Category: Jason Foldenauer Construction - page 13

Living through any type of remodeling job is most likely going to turn your life topsy-turvy but none more so than a kitchen remodeling job.  Whether you hire the job out to the professionals or you attempt it on your own the job will require much patience from the point of your family.  You will need to adjust several areas of your lifestyle to get ready for the inconvenience that you are about to experience.  Here is a general guide to living through your own kitchen remodeling job.

• The first tip I can give you is to prepare yourself. Pretend you are going on an extended camping trip and get ready for the adventure.
• Prepare your home by setting up a small kitchen area.  Use this space for a microwave, coffee pot, toaster, single burner and possibly a little electric grill.  Mini fridge’s area a perfect substitute for a large fridge to house items such as milk, lunch meat and yogurt.  Little items that can be used to create a meal or a snack.
• Pack up the kitchen items you will need in clear storage containers.  The rest can be packed and stored.
• Purchase all things disposable.  Cups, paper plates, bowls and plastic utensils that can be thrown away are a very handy thing to keep on hand.  You will not have use of a sink to wash things so the more things that can be pitched or recycled the better.
• Shop often.  Do not purchase large quantities of food.  You will not have a space to store it. if you have a deep freezer you can prepare ahead of time for the kitchen remodel by freezing portion size meals and warming them as needed.
• Keep dry goods on hand such as peanut butter, nuts, crackers and munch able type foods for those late night snack cravings.
• Grilling is always a handy option during a project of this magnitude.  You can always eat out or invite yourself to dine with friends at their home.  Offer to bring the main dish.  This option is a good one as long as you keep in mind that they don’t want to have you over every night no matter your situation.
• Make sure your contractor leaves the sink in place for as long as possible.  It is possible to function like a normal family for the most part with a sink, mini fridge, grill and single burner.
• Make sure you take into account all the dust and noise that the construction job will create.  Animals are not going to react well to this environment.  It is also important to cover other belongings with sheets to prevent issues as you do put your home back together after the kitchen is complete.
• Remind yourself often that this is only a temporary situation and that your marriage is a long term commitment.  Remodels are often stressful on families and can bring out the worst in us.
• Prepare for the long term.  Many families and contractors do not supply a reasonable estimate in regards to the time commitment that people are actually looking at for a kitchen remodeling job.

The end result will be worth the effort.  The family will be able to enjoy a newly updated space to enjoy together and your home’s value will increase.  Budget for some new utensils and pots and pans that will make mom happy and trust me the whole family will be thankful to.

There are several home renovations that you can do in your home that will make a statement.  One of them for certain is your choice of flooring.  No matter what you choose when initiating a flooring renovation in your home makes sure that the change reflects your family and lifestyle.  Taking these things into consideration allows you to have flooring that will with stand the beating your family will put the floor through and will make sure that you love the look of it because it will be with you, hopefully, for an extended periods of time.

Flooring can be a good chunk of a room renovation.  It is advisable that if you have the money you complete all flooring renovations when you purchase your home before you move into it.  This type of renovation becomes much more of a hassle as you live in your home and accumulate the goods a household does over time.

There are so many types of flooring available today how do you choose?  This is all personal preference.  Look at what is the most important item to you when looking into this renovation.  Are you worried about function?  Do you need the flooring to last forever?  Are you looking for something comfy to be under foot?  Would you like something more modern?  Are you concerned with resale?  All these things will help you narrow down your choice in flooring materials.

Option With Flooring and Benefits and Drawbacks

Laminate flooring is a great option for families with small children and pets.  It is the same look as hardwood without the expense and upkeep.  You don’t have to worry about the moisture and scuffing that happens with real hardwood.  Laminate is maintenance easy too.  If you sweep and mop regularly you will avoid the dirt lying around to scratch the laminate.  Of course there are consumers who don’t like faux material.  If you are in the market to sell you might choose a different material to appeal to the masses.  It is definitely possible upon inspection to tell that laminate is laminate not hardwood.  This could be a disadvantage for some people.

