7 Ways to Ensure a Home Addition Stands the Test of Time
A home addition is exciting, and individuals expect the alterations to last throughout the years. When professionals conduct projects efficiently, they can save homeowners money and time. Additionally, they can meet the original expectations, enhancing consumer satisfaction.
There are seven specific ways construction workers can ensure the longevity of a home addition. Before examining the methods, we must assess the longevity challenges within home construction projects.
Home Longevity Challenges
Adding to a home may be costly, and residents want to make the most of their investments. Unfortunately, poor construction practices can cause features to degrade over time, resulting in profit loss and dissatisfaction. Various challenges within additions may produce adverse effects over the years.
Design trends change multiple times throughout a decade. When individuals add to their houses based on a popular style, they can feel dissatisfaction when new trends arise. Updating a home’s structure based on a popular design can decrease its longevity.
Another challenge in the construction sector is developing storm-resistant construction projects. Hurricane Ida recently swept through Louisiana, damaging various coastal properties. If you live in a hurricane-prone region, it is essential to ensure the longevity of your home’s addition.
Poor material qualities may additionally limit a home’s stability over time. Some construction companies attempt to cut costs by using less expensive, non-sturdy materials, causing structural faults. When professionals invest in products without warranties, they additionally decrease the longevity of an addition.
Setting an unrealistic budget also creates challenges within the construction process. If individuals run out of money during a home addition project, it can limit a professional’s ability to finish the job. Projects that limit indoor space also create design frustration over time.
Using inadequate safety precautions may increase the risk of injury on a home construction site. Workers may sue a building company if they become hurt, causing financial strain and inability to continue the project.
Professionals can follow seven home addition longevity practices, decreasing adverse effects over time.
1. Avoid Trendy Designs
Construction workers can develop a timeless home addition by practicing minimalism and steering away from fleeting trends. Though bright colors are in right now, individuals may limit their permanence in a house. Individuals may feel tempted to add a mosaic of colorful tiles as a kitchen backsplash, altering the design’s longevity.
Professionals have determined that subway tile is the backsplash material that best stands the test of time. It is also helpful to use natural colors, creating a compatible base for decorations. When installing cabinets, individuals should remember their personal sense of flair can derive from interchangeable parts.
If you are designing a bathroom and hope to decorate with blue colors, you may add blue knobs to your vanity instead of staining it a trend-inspired color. The resilience of a project’s design also increases its appeal to investors.
2. Add Storm-Resistant Features
Hurricane Katrina destroyed nearly 800,000 homes, leaving individuals displaced for years. When you renovate your property, it is crucial to add storm-resistant features, especially on coastal houses. Professionals can install windows able to endure 120 mile-per-hour (MPH) winds.
They may also add fiber cement siding and other tough materials to increase a home’s resistance to storm impacts. The material is more durable than wood, aluminum, or vinyl siding. You can additionally install efficient gutter systems, keeping rainwater from pooling on your roof and causing leaks.
It is essential to add water-resistant features when renovating your roof. If you install a new rooftop and pooling occurs, it can compromise the structure’s integrity over time.
3. Use High-Quality Materials
When examining different homes on the market, one may question why historical properties keep their aesthetic while properties from the ‘70s and ‘80s deteriorate. Regular maintenance is a critical factor, along with high-quality material use. Construction professionals can learn from historic buildings, using similar building techniques to enhance a project’s longevity.
Stone is a long-lasting construction material, lasting through storms and environmental changes. If you are adding an outdoor deck to your home, you may use bricks, granite, and other natural materials, increasing its stability throughout the years. Iron and steel also enhance an addition’s longevity.
The metal materials efficiently bear weight, helping individuals build upwards. Stainless steel appliances also last longer and remain in style over decades.
4. Avoid Using Materials Without Manufacturer Warranties
Professionals can also ensure the longevity of a home addition project by utilizing warrantied materials. Many material manufacturing companies place warranties on their goods, meaning professionals should thoroughly examine a warranty before investing in a product. Some companies limit their coverage to the original purchaser, first homeowner, or first transferee.
Typically, material warranties cover structural defects, aesthetic flaws, and other satisfaction limitations. The coverage can help professionals repair project deficiencies for free, increasing their customer appeal. It also ensures the quick replacement of compromised parts, increasing an addition’s stability throughout the years.
5. Determine a Realistic Budget for Home Addition
Additions are costly, and establishing a realistic budget is essential to the project’s long-term effectiveness. Renovations and other home addition projects run $10-$60 per square foot on average. Kitchens and bathrooms are the most expensive rooms to redo.
Bedrooms and dens are the most cost-effective rooms to renovate. Evaluating the average construction prices and setting a reasonable budget can help professionals complete the job efficiently. When builders have enough money to conduct a home addition, they can use long-lasting materials and pay attention to detail, increasing the project’s longevity.
6. Design Home Additions Maximizing Space
Builders may also construct a long-lasting addition by maximizing indoor space. Instead of putting up walls and blocking alternate entrances, individuals can expand their space, using furniture as barriers. When you create openness in a home, it expands its design and function possibilities.
7. Take Effective Safety Precautions
Construction companies can additionally ensure the longevity of a remodeling project by taking adequate safety precautions. When they properly train their team, they reduce on-site injuries and maximize employee numbers. Professionals can take precautions by investing in the right personal protective equipment (PPE).
Hardhats, steel toe boots, gloves, and goggles all prevent injury on the job. Individuals should also remain aware of fall risks on ladders and rooftops. Enhancing remodeling safety can protect workers and homeowners, increasing the accuracy of building processes.
Evaluating Local Interferences
When professionals and homeowners begin working together on a remodeling project, they should start by evaluating local interferences. The regional environment can affect the efficiency and longevity of a structure and its materials. In high-precipitation regions, wood is a less effective building material because it is prone to rotting.
Additionally, if individuals live on the coast, they may install water-resistant home features in case of storm surges. When you work with rather than against your environment, you can ensure the stability of your home addition over time.
Building Smart Is Building to Last
When considering the details of a home remodel, start with this list if you want results that last. Thinking through the implications of various functionality and design features will ensure you get the structure design that works as well years from now as it does today.
In case you have any architectural, structure, and MEP design needs, feel free to contact us.
Author’s Bio:
Rose is the managing editor of Renovated. She’s most interested in sharing home projects and inspiration for the most novice of DIY-ers, values she developed growing up in a family of contractors.