have 110/220 and plumbing. There will be two windows, an 8-0 sliding glass door to the outside and a 6-0 sliding glass to the bedroom.
Besides cutting through the bedroom wall, it will involve moving an existing window about 8 feet to the right.
The contractor, who also built the house a couple of years ago, says there will be minimal interruption to our daily life. We can keep sleeping in the bedroom and when it comes time to cut the wall out, the room will already be built so we will not be open to the outside. All he will have to do is partition the working space off with a plastic tarp “wall” to keep the dust out of the bedroom.
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I would defintely get the details from whoever came out to give estimates. However, there is no existing window or door, just the wall where the addition would go.
