Martha and I are trying to work out some plans for an addition to the house for a dedicated home theater - audio room. We have two choices, either have a slab poured and add a room off the living room or have a room added over our single story attached garage (the house is single story as well). My thinking is that building over the garage would be less expensive than starting from scratch and I could have a much larger room going this route - approximately 20 ft by 30 ft..
We're also thinking that we would have a contractor take care of the construction and exterior, then we would do the interior ourselves.
All this stuff is entirely new and uncharted territory for me and I'm looking for some input/advice. Does anyone have any experience with this room addition stuff, dealing with contractors, etc.?

 

Dean
The only problem with going up is the support walls (i.e... how big are your corner post and how much are your headers rated at. More than likely they will have to install new corner post and header and pour a new footer around the area that you are going to go up. Then there is the removal of the existing roof over the garage. It might be cheaper in the long run to go out than up. Don't know without looking at the existing structure.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I know that there has already been a new footer poured around the house some years ago. The house was built in 1976 as a wood framed house, then at some point later a previous owner decided to have the house entirely enclosed in brick. In digging around the outside of the house, I found that a footer was installed all around the house as a foundation for the brick. I have no idea if it's sufficient to support a second story room, however.

 

I suggest that you and your wife consult with a reputable contractor on your options for addition. Whenever I see Country Living or Country Home, there are so many instances of beautiful additions to existing homes. You definitely want to rely on professionals for your home's future value after an addition. You might even consult with a building engineer to make that assessment on your current foundation and posts as well.

 

 

Whatever you decide on location, be sure to get a good sound tech to give you a wiring diagram and set up for your display,stereo, and speakers. Phasing properly is very important in speaker placement.

You are going to love it.

 

If your house is framed (I would have guessed CBS, but I really didn't look), it'll probably be cheaper to build a new room on a slab, which, of course, would take up more yard space and make the whole thing somewhat more rambling. But that makes for less grass to mow, after all.

Beyond that, I agree with the "get professional advice" advice, because it'll be critical to get the rooflines right, so the net result looks well-designed. One possibility to consider: design and build the addition as another garage stall or two. As I recall, you have a double garage, and more stalls will add value to the property. That is, if you think down the road about potential buyers, more people, I bet, would like a three- or four-car garage than a super-duper movie room. HPH

 

Dean,

Go to www.avsforum.com for some excellent information on this and many other A/V issues. Here are pics of our HT in Ohio...Ours was part of a walkout basement finishing project. One of the things I don't like about coastal living in SC is NO BASEMENTS!

 

Fortunately I already have the equipment, tools, and software to do all of that stuff myself. But, I have been informally (read: for free ) consulting with an audio expert in designing the layout of the room itself.

 

It's definitely framed. In fact it was bricked-up with the shingles still on the house. Someone went through a lot of trouble and expense to cover the house with this nasty, weak urine yellow brick.
Lawn space isn't an issue for us, we've got two acres.

I'll most definitely be getting professional advice and a good contractor, but I want to get a feel for things and explore a few options beforehand. As for the garage, it can't be built out without a great deal of trouble and money (I'm trying to keep the job at $40k or less). The septic system and leach field are located in that side of the yard.
We're not interested in selling and won't be giving that much consideration. The value of our property is already escalating because of all the growth around here. There's only one place I would consider moving to, the Keys, and I don't think winning the lottery is in my future. If only I had been born rich instead of pretty.