Master Bedroom Additions
Expand your Home’s Living Space with a Master
Bedroom Addition
By: Mark J. Donovan
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Master bedroom additions can be
similar to building a small home. However, if your family is growing such that
your home’s bedroom situation is cramped then a master bedroom addition, or even
just a child's bedroom addition maybe the right solution for you. Selling your existing home
and buying a larger one is typically more expensive than adding on a master bedroom
addition. Plus, building a master bedroom addition allows you the opportunity to
develop your own custom master bedroom plans, with a master bathroom suite and walk-in
closets if you so choose.
Master bedroom additions can vary in
complexity depending upon your specific home addition requirements. |
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However, as with any home
addition, it is similar to building a new home and as a result a great deal
of upfront planning is required prior to breaking ground.
Master bedroom additions can be as
simple as a room addition with a closet, or as complex as a mother-in-law
suite or master bedroom suite. Master bedroom additions can also double as office
and den space or even as a recreation room. The very first home addition
that I was involved with was way back in the 1970’s and consisted of a large
master bedroom addition that attached to the back of our ranch home. |
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The master bedroom addition was
installed on a concrete slab and tied into the back corner of the existing home
to create an L-shaped ranch. Though we did not put in a master bathroom suite I
remember installing a large walk in closet with his and her door entrances and
cedar paneling. At the time it was a pretty fancy master bedroom addition,
however things have changed over the past few decades. Today’s homebuyers
typically like to see a master bedroom addition with a large master bathroom suite that
has at least a whirlpool spa tub, and preferably a separate custom ceramic tile
shower stall.
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If your master bedroom addition plans do not
include a new bathroom then a significant amount of costs savings can be
achieved. A master bedroom bathroom suite or mother-in-law suite not only
necessitates the need for a larger bedroom addition, but also the need for
plumbing and plumbing fixtures. Plumbing contractors are not cheap, and plumbing
features, such as spa tubs, custom showers, toilets and bathroom vanities can
dramatically impact the cost of a master bedroom addition project.
Prior to kicking off your master bedroom
addition project, make a few sketches of your proposed master bedroom addition
and take a few pictures of the outside of the home where you want to build the
bedroom addition onto the home. Also use some stakes and string to identify the
corner boundaries of the master bedroom addition.
Review your Home’s Property Plot
Plans
As part of the master bedroom addition
planning phase, make sure you review your home’s property plot plans. It is
important to review them to fully understand any types of impediments that could
impact your master bedroom addition plans. In particular review your home’s
property plot plans to look for the following key items:
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Well Location
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Underground utilities
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Drainage easements
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Property setback requirements
(Sometimes they are on the plot plan, and other times you may need to see your
town building inspecting or zoning board).
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Septic Tank and Leach Field
Anyone of these items could impact
your master bedroom addition plans and may need to be addressed, or your master bedroom plans
altered, to obtain a building permit. If you do see potential problems when
reviewing the property plot plan and have questions, contact your local building
inspector or zoning board. They can help provide you with answers and guidance
on how to move forward with your bedroom addition plans.
Obtaining
Financing for your Master Bedroom Addition or Suite
Determining the operating budget for
your master bedroom addition budget is critical as it will dictate the size of your
master bedroom addition and the materials and features that will be integrated into it.
When developing your budget always include an additional 5-10% for contingencies
such as material cost overruns and higher labor costs than originally planned.
For most folks, financing will be
required for at least a portion of the master bedroom addition project. Thus a trip to
the local bank is usually necessary. There are a number of loan options you can
consider including obtaining a home equity loan, or a new and larger mortgage
altogether. What is the correct choice depends upon your personal situation, so
there is no one right answer for all situations.
Designing a Master
Bedroom Addition
When designing and developing your
master bedroom addition plans, you may need to enlist the services of an architect to
develop a formal set of house addition blueprints. Though a floor plan with
dimensional information is helpful, it is typically insufficient for pulling
building permits. Cross-sectional construction views are also required. In
addition, tying a master bedroom addition into an existing home from a design
perspective can be complicated. Consequently, unless you have the skills to do
this on your own, you will have to hire an architect.