Hardwood flooring is a very versatile well liked material to use in flooring renovations.  In is incredibly valuable to the resale of your home, easy to repair and can be maintained fairly easy.  It is a material that will stand the test of time.  However, it is expensive to purchase and if you have animals be careful because their nails will scratch the surface. Hardwood floors are also not the best place to sit and get comfortable so make sure if you have wood floors in your living space and small children get ready to purchase a throw rug.

Cork flooring is good for homes that the subfloor is uneven as it is easy to be installed on all types of surfaces.  It is an all natural material and fits within the ethical flooring range.  It holds sound well and is a perfect material to use as an insulator. Disadvantages include that it does require maintenance.  If you don’t seal the cork flooring every five years it can lose its waterproof quality and can also be stained more easily then if treated.  Sharp objects can puncture the seal so that is also something to consider when laying a cork floor.

Carpet flooring is very versatile and has a great number of styles, colors and textures to choose from.  Carpet is easy to install and comes in various price ranges to fit into all budgets and lifestyles.  You do need to keep up on regular maintenance which includes steam cleaning bi-yearly and spot cleaning when necessary.  It is a wonderful flooring option if you have young family members who spend a lot of time playing on the floor.

Vinyl flooring is inexpensive and fairly easy to install.  It does require an even clean surface for installation.  The one thing is that vinyl wears down and loses it sheen quickly.  It is best used in rooms that don’t receive a great deal of traffic or that wear is not necessarily a huge issue such as mudrooms and basements.

Ceramic flooring is great for the easy of cleaning and resilience.  It is very strong but can be cracked if something heavy is dropped on it.  Installation is normally fairly straight forward.  The ceramic tiles can be purchased in various colors and is family friendly.  Ceramic works well in kitchen/dining areas and bathrooms for its ability to repel the moisture that those rooms often attract.

Flooring renovation options are really a personal choice and should be made with your family in mind.  If you have a pool and wet kids running in and out all day carpet and hardwood are most likely not great choices for you.  However if you are a home with older children who are more careful and don’t tend to spill carpet and hardwood are great options that look beautiful and tend to hold for long periods of time under normal use and conditions.

Making the most of your home is the theory in our country right now.  It used to be every five years people could upgrade but now with the hit on the housing community people are staying put and making the most out of their homes.  This includes remodels, home additions, landscaping and everything and anything to make your home into the palace you crave.  Why go on vacations where you live in the lap of luxury and come home to the everyday so-so life.  Create that luxury within your home and continue to enjoy the time you spend in it with your family.

What remodeling investments are trendy right now that will improve the value on your home?  Good question.  Experts say that there are seven main improvements that you can do that will create value without putting yourself in debt that will not be recouped in the long run.

