Residential
Remodeling of the old deck
Whenever interest rates drop and home equity loans become affordable, an orchestra of hammers and saws arises across the nation. This is the sound of workers frantically building house additions. The house addition is the single most expensive home remodeling purchase a homeowner will ever make. It is typically the only time that a homeowner will write out a six-figure check for one project. Unlike an interior paint job or landscaping, a house addition is one project that cannot be undone. So it pays to carefully consider this process, which can be alternately rewarding and taxing, from all angles before writing that first check to the contractor.
CHALLENGE
You may have an old house that was initially created by a builder and subsequently changed over the years by other homeowners. When you install new floors, paint the walls, or remodel a bathroom, you are only adding your unique touch to this pastiche.
SOLUTIONS
In the first few days of building an addition, it can be thrilling. At first, you can barely wait for the workers to show up. They cannot seem to arrive soon enough.
Then one Saturday you wake early to the roar of a gas generator five feet from your bedroom window and realize that your romance with building an addition has hit the rocks. Worse than that, your relationship with your spouse or partner may hit the rocks. Many causes contribute to this, some of which are: having work crews in your house six days a week; noise and dust; constantly dealing with the contractor rather than each other; lack of privacy; and that ultimate relationship-stressor, money worries.
