Planning a cost-effective addition for your home – Camrose Canadian

As you may already know, we have the honour of completing the renovation and addition for the Camrose Womens Shelter Society, and were grateful to be part of this project. A key consideration in this project was to help keep the construction costs for the society as manageable as possible. Our goal was to come up with a plan to help them achieve this.

The addition were doing for the society isnt unlike an addition wed do for a home. There is a general formula to follow to ensure its being done properly and integrated into your current space. Here are the key elements to consider when planning an extension or addition that may help you save on some construction costs.

Foundation

The ability to use the existing structure or foundation of the home makes a significant difference on a budget. If the structure is sound and can be used, it can save money. The key is to ensure an engineer is involved to assess the foundation and ensure it is safe. This is especially important when adding a second story or removing structural walls to open up different areas of the home.

Timing

Most people would think that completing a renovation during the winter period is a mistake, but we saw it as a great opportunity to save money for the Society. In the case with the Womens Shelter, dealing with the snow and cold was better than dealing with the rain because our goal was to save the existing main floor walls and floor.

In many additions, the existing walls and floor are typically demolished, however, we really wanted to save on costs for the society and so we saved the floor and used the existing drywall.

Consistency is key

When youre building on to an existing structure, its important to unify the materials as much as possible so you dont have a stark contrast between the original and new structures. This means keeping things unified on the interior as well as the exterior as much as possible. Paint colours, flooring, fixtures, siding, stucco, windows all need to be considered when creating your new space. Sourcing materials to match the original structure can become a challenge, especially when dealing with materials that may be discontinued. Part of what a great contractor will do is help you with this consistency in materials or help source the right materials that will match up as closely as possible to the existing structure. In the case of the Womens Shelter, we want to unify the new spaces as much as possible by matching materials rather than having to do a full exterior renovation. Ultimately this saves money while ensuring your addition looks as seamless as possible.

Temperature control

Adding new spaces to an existing structure also means having to account for proper heating of the new space. Using the Womens Shelter as an example, we added 474 square feet to the second storey, which means we added 50 per cent more space to heat. As a result, we needed to add a new furnace in order to heat the space. There can be more complex issues that arise in planning temperature control out in your new space, and how to properly accomplish this from a mechanical standpoint, so its always a good idea to seek out professional help to ensure its being done properly.

The Camrose Womens Shelter Society is a unique renovation, but not a far stretch to what can be completed in your own home. Planning properly and taking advantage of the existing structure and materials can have significant value and save on costs. Hiring a professional to help you chart a course for your addition is a smart move, and can decrease your overall costs if planned and done properly.

Check out some more great ideas at http://www.alairhomes.ca/camrose/blog.

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Planning a cost-effective addition for your home - Camrose Canadian