Home Improvements To Consider

• Home Additions: This includes sun rooms, porches, sheds, bathrooms, bedrooms and fun rooms that create family space.  Home additions can impact your home environment tremendously.  Adding on a shed can be an inexpensive fix to a lack of storage and closets inside your home and garage.  It is often hard to find places for yard tools, boat supplies, kids outdoor toys etc… so it all gets crammed into the available space in your home.  Sheds do away with this issue.  You can build them in whatever size space you have so it is perfect for all different types of land settings. Items such as sun rooms and porches emphasize spending time with family so those settings really drive home sales.
• Bathroom Remodels: The best part of vacations is often the spa centers attached to the hotels.  Why not create this everyday in your own home.  Often you can complete a bathroom renovation within a reasonable budget.  Update fixtures, cabinets, storage space and if the money permits the bathing area.  Jets can add something to the bath/shower experience that nothing else can.  Make the remodel a sanctuary where you can retreat to after long days.
• Kitchen Remodels: Although a more expensive remodeling situation, kitchen remodels do tend to give you the biggest return on your investment.  The kitchen is the center of most households.  In the kitchen people gather to talk about the day’s events over a glass of wine and making dinner.  Make remodeling choices that make life easier for you and create a space that is conducive for time together. Upgraded counters and appliances help to create a space of luxury.
• Basement Renovations: Basements are an area that can greatly increase the value of your home.  When considering a basement remodel look into your family’s needs.  Do you need space for a recreational room, a guest room, an office or even a study?  This is the space to use for those needs.  Unlike an addition you are keeping the square footage the same but improving the use of the space.
• Windows: This is a great renovation to reduce heating and cooling cost along with increasing a home’s value.  If you can add windows with blinds between the glass you can will really be increasing energy efficiency and the overall look of your home.
• Siding: Often the outside of a home is neglected. We don’t live looking at it daily so the needs it proposes go unnoticed.  A new face on your home will dramatically change the overall look of your home and add curb appeal.  To a new owner this is the first look they will have of your home and you want the first impression to be favorable to add to the general attitude they have going into your home.
• Roofing: This is one area in home improvements that is expanding like wild fire when it comes to materials you can use.  Traditional shingles are still available however; metal, tiles and slate are becoming popular options.  Actually I drove by a store that sold landscaping supplies and saw that their roof was covered in growing plants.  Roofing is truly diverse these days.

Your home is your sanctuary.  Whatever home improvement jobs that you choose make sure they are upgrades that you are going to enjoy with your family for years to come.  Don’t let the idea that your home will not sell if put on the market detour you from your dream home.  Live in it while you live in it and worry about selling it if and when the time comes.

There are many reasons why people add on to their homes. The biggest benefit to a home addition is obviously the extra space it gives you. Many people forget though that home addition raise the worth of your home as a whole and that builds equity to your home. These are all important matters to take in to account when researching home addition costs. Deciding if a home addition is affordable is often not just adding up the numbers of how much materials cost it is looking at the whole picture to determine if it is right for you.

One thing many people forget to take into account before building a home addition is over valuing their home for the area that is resides. An example of this is found when adding an upper level to a subdivision full of ranch homes or making a two car garage attached to your home when all the homes around you have one detached garage. In these cases you will want to think long and hard about the home addition and decide if you are going to use it enough to make the value up. There is a chance that you will not be able to recoup the home addition costs with the resale value of your house. It is up to you to do a cost verse value analysis.

When you do decide that you are going to forge ahead with a renovation or home addition project there are many different things to think about. One major one is if you are going to do the work yourself or are you going to hire the work out to a contractor. Of course you can mix the two if you are feeling competent about doing the home addition but not so much about the electrical or plumbing those are areas you would then hire out.

Several areas in home additions that I would not tackle on my own include drywall and skylights. I know drywall looks so easy. It is so much more than putting the drywall up, taping it and then applying the “mud”. You need to be able to smooth it out and sand it so that it appears seamless. This is a process that takes skill and time to acquire. It also takes a drywall contractor a day to whip out a project I would still be doing weeks later. I would also not attempt a skylight. There is no way that I am cutting a hole in my roof no matter how simple the directions make it look. It just seems wiser to hire a roofer who has knowledge of how the pieces need to fit together to prevent expensive leaks later on down the road.

Home additions and renovations need to be thoroughly researched before any projects have been started or before money has exchanged hands. Often these projects are costly in time and money so you want to make sure you are thoroughly informed about the project from start to finish. Don’t forget about keeping all the details in the middle accounted for. That is when the money and time seems to add up. Make sure you have also spoke with a realtor to determine if what you have proposed is going to increase the value of your home and by how much to get a true determination on if you are doing a home addition solely for your own use and enjoyment and not for a true increase in value.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” I recently asked my eight year old son. He replied an athlete, specifically a world cup soccer player. We all know that chances of him living this dream are few and far between but hey if that is his aspiration right now I am excited for him. I on the other hand was hoping he said a contractor/builder. My home is in need of some improving so as I see it this would be a win-win situation. He could own a large construction company that would service the needs of moms and dads all over Michigan that just did not have time to do the work themselves.

