Home Improvement Blog

Create More Space with a Second Floor Addition to Your Ranch Style House

April 28, 20150

Make your ranch home bigger with a second floor addition.

A second floor addition makes your ranch home bigger.

Ranch style homes are extremely popular and offer a number of advantages over two-story homes. However, when you’re thinking about your ranch style house plans in Dover and the surrounding areas, you should consider a second floor addition to create more living space in your home. This allows you to remain in your existing home, while increasing the space you have and creating an entirely new layout you can enjoy.

Consult with a Professional

Before you finalize your custom built home plans in Dover, it’s important to consult with a professional who can let you know if a second floor is a feasible option for your existing structure. Some homes don’t have a foundation capable of handling the weight of a second story. An experienced contractor will be able to evaluate your home and consider all the elements necessary to help you decide if a two-story home is the right choice for you.

Don’t Forget about the Stairs

One element many homeowners don’t think about when considering a second floor addition is the staircase. Ranch style homes don’t have a designated area for a staircase, which means you’ll need to give up some space on your main floor. For instance, a hall closet may need to be removed to make room for access to your second floor. Your contractor can help you find the ideal location without disturbing too much of your current layout.

Create a second floor with ranch style home plans.

Ranch style home plans can create a second floor.

You May Need to Upgrade

When you purchased your heating and air conditioning system, for instance, you probably bought one that exactly accommodated a ranch style home of your size. Adding an entire second floor will increase the demand on your unit, either overworking your current system or forcing you to upgrade to a new one. Your contractor can help you pick an HVAC unit that will provide the perfect amount of heating and cooling for your new home’s size.

Find Another Place to Stay

Unfortunately, second story ranch style home plans in Dover will require the removal of your roof, leaving the interior of your home relatively unprotected. This means you will most likely need to move out of your home for the duration of the project, at least until the exterior aspects of the structure are complete. While you may be able to keep some items inside your home during construction, anything valuable or breakable should be removed and placed in storage to prevent accidents or theft.

Ranch style homes are ideal for many situations, but they don’t always offer a lot of extra space. If you find you need more room for your family, a second floor addition can be the ideal option. Creating custom built home plans in Dover will allow you to maximize the use of your property by building up instead of out.

If you’re interested in creating ranch style house plans in Dover or the surrounding areas to build a second story, contact us. Our experienced Massachusetts contractors can help you add more space to your existing home.

Add Value, Space, Light and Luxury by Designing Your Own Home

April 23, 20150

Add light when you design your own home.

Design your own home to add light to your home.

The ability to design your own home offers a large number of advantages over settling for an existing build. For homeowners who take this important step, creating custom built home plans in Duxbury can add value, space, light and a feeling of luxury to any home. Whether you are building from the bottom up or are renovating an existing home, working with experienced contractors will ensure you maximize the benefits.

Ensure You Have Enough Space

First and foremost, many people choose to create their own home addition floor plans in Duxbury and the surrounding areas to make sure they have enough space for their family. Whether you are happy with the size of your family or you still plan to add to it, it’s important to make sure you have a sufficient number of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as ample storage space so no one feels cramped. When you design your own home, all of these elements are up to you to determine.

Add Value to Your Home

When the housing market crashed, many people lost a significant portion of the value of their home. While the market has improved in recent years, a custom home addition can be another way to increase the value of your home and help recoup some of your losses. This is especially true if you are interested in selling in the near future. If you don’t want to move, custom built home plans in Duxbury can be more cost-effective than relocating to a larger home.

Add more space with custom built home plans.

Create a Feeling of Luxury

You are the king or queen of your castle and you deserve to feel like it. This is one of the biggest reasons individuals choose to add on to their existing home. For instance, perhaps your master bedroom isn’t much larger than the other bedrooms in your home. Creating custom addition plans will allow you to expand your bedroom into a master suite, complete with a walk-in closet and private bathroom. This can lend your home a more luxurious feel.

Let the Light Shine In

Natural light can provide a number of benefits, including lower utility bills. Many home addition floor plans in Duxbury include skylights to help you maximize the amount of sunlight that enters your home and help heat it in the winter months. The addition of skylights brightens your home naturally and gives the appearance of larger rooms.

If you thought designing your own home was just a pipe dream, think again. Custom built home plans in Duxbury can be an excellent way to increase the value of your home, ensure you have enough space, add a touch of luxury and provide natural sunlight. With the help of experienced contractors, you can transform the look of your home instead of shopping for a new one.

If you’re looking for experienced contractors in Massachusetts, contact us. We can help you create custom addition plans build the home you’ve always wanted.

Ready to Renovate? How to Get Loans for a Home Addition

April 21, 20150

Home addition floor plans require funding.

Learn how to fund your home addition floor plans.

You’re ready to design your own home in Hingham, MA, but you don’t have the funds available to complete the project without financial assistance. Many homeowners aren’t in a financial position to pay for home remodeling projects on their own. This is why it’s important to know how to get a loan to make your home addition floor plans a reality.

Consider the Loan Type

Finding the right kind of loan for your custom built home plans in Hingham is extremely important. For most homeowners, there are two main options from which to choose:

Home Equity Loans – When you have equity in your home, which refers to the difference in the value of your home versus what you still owe on the mortgage, you can take a loan against that amount. However, most lenders prefer for homeowners to leave at least 15 percent of their equity unused.
Home Improvement Loans – Similar to personal loans, these loans require specified collateral in exchange for lending the money. This is often the only option for homeowners who don’t have equity in their homes. However, this type of loan often has a higher interest rate. You may also be approved for less than what you need.

Carry out custom built home plans with a loan.

