Your house doesn’t have enough storage space, bathrooms, or counter space! Not too mention your kitchen is old, small and poorly ventilated. Now you are trying to decide between remodeling your current home to address some of these needs and buying a new bigger home. This is a question many homeowners find themselves trying to answer. There are a few key factors to consider as you try to decide what will be best for you and your family.
First think about the location of your current home. Do you like this area? Do you have kids in local schools? Is there a low crime rate? If you like your current location, then you need to determine if you are able to buy a new bigger home in this same neighborhood or would you be forced to buy in a different less desirable area? If you can’t afford a bigger home in your current area and you want to stay local, then you should consider remodeling/adding more square footage on to your current home.
Another factor to consider when deciding between remodeling and buying a new home is the disruption caused by remodeling. If you are remodeling your kitchen this means you will be without a fully functioning kitchen for a couple of weeks. Even if you are not working in a key area like the kitchen you can still expect disruption from any remodeling project. Construction materials, dust, noise, and additional trash will be sure to accompany any remodeling project. If this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea then maybe you should buy a new house and leave the messy, inconvenient remodeling to someone else.
Finances obviously need to be taken into account when making such a large decision. If you don’t have the cash on hand then you might want to tap into your home’s equity. When remodeling you can leverage the equity you have in your home to pay for the upgrades. If don’t have a strong equity position in your current home you might be better off selling you home and buying a bigger home for a similar price in a less desirable neighborhood.
When thinking about adding more square footage to your existing home you need to consult your local zoning laws. In some areas you might not be able to add-on due to zoning laws so be sure to do your research before starting construction.
All of these factors need to be considered before making a decision on whether it makes more sense to remodel your current home or buy a new home. The home is often our largest investment so when making decision about remodeling or buying a different house it is important to consider all factors.
By: Gregg Hicks
Posts Tagged ‘Square Footage’
Building a Log Cabin Home
November 8th, 2009
With the advent of cranes and modern construction techniques log homes are now popular in suburban locations as well as rural areas. These days most log homes are built from pre-milled logs and often come in kit form. The logs are quite visible as the exterior and sometimes interior of the house. A lot of people dream of owning a log cabin home in a great location. Its a nice dream and you can too can make it happen and get the perfect log cabin if you spend time properly planning your project.
You need to consider location. The size and location of your plot will determine some of the constraints placed on your cabin. You should consider the square footage you want as well as such things as privacy and access to amenities and services such as water and power. Depending on location you may need to consider sourcing a water supply and placement of a septic tank.
The next step is to investigate all the different log cabin home plans and log cabin kits that are available. You will find there are now builders who just specialize in cabin building and log cabin kit assembly. They may be able to suggest the type of cabin suitable for your plot or they may even be able to build a custom log home for you. There are many log cabin plan and kit sites on the internet where you can find useful information. An important point to consider is the type of logs used as these can give an entirely different look to your log cabin home. You Log cabin can use rough cut round logs (handcrafted logs) or milled logs which are uniform and cut to fit together.
Once you have determined what type of cabin you are going to be building then its time to decide whether to build it yourself or to hire a builder. Its at this point you should really do some homework. You should always get quotes from several different builders and if possible get testimonials from people they have done similar work for. It might be worth checking with any local builders association to see if any problems have come to light with that particular log cabin builder.
Obtaining building permits and undergoing building inspections can seem daunting and intimidating at times, often more so that the actual build process! Requirements vary from county to county and often decisions can seem pretty subjective. At the end of the day though the various permits and inspections are there for a purpose and are a necessary step to getting the quality log home you deserve.
Foundations for your project can be full or a slab. Full foundations require a lot more digging but may be required under the building permit. Cost obviously varies depending on the type of foundation needed but planning for this is an essential part of the budgeting process for the Log Cabin project.
A major consideration for a log cabin build is how you will heat and cool your new home. Wood burning stoves and furnaces have become increasingly popular in recent years. The latest generation of wood burning technology means they are now practical, efficient and cheap to use. If you are considering this type of heating then proper routing of the chimney is essential. There are many other types of heating you can consider but perhaps none that will blend in with the cabin theme as well as a wood stove.
Unless you plan on doing a lot of the work yourself you will also need to get quotes from plumbers, roofers, masons and electricians. Make sure you budget for all these services when you are working out the finances for the build. Before you can apply for any sort of construction loan you will need to have all your quotes ready.
Hopefully the information above will have given you a brief outline of some of the things you need to consider in order to get the perfect log cabin home of your dreams.
By: Martin Lloyd