As a general contractor you are in charge of the organization of all the parties involved in a home renovation project. You not only oversee the individuals working for you but also the product vendors and trade contractors. It is important that you keep open communication with the owner of the home because they are the ones who satisfaction is ultimately needed for the project to be wrapped up and paid for.

It is always important for a contractor to visit the location that needs work done before any project is agreed upon or begun. This allows a decision to be made about the costs associated with the job for the contractor to work out an estimate/quote to be reviewed by the home owner. Not only must the labor being included in the quote but also material estimates and equipment costs. When an estimate has been accepted it is general practice that the contractor and homeowner will meet to go over all documents for the project. A budget will be formulated, the particular conditions for the job will be laid out and any designs will be approved by an architect.

Many times in construction projects it is up to the contractor to pull building permits and to know specific requirements for the county that the work is being done in. It is important as a contractor to maintain a list of specialized subcontractors on file that you have worked with in the past and have been satisfied with their work. Many times you will need to call upon these people as the project moves on. Examples of this may be plumbers, electricians or even landscapers.

It is required that any contractor working in a state be a licensed contractor. Many contractors are also business owners. They may have several projects going on at one time. It is important that they have brought together people on site that are trustworthy and work well together.

The advantages of working for yourself as a contractor are very similar to being your own boss in any industry. You are not obligated to work with any client that you choose not to. You can also choose a variety of different jobs so that you don’t get burned out say with only building home additions. Also, you can evaluate the length of projects and work them around any special scheduling needs. For instance, weather conditions might play a factor depending on where you are licensed. Michigan has a few months where it is possible to work but the conditions will not make it pleasant to be outside.

The disadvantages are vast of being a contractor and owner of a company. For Instance, you are in charge of all of the employees that work for you. That includes their salary, health benefits and insurance. You don’t get paid time off. Actually time off is not really associated with being the owner. You are always on call and responsible for the business functioning. Yes, you hire people who you can trust to help make those decisions when you are not available but it still always falls back to you in the end. The biggest disadvantage is that you still have to pay employees and subcontractors even if the renovator is slow at paying their bill. Of course this can be a mute point if you make sure to have paid points throughout a project. However, in the end as the owner and contractor you are responsible for the completed project and all those involved in it.

None of us really figured out what we wanted to do in life until we were much older and had tried our hands at a few professions. I know that soon my son will stop wanting to be a professional soccer player and move on to something else. I know he will find something he truly loves doing and that he is good at. For my sake I sure hope he ventures into contracting even if for a moment. (Hopefully long enough to add a reading room, a new kitchen and a bathroom spa retreat!)

Picking out flooring for your home is always a bit tricky. There are so many different factors to take into consideration when looking into what is right for your home. It is also important to realize that each room needs to be considered separately when making flooring decisions. It is important that each factor be taken into consideration and ranked by importance then a determination can be made on what flooring is right for your home.

For instance, if you’re budget is the most important consideration than hardwood throughout your home is obviously not really a viable option. The same is true for safety. If you need assistance from a walker to move about your home it is not wise to think about flooring option have a large gradation between them. An example of this is linoleum to shag carpet the threshold would create a sizable difference making it hard to maneuver a walker. It is best if you have special issues to take them into consideration BEFORE the new flooring is in place.

Another thing I like to remind people is to gauge the amount of traffic that will be on any given floor. Bathroom floors and kitchen floors remain the most highly used areas within households. It is important to use materials that can withstand the wear and tear of your household traffic while maintaining the original look and feel. Laminate squares might be okay for a house without a lot of traffic but in a house that maintains a constant flow they the squares will begin to separate overtime.

