There are many reasons why people build additions to their home.  Here at T.A. Todd Construction Inc, we hear all of them. “We need more storage.” “We want covered parking.” “We play music, but everyone else in the house is tired of hearing it.”

Something that is fairly popular in the austin area is adding a detached building.  It may act as a 2nd garage, a live-in unit, or even both.  Whatever the reason for the addition, there are a few considerations.  Do you have enough space(land) to do the addition, are you going to be within all of the city’s requirements (permits, setbacks, building regulations), and finally what does the addition need to.

I would like to highlight an addition that we completed in 2008 in Georgetown Texas.  This addition needed to be 4 things.

1) A room to play music.  This means we did some addition insulation and soundproofing
2) A 2 car carport. Adding a roof over the slab is a great way to add value without breaking the bank
3) Look like the house. This is a common request in remodeling.  ”We want this to look like it was suppose to be here”
4) Be able to expand to a 1/1 for a future in-law. Adding future pluming and electrical, beefing up some of the framing, switch locations, and other items we all thought off before construction.

Do you have a remodeling project in Austin Texas or the surrounding areas?

Call us 512.930.5188

Twitter @RemodelAustin

Facebook Page

Email me at ryan@tatoddconstruction.com

Not only can investing in a remodel make your home more comfortable and useful, reclaiming space generally returns the most value to your home.

Take a look at these numbers, specific to the West South Central Region*;
Project Type “A”
$41,389.00 (AVG. JOB COST)
$40,448.00 (AVG. RESALE VALUE)
97.7% (AVG. COST RECOUPED)

Project Type “B”
$52,931.00 (AVG. JOB COST)
$49,010.00 (AVG. RESALE VALUE)
92.6% (AVG. COST RECOUPED)

Adding a 2nd floor within a room is
great way to reclaim space.

Project A is what you can expect when you convert attic space to livable space, and Project B is what you can expect when you convert a basement to livable space.  Now, I know what you are saying.  Attics in Texas must be a nightmare to keep cool, and when was the last time I saw a basement in Central Texas?  HELLO, limestone.  I understand that, but that is not the purpose this exercise.  I want to show you that adding and re-capturing livable space within your existing footprint is the best way to add value to your home.   Here are three remodeling projects in the Austin Texas area we have completed in the last year.

Project 1. Georgetown Texas Remodel.  Converting a game room to a study.  As your children get older, a game room serves less purpose.  Remodeling this room to a space the family could use to study, house the computer, and have additional storage was the purpose here.  We added a 2nd floor over half the room that features  custom bookshelves.  The downstairs has a computer station, room for a table, and plenty of custom cabinets and storage.

The second project completed involved remodeling wasted space in a garage.  The owners came to us with a vision of adding a guest suite to the end of the house.  They had a 3 car garage, but also had a raised slab that was doing nothing but collecting boxes and storage “crap.”  

There were numerous feasibility ”hurdles” to get through before the project even started.  How to heat and cool the space, where to tie into the plumbing for the new bathroom, matching discontinued windows, properly insulating, and most importantly, making the room tie seamlessly to the rest of the house.  The project turned out wonderful.  

The last example of taking back “that” room involved a hybrid project.  Half room addition, half conversion.  I call it a hybrid project because we didn’t have to pour a slab, but we did change the exterior walls of the house.  The project took back an unused screen porch an added additional space to the children’s game room and the kitchen.  

I know that sounds like a strange combination, but giving back the family that space has made all of the difference.  This project was not without difficulties.  The wall between the gameroom and the porch was a load bearing wall, which required a load transfer into the attic.

So what is the return on investment on projects such as these?  We can start with the added quality of life value.  It is near impossible to quantify what this is worth, because it means different things to different homes.   I would expect all of these projects to return around the 90% mark.  They were all completed in good taste and added additional living space within the foot print.

Do you have a remodeling project in Austin Texas or the surrounding areas?

Call us 512.930.5188

Twitter @RemodelAustin

Facebook Page

Email me at ryan@tatoddconstruction.com

*These numbers are based on the 2009-2010 Remodeling Cost vs. Value report issued by HanleyWood.  This is the 23rd year this report has been generated.  If you are interest in Austin specific numbers, please visit their website at www.costvsvalue.com where you can download the Austin pdf.

New Construction in Georgetown Texas
Outdoor living area in Georgetown Texas
Addition in Georgetown Texas
Remodel in Georgetown Texas

This is one of our better projects in our portfolio, it incorporated three phases ( four if you count landscaping) of a residential project.

First, we built an addition to enclose the area between the house and detached garage.  This became a “great room” with a wetbar, half-bath, home office, and a sitting/dining area.

It opens to the large patio which features additional seating under a nice pergola.  This attaches to a large flagstone patio leading to the new outdoor living/guest house.

The outdoor living features a large fireplace, wetbar, and grilling station.  The outdoor living area attaches to an 1800 square foot guest house.  The guest house is 1 BR/1 BA with a full kitchen, living area, and a laundry room.

The main house was then remodeled to tie the three projects together.  This includes knotty alder trim, doors, and cabinets.  New tile throughout laid in a pinwheel pattern .  The house also received fresh paint, many walls with a faux finish.

Kitchen Remodel in Pflugerville Texas

• Gutted existing dining room and kitchen
• Extended exterior wall 6′, adding over 100 square feet of additional kitchen space
• Installed custom cabinets, KitchenAid appliances, granite countertops, wood flooring

click to view the BATHROOM on this project

• Gutted existing bathroom
• Added 100 square feet to the NE corner of the house
• Finished out bathroom with a custom double lavatory, custom linen cabinet, shower with fixed head & a hand-held fixture, Jacuzzi whirlpool tub, new tile throughout.

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