Need Home Addition Ideas? Look Here.

The world economy is in recession, and the market for real estate is not exactly ripe for the picking at this time. People tend to hold on to hard-earned money. But contrary to popular belief, spending money actually helps revitalize the economy in so many ways. You probably can’t justify buying a new home just right now. But maybe you have a growing family. Kids are growing. Relatives are bunking in. Or perhaps you need to maximize the space for utility, like a new garage, garden, kitchen, or even an entire new floor.

How about working on additions to your current home? That could be a good alternative. Here are some places where you can look for home addition ideas.

The House Designers

The House Designer is a resource for prospective homeowners interested in buying a pre-laid out floor and architectural plans ready for construction and engineering use. The site also features layouts for possible home additions. These include extensions, sun porches, front porches, or even additions of entire rooms. One of the more complicated addition plans is adding a second floor to a single-storey house.

Apart from home additions, The House Designers also features a handful of other house plans organized by architectural style. The site also has various plans well-suited to different lot and land types, such as narrow lot, outdoor living, split level and the like.

Simply Additions

While Simply Additions is actually a contractor that offers home addition services, the website also provides free articles on do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. These include adding a second floor, kitchen extensions and makeovers, extending garage space, adding a home theatre, and even waterproofing your basement. The site highlights the importance of contracting to home addition professionals, though, but if you feel you can work on simple additions, then this would be a good resource.

Home Addition Plus

Home Additions Plus provides a variety of resources for home addition planning, budgeting and execution. One of the highlights of the site is its extensive collection of DIY home addition articles, often step-by-step instructions, materials needed, and other tips and advice. The site also features tips on how to choose a contractor, and even includes freely downloadable bid forms for use when you are choosing from among several prospective contractors.

Let’s Renovate

Let’s Renovate provides step by step advice on home addition and remodelling, including advice on wiring, plumbing, repair, and other things that one would have to consider when extending or renovating. The site also adds value by giving advice on finding contractors, and even assistance in securing financing for a home addition. Let’s Renovate also has a directory of floor plans that you can purchase online for use in your home addition project.

All of the above-cited websites provide tips and guides in extending or adding to your home. However, some also advice on renovations, minor fixes and even decoration, which might be less expensive than a full-blown addition, but could help you with your needed new functionality or space.