Special conditions may also exist in certain rooms. For Instance, it is important that kitchen and bathroom flooring are moisture resistant. Getting out of the tub onto a carpeted floor is going to create mold and mildew underneath the carpet surface sooner rather than later. My parents have always had a carpeted kitchen and dining room. It is always in need of a cleaning especially with six grandkids and a grandmother that loves to make cookies with sprinkles.

It is important that the flooring type fit all of the conditions the room and home owners present. Remember that just because one floor works in a certain room for one homeowner it might not be the right product for you. Different households create different situations. It is important to look into your needs before spending money on flooring.

Flooring options are so wide and very in material, style, color, durability and cost. Determining the needs of your family before you install flooring materials will help save you money in the long run. Really looking at your needs might make you realize that it is worthwhile to save up for a more durable, but more expensive option like hardwood. Or it might make you realize that you really need to create unity throughout your home and are ready to do that using a different variety of materials within the same color family. Flooring is one area that can really make or break a home’s feel so make sure you choose something that is consistent with your homes look and feel.

There are many things to consider when adding on to a house. It is a very stressful process if attempted without a plan and a contractor. With any addition there are steps to follow and budgets to be kept to keep adding on to your home a smooth event. No one wants to end up like they do in “The Money Pit” where Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are hopelessly wrapped up in home improvement renovations that their life together falls apart. Any project needs a good start to lead to a stellar finish. The following eight steps will help guide you in the right direction.
1 Dream Big
Think about what you want adding on to your home to accomplish? Are you looking for more dining space, a new outdoor entertaining are such as a porch or deck or are you adding on to your home because of a new addition to your family? Rank the goals that you are looking to achieve and once you see the things that are a priority to you it might become clear that adding on a deck or adding on a porch for outdoor entertaining is more important that junior sharing his room with a new sibling. It is nice to figure this out before the renovations begin.
2 Follow Local Rules
It is important that in adding on to a house that you pull the proper permits for any and all projects that you are doing. The last thing you need is to start and have an outside wall torn off your home and local inspectors that put a halt to your project for improper permits.
3 Be Open To Change
What I mean by be open to change is thinking outside of what is already around you. Just because a sink or tub is in a certain position now does not mean it has to stay there. Often you can make big changes to the layout of a room with just tinkering where the stationary items are placed. Doors and window placement can also be changed which adds a dramatic difference to many home additions.
4 Expand Efficiently
This is a very simple concept. Sometimes we have space that is usable staring at us and we don’t even realize it. We had a closet in our dining room that really was not suitable for use except for storage. We stored the items that were in there in the attic and revamped the space so that we could sufficiently add a hutch without using any of the important dining space.
5 Add Angles To Add Interest
If you are living in a square the outside can be spruced up by adding dimension with angles. Your home does not need to be kept square. If you are looking at adding on a deck add dimension to your home by adding levels and more complex angles and lines.
6 Consistency Is Key
It is important to use materials that are as close as originally used on an addition. If you cannot find siding that matches exactly or find something that compliments the new addition. You don’t want it to look like an add-on. Any addition to your home should enhance your home and blend to the point that it is not obvious anything has been done.
7 Landscape That Makes Sense
Make sure you take into account the outside when adding on to a house. It definitely does not make sense to create a space in which you have to destroy half your yard to put it in place. For instance it does not make sense to add on extra windows if you have established trees blocking the light the windows were supposed to expose.
8 Keep Things In Proportion
This is a big one. Adding on to your home is about making more space however don’t build a 2300 square foot addition to a one car garage without thought of also expanding that. Things need to stay relative to one another in your homes addition.
There is a lot to think about when going into any home improvement project but even more so when adding on to a house. Plan the best you can, be as prepared as possible but hold on because there will be some rough roads along the way of any home renovation. That is my only guarantee.