You need to get a loan to carry custom built home plans.

Don’t Forget to Shop Around

Keep in mind you don’t have to get a loan through the same company as your mortgage. If you’re working on home addition floor plans, it’s often best to shop around and look for a lender who will give you the best rate for your loan. Your mortgage lender should be one of those companies, but you shouldn’t assume they will give you the best rate simply due to your history.

Get Approval First

While you may think you have good credit, you might not be approved for a loan as easily as you expect. For this reason, it’s important to get approved for your loan before you take the next steps with your contractor. When you design your own home in Hingham, MA, your contractor needs to know you have the funds to pay for the project before they can get started.

What to Watch For

Like all other financial loans, there are certain things you should look out for to prevent complications. For instance, if you’re planning on selling your home in a few years and your remodeling projects are designed to increase the value of your home, having a loan may reduce the profit you make from the sale. A home improvement loan can also make it more difficult to refinance if you want to lower your interest rate.

Getting a loan to cover the completion of custom built home plans in Hingham is often an important element. It’s crucial to understand the different types of loans for which you may be eligible, as well as how to obtain one so you can move forward with your plans. As long as you exercise caution in borrowing money, just as you would in any other situation, you will get the beautiful home you want without putting yourself in financial jeopardy.

If you’re looking for a contractor to handle your home addition floor plans, contact us. Our Massachusetts contractors can help you build the home you’ve always imagined.

Two-Toned Cabinets Are the Latest Trend in Kitchen Color and Design

April 16, 20150

Create custom built home plans for a beautiful kitchen.

Custom built home plans allow you to create the kitchen of your dreams.

While many kitchens often feature one color for every cabinet, one of the latest trends in kitchen remodeling is two-toned cabinets. When you design your own home in Needham, you will have a large number of decisions to make, including what you want your kitchen cabinets to look like. As you browse through home additions before and after pictures of kitchens, you will get a feel for what will look best with your specific kitchen plans.

What Order?

If you want to use both colors equally, you’ll need to decide which color goes on top and which will work best for your lower cabinets. While there are no set rules for two-toned cabinets, your best option is to place the lighter color on your upper cabinets and the darker shade closer to the floor. This will naturally create a lighter look for your kitchen and help it seem bigger too. It also naturally works to draw the eye around the kitchen.

Second Color as an Accent

If you aren’t bold enough to use two colors as primary tones on your cabinets, you can use the second color as an accent piece instead. When creating your custom built home plans in Needham, you can express your desire to paint your cabinets one primary color and then use accents in a second shade. For instance, you may prefer a natural wood color for your cabinets but also want to add a touch of color to the room. Choosing an accent color to create a two-toned look will help bring the stationary elements of your kitchen together with your décor items.

Create a beautiful kitchen when you design your own home.

Design your own home for a beautiful kitchen.

An Island Serves as Your Second Color

If your custom built home plans in Needham include an island in your kitchen, this is the ideal opportunity to choose a different color. The cabinets around your kitchen can be painted in a darker shade, while the island can be painted in a complementary lighter color, creating the illusion of more space and placing focus on the island. It will also balance your kitchen so you can enjoy a beautiful room that appeals to all of your senses.

Two-toned kitchen cabinets are a popular trend with home additions before and after pictures. If you want to design your own home in Needham, you’ll likely have a lot of choices to make. With your kitchen cabinets, you aren’t limited to painting them just one color. Instead, you can choose two complementary colors to create a beautiful kitchen you will enjoy spending time in.

If you’re looking for help with custom built home plans in Needham, contact us. Our Massachusetts general contractors can help you create the home of your dreams.

Should You Build a Second Floor Addition or Build Out?

April 14, 20150

Give your child space with a second floor addition.

A second floor addition is a great way to add more space.

When you buy your first home, you may not be thinking about making sure you have enough space once your family begins to grow. This can leave you needing more space when you have your first child or once you have added a few children to the family. Creating Newton home addition floor plans will help you determine if it’s best to expand your home outward or add a second floor addition.

Building Out

In order to build out with your custom built home plans in Newton, you need to make sure you have enough space on your lot. You may need to work with your municipality to ensure you won’t be building too close to the lot lines. Once you are approved for the project, you will be able to expand the size of your home by extending the foundation and building up new walls.

There are many benefits to building out with your Newton home addition floor plans. For instance, adding onto the existing floor will create less disruption to your existing living space. It is also an option in more situations because you don’t have to make sure the existing foundation can support the addition. The new area will sit on its own foundation. In some cases, small additions won’t need a foundation at all.

Add more space to your home with home addition floor plans.

Home addition floor plans create additional space.

Building Up

If you don’t have the space to build out or you prefer a second floor addition, building up may be your best option. The first step is to make sure your foundation and existing structure is capable of handling the added weight of another floor. In some cases, an inadequate foundation can be altered to provide the necessary support.

One of the greatest values of adding a second story to your home is you won’t lose any yard space and can often add a much larger amount of room to your house than with a first floor addition. In some cases, you may wish to build over a garage or sunroom where living space doesn’t currently exist. Your building contractor will help you determine whether a second story addition is the right choice for your home.

When your family grows, you may find you no longer have the amount of space you need to keep everyone happy. While moving to a larger home is always an option, there are a lot of good reasons to stay where you are. This makes it important to decide whether a home addition is the right choice and if so, which type is ideal. As you create custom built home plans in Newton, you will need to decide whether you should build along the ground floor or create a second floor addition.

If you’re considering Newton home addition floor plans to expand the amount of space in your home, contact us. Our Massachusetts contractors can offer the assistance you need to make the right decision.