One common issue Pittsburgh homeowners have is that they love their homes, but are running out of space. Our Action Builders’ construction team sees this over and over, and that’s the problem our company exists to solve. You may be in the location of your dreams with the perfect school district for your kids and amazing neighbors, but that doesn’t always mean your home fits every one of your needs.
If you long to stay in your current home, a whole-home remodel can be a great way to create a better flow for your home and ultimately add much-needed square footage.
Here are some ways this is done.
1. Attic Conversion
Many Pittsburgh homes have attics. This space is often underutilized, storing home items or Christmas décor boxes. But moving into your attic can be a great way to utilize preexisting space in your home.
You can create a dreamy master suite, freeing up space on your main floor for other uses. Or you can create dual bedrooms with a bathroom or potentially add a family room for kids to enjoy.
A professional home additions contractor will know how to ensure the space in your attic meets all required codes. This can sometimes include the addition of dormers, which are another great space-increasing solution as well as a boost in curb appeal and home value.
2. Close in a Sunroom
Sunrooms create the perfect area for utilizing “outdoor space” year-round. With a front porch or a small back deck, consider closing in the space to create more square footage in the home. Add plenty of screened windows that can open during the spring and summer and seal tightly during winter. This will allow for natural light, to bring the outdoors inside.
For the sunroom to qualify as existing square footage in the home, it will need to be attached and accessible to the rest of the home, and it must have heating. Speak with a professional about any questions you have regarding creating a value-enhancing sunroom.
3. Create an Open Floor Plan
One way to completely transform the look, feel, and accessibility of your home is to blow out walls and create an open living space. By removing preexisting walls, you are giving your home a more inviting feel while also taking back usable space that walls previously occupied.
Open floor plans are more desirable in the current home market. They can increase the resale value of your home and give you a better space for entertaining when guests come over. Not to mention, they provide an opportunity to reconfigure your living spaces (kitchen, dining, and living room) into the exact arrangement you’ve always desired.
4. Kitchen Expansion
One place most Pittsburgh homeowners could use more space is the kitchen. Kitchens get lots of use and experience high amounts of foot traffic. While an open floor plan can help create a little more space for your kitchen, having the area expanded during a whole-home remodel is the best way to transform your kitchen.
This does not have to be a massive renovation. Simply bumping out the space a few feet may be all that is needed, but it can create the kitchen you have always desired.
Thinking of renovating your home?
Check out our “Ultimate Guide to Multi-Story Home Additions”
5. Micro-Additions
A micro-addition or bump-out addition is not a true addition. Rather, it is the expansion of a preexisting room by a couple of feet. Sometimes homeowners don’t have the yard space or funds to complete a full addition, and all they really need are a few extra feet in a room to make it function properly. A house bump out is the perfect solution.
This can also garner a great return on your investment. Most additions need a foundation to be laid with additional heating and HVAC added to the space. This is not the case for a bump-out addition, saving time and money while still providing function and square footage.
6. Garage Transformation
With the preexisting space of your garage, you can add square footage to your home by converting the garage into a bedroom or family room. This adds immense value to your home by increasing square footage without costing as much as a completely new addition.
A garage already has a laid foundation and existing wall structures. The right professional team can insulate and transform the space so that the cold and echoing feeling of a garage completely disappears, leaving you with much-needed living space.
7. Over Garage Addition
If the space above your garage has not yet been built upon, adding an existing structure over this area is another great way to add space. Once again, the garage already has an existing foundation and structure. Simply moving upwards with that structure can give you plenty of space for a new bedroom or family room.
Stay in the Pittsburgh Home You Love, But Love It Even More!
Loving your home but not loving its lack of useable space can leave you feeling frustrated. We know. We’ve seen this happen with countless homeowners. But we also know that a whole-home renovation can provide the solution to every one of your square footage issues. And the process does not have to be a stressful one.
Our design-build team can help create an exciting and innovative design for your space, and we work hard to assess your current home based upon your desires and needs and provide you with accurate estimates for your project. See our featured projects to garner some ideas on what our team can achieve with a whole-home remodel.