When you purchase a home you go into it knowing there are things that you will need to change. That happens so that you can make it your own and make it your home. When thinking about remodeling your home there are several things to think about as you venture into these projects. You need to figure out a budget, how far you want to immerse yourself in renovation and the style that you are looking to achieve with your home renovation project.
Bathroom remodeling is growing fast as suppliers are offering spa like fixtures and home owners are looking to create a quiet retreat from the busy world in their very own homes. There are so many levels of remodeling when it comes to bathrooms. First you must decide if you are going to enlarge a bathroom gutting it and basically starting from scratch or are you happy with a coat of paint, new fixtures and some new lights. Of course a lot of this will depend on your budget and willingness to immerse in a complete remodel.
I would suggest creating a list of your wants and needs. Determine how much you are willing to budget for the bathroom remodeling project and exactly what you are looking to have on the outcome of the project.
Start with determining what types of faucets and fixtures you have verses what you would like. Look around the current room and ask yourself some questions. Do you like the current layout? Are the tub, sink and toilet all going to stay or are you interested in replacing them? What about the vanity? Is there enough space for towels or are you interested in adding a linen closet? Do you want the closet inside the current space or do you want to add a space on the outside of the actual bathroom? Other things that you need to ask your self is are you okay with tub surrounds or are you more interested in specialized tiling? All of these things will help determine if your project is capable of being done within your budget or if you need to wait or scale back expectations.
Also look into lighting. So many different options are currently available. Do you like the look of florescent lights or do you want a more natural light. Is there a window in your bathroom to provide natural light and you are looking to enhance the natural light of the room? Recessed lights are also very popular and can be done to also provide heating elements in spaces like stand up showers.
It is fun to determine paint. Paint will help create an environment in your bathroom. If you are looking for a sea/ocean feel verse a spa feel verse a fun kids space. Paint can change the mood without a lot of expense. If your budget is small think about trying to paint to see if that is enough change to create a certain feel for your bathroom setting. This might be a simple solution to a major bathroom renovation until you can afford the more luxurious renovations.
Budget is the number one factor in any remodel but especially in a bathroom remodel. Every dime spent adds up quickly. Often during a renovation we don’t take in to account the minor expenses like caulk or new electrical fixtures. Make sure expenses don’t sneak up on you with thorough planning before you contemplate an all out, full scale bathroom renovation.

Choosing flooring for your home is often one of the most important decisions you will have to make as a home owner. It combines all aspects of your home and you truly want the flooring throughout your home to blend with the style of the home as a whole. One thing that was odd in the house I grew up is that each room had different color and textured carpet. The kitchen flooring was berber, the living room was a frieze/shag and the bedroom carpet was plush. Another thing was odd is that my bedroom had red carpet, the boys had brown, the kitchen was white/blue/gray and the living area was beige. How did any of that tie our home together? I am sure the people who bought our home immediately tore out the flooring and replaced it.
Flooring does depend a lot on personal style. This is a surface that every day you will use. Family and friends will use the surface for walking on, sitting on, accidentally spill their drinks on and play on. It needs to be durable and practical for your family and friends. If you are the hostess of many family gathering is it really wise to have white carpet throughout your home? As you begin the processes of choosing your flooring take several things into consideration. First you must determine a budget, consider the size of the room, what is the usage of the room, do you have kids and pets and how long do you expect the flooring to last?
Kitchen flooring is always a fun area to consider. There are so many personal decisions to make. Several choices exist, linoleum, ceramic tiles, wood, faux wood and carpet. Carpet is not necessarily a popular choice these days. As with a bathroom, the kitchen takes abuse from moisture, spills and an abundance of traffic. If you are looking into living in this home awhile and hoping for high resale value buck up and spend the money on real hard wood. It is durable and long lasting. It can take a beating the aging looks like a natural progression of a home that is lived in. When you start to miss that new floor it is easy to call a local flooring expert out to refinish it bringing the luster right back into the floor. Linoleum is the least expensive option and ceramic tile is a great mid cost product to use that also holds up well. You might have to have the floor grouted again after several years of use but that is a fairly inexpensive project for your local handyman.
In bathroom flooring it is obvious that you need to consider a material that will hold up against daily use and moisture. Linoleum can be used but it is a short term material. Often linoleum will wear and date itself within seven years of installation. Better long term options are ceramic, limestone and marble. Again this is where budget and personal preference come in to play. Color and texture options are plentiful in any of the above mentioned materials.
Areas such as living rooms and bedrooms are areas that personal preference will take over. I have a thing for the comfortable look and feel of carpet. I think that with my children being small that they spend most of their time playing on the floor. Carpet provides the warm, comfy feel I enjoy in a living are. However many people really like wood floors with area rugs. This is a very good option for longevity but will be pricey to install. Wood can always be refinished which makes it the longest lasting option. Area rugs are inexpensive and can be used to add warmth to any room.
As with most home renovations flooring can increase the market of your home. Take this into consideration if this home is just a mere stepping stone. Don’t spend astronomical amounts of money on a floor that you will not enjoy. If it a home that you are looking to spend the rest of your life in consider the upgrades otherwise choose a mid grade option that will tend to be on the neutral side of flooring options. These will the resale value of your home in the long term. Kitchen flooring and bathroom flooring are areas that will change the perception of your home. This is often what makes or breaks a home sale so consider this before doing something radical like adding carpet to your kitchen like my parents did.

