Home Addition in 3D
An addition is 3 jobs at once: a foundation, a new piece of house, and a way into the old one. Step through this one from the ground up, and switch the foundation, the roof and the siding to see the options.
Step through the build with the arrows on the model, in the order it happens. Options opens the foundation, roof, siding, colour, windows and columns, so you can change them and watch the house change. The inside phases take the roof off for you.
Phases
Foundation
Roof
Siding
Colour
Windows
Columns
Show
This one is 16' by 14' off the back of a bungalow, with a 6' bump-out on the side and a covered landing on the gable end. The bump-out is a cantilever - the floor runs out past the wall below it, so it needs nothing underneath.
Why the old wall comes out last
The house stays closed until the new part is. The addition goes up beside it and gets its roof, windows and siding first. Only then does the old wall come out, with the roof above it held up while the new beam goes in. That keeps the weather out of the rooms you are still living in.
Piles or a basement
We usually start with screw piles. They go in without a dig, they can go in through the winter, and the yard looks like a yard again the same week. A full basement gives you the room underneath, with an excavation and a concrete foundation tied into the house. Both are in the model, so you can see what each one involves.
Where the roofs meet
A gable running out from the house meets the old roof in 2 valleys. The old roof stays on underneath and the new one is built over it, so the house is not opened up from above.
The structure is the part we know best: additions and framing are a service of their own, and framing a home addition in Central Alberta goes through it in more detail. If the addition is a kitchen, read what a kitchen addition actually involves.
The other models take a room apart: the basement, the bathroom and the kitchen.
The model is a plan we drew to show the sequence, not a job we built for somebody. If you are weighing up an addition, get in touch or call (587) 447-9009.
Questions we get asked
- Do I need a permit to build an addition?
- Yes. An addition always needs a building permit in Red Deer and across Central Alberta, and depending on the lot and the setbacks it can need a development permit as well. We handle the permit for you - we put together what goes with the application, apply on your behalf (you sign a letter authorizing us to), and have the work ready at each inspection. The electrical, plumbing and any gas work each carry their own permit, taken out by the licensed trade doing that work.
- Screw piles or a basement under an addition?
- Most of the time we start with screw piles. They go in without a dig, they can go in through the winter, and they carry a single storey addition comfortably. A full basement makes sense when you want the room underneath, and it brings an excavation and a concrete foundation tied into the house. The model shows both - switch the Foundation button to compare.
- When does the wall into the house come out?
- Not until the very end. The new part is framed, roofed, sided and closed up beside the house first, so the rooms you are living in stay dry. Only then does the old wall come out, with the roof above it held up on temporary posts while the new beam goes in.
- Does the old roof have to be torn off?
- Usually not. The new roof is built over the old one where they meet, in 2 valleys, so the house is never open from above. The old roof only gets cut into if you want a vaulted ceiling carried through, which is a different structure and a bigger job.
- Can the addition match the rest of the house?
- Yes, and it is what makes an addition look like it was always there. The model lets you switch the siding style, the colour, the roof and the windows on the whole house at once, so you can see the addition and the house as one building.