Adding On Instead of Moving
You like your street, your neighbors and your school district. You just need more house. For a lot of families, that makes an addition worth a serious look before a For Sale sign goes up.
Start with the problem, not the floor plan
“We need a bigger kitchen” and “we need a place for my mother to live” lead to very different projects. Write down what isn’t working in the house today. That list is where your vision starts. We combine it with our expertise to create something that’s truly “you.”
Decide these things early
Up or out. Building out needs yard space and has to respect property line setbacks. Building up keeps your yard but involves the existing structure and roof.
How it connects. The best additions don’t look added on. Rooflines, siding, windows and floor heights should match the original house.
What else it touches. New square footage can affect heating and cooling, electrical capacity and plumbing. It’s cheaper to plan for that than to discover it.
Permits. Additions need permits and inspections, and requirements vary by township and city. Your contractor should handle this with you.
Living through it
Most of the loud, dusty work happens outside the existing house until the new space is closed in. Ask how the crew will protect the rest of your home and when the wall between old and new comes down.
One contractor for the whole job helps
An addition involves foundation, framing, roofing, siding and interior finish. Blue Line does all of that in-house or with craftsmen we’ve carefully vetted, including the roofing and siding, so the new part of the house is finished to match the old.
No job is too big or small. We’ve been building additions and making houses into homes across Southwestern Michigan since 2006, serving Kalamazoo, Van Buren, Allegan and Calhoun Counties. See the Bel Shore project in Schoolcraft on our Projects page for a recent example, or call (269) 329-2920 to talk through your idea.