Thinking about building an addition? What are you really in for? There are certain things that need to be considered before you are knee deep in renovation on an addition to your home. The dream of an addition sometimes far out ways the reality of it so it is important to really consider all options before diving into any home addition. Whether you are adding on a porch, exploring adding on an entire upstairs level or enhancing you yard with the addition of a shed make sure you are prepared. You can do this by asking yourself a few questions before you start.

First you must ask yourself why you really want to build an addition. An addition is something that is often quite pricey. Do not go into it without really asking yourself why the addition is important to you. I know many people who have invested time and money into building an addition only to realize that they could have done without the extra space. Some people just “need” a shed but find that all they do is store things in it that really should be tossed. A shed should not be a storage area for things that you can do without. Or did you add a porch only to realize you really do not enjoy sitting outside. This is the most important question that needs to be considered with any building addition to your home.

Next if you have decided that an addition is a must start by talking to neighbors, friends and family to start finding a contractor to help with the addition. If you know of someone who has recently had an addition put on, a porch added or a shed built call them up and ask them if they would use their contractor again. It is important to find someone to help in your renovation that is easy to work with so make sure to qualify any contractor before you begin working with anyone.

You need to secure several things in order to start and complete an addition. It is important that you have proper financing and building permits. It is also important to know who you will need to deal with throughout the project. Do you require an electrician, a plumber or are you able to complete your project without having to invite outside contractors to the table? Make sure that you secure enough funding to complete building an addition. If you are halfway through the building addition but all the way through your cash you have a major problem to solve. Ensure this does not happen to you. Make sure you have cash and financing options enough to cover your project.

It is important that you meet with an architect if you are considering a major change to the structural component of your home to allow for an addition. It is important to determine if your structure will be safe for the addition that you are intending.

Then you begin the final stages of building an addition which include beginning the remodel. In order to do this you will need to think about all of the following things:

1) Will you need to put the addition on a slab, a basement or will you have to create a crawlspace for your new space?
2) Begin constructing the outside structure which includes the walls.
3) Add the walls and wrap to prepare for siding or whatever outside material you will be using. It is also the time to install the roof and add shingles.
4) Next call in the insulation and drywall professionals because you are to that point in the addition.
5) Once you are completely framed it is window time.
6) Next comes flooring and painting. At this point you can see the finish.
7) Trim in the windows and doors and your project will be complete. You can move in the finishing touches of furniture and knick knacks and sit back and enjoy the finished project.