After completing all of these tasks
you are now in a position to contact home addition contractors for bidding on
your bedroom addition.
Hiring a Bedroom Addition
Contractor
Once you have a solid set of master
bedroom addition plans in place you can then begin the process of finding a
general contractor and/or subcontractors for the project. Hiring the right contractor and/or subcontractors is a critical phase of the
master bedroom addition project. Who you hire as your home addition contractor could
make or break your master bedroom addition plans, so it is important to fully evaluate
each contractor’s bid sheet and check their references.
One excellent way to locate a
qualified home addition contractor is to use a national home building contractor
referral company. They have a large database of
pre-screened and qualified
home addition contractors in their system that are located all around the country. In
addition, their services are free to the homeowner. You simply fill out a free
online form for your specific master bedroom suite addition requirements and
they forward your information on to 3 or 4 home addition contractors in your
area. The contractors will then contact you to set up a time to meet with you
and review your master bedroom addition plans.
Getting Master Bedroom Addition Price
Quotes
When obtaining master bedroom addition price
quotes it is important to make sure that they provide you with a complete
master bedroom addition cost breakdown sheet for every phase of the project. The more
detail in the bedroom addition cost breakdown sheet, or bid sheet, the more
likely the proposal will be accurate and indicative of the true cost of your
bedroom addition.
To help in obtaining accurate and
consistent contractor quotes, see my
Room Addition Bid Sheet.
The Room Addition Bid Sheet provides a request for quote section that you can
provide to prospective home addition contractors. It also includes a
comprehensive room addition cost breakdown list, in Microsoft Excel format,
that allows the contractor to include his projected bedroom addition costs for
every phase of the project.
When interviewing potential home
addition contractors make sure to check their references. I typically like to
check 3 to 4 references, a couple associated with recent projects and a couple
associated with projects that were completed 3 to 5 years ago. This way I get a
good understanding of their current work habits, as well as a sense of their
quality of craftsmanship.
Usually a good litmus test for
evaluating a home addition building contractor is to see how long their
reference list is. The longer the reference list the home addition contractor
provides to you, the higher the likelihood that he has a solid reputation. A
long reference list also helps to get a feel for how long he has been in
business and his level of pride in his work.
Finally, it is important to remember
that the cost per square foot for a master bedroom addition is typically higher
than building a new home altogether. The reason for this is that a master bedroom
addition requires additional work and time to tie it into the existing home. In
addition, a new home construction project offers economies of scale. With a
master bedroom addition you may be adding only a few hundred square feet of new living
space, whereas with a new home construction project you may be building 2,000 to
4,000 square feet of living space.
So with proper planning and upfront
conversations with banks, architects and building inspectors your chances of a
successful master bedroom addition project are improved. Just remember, however,
that with any home addition project your family will be tested. No major home
remodeling project is headache free and there will always be the occasional
setback, regardless of the upfront planning. However, with the upfront planning
outlined above your ability to minimize the setbacks and to power through the
occasional difficulties during your master bedroom addition project will be greatly improved.
For more help on building a room addition, see HomeAdditionPlus.com's
Room
Addition Bid Sheet.
The
Room Addition Bid Sheet
provides you with the knowledge and information on how to plan a room addition
project, and what to look for when hiring contractors. It
also includes a detailed cost breakdown table and a spreadsheet for estimating
your own new master bedroom addition building costs.
How to Finance your Master Bedroom
Addition Project -
can help provide funds for your new home improvement project if financing is
required.
Related Home Addition Building Articles
Additional Home Floor Plans and Home Addition Resources from Amazon.com
Free Master Bedroom Addition
Price Quotes with No Obligation!
Fill out our 3-5 minute quick and easy form, and receive a free price quote
on a room addition from one of our prescreened and licensed home addition
contractors. This process is free and there is no obligation to continue once
you receive your master bedroom addition estimate.
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