Adding on to make that perfect home
For the urban homeowner, building out is fast becoming cheaper than moving out
With Toronto’s hot real-estate market showing no sign of cooling off, the days of buying a starter home and then moving as the family grows may be over — or at least on hold.
Additions or extensions to the home are becoming increasingly common, said HGTV interior designer and contractor Melissa Davis. This is especially the case in urban centres where homes are older and smaller.
“Homeowners stick with the house and make it what they need it to be as their family grows and their finances improve,” Davis said.
The most common additions include blowing out the back of the home to add a living room beyond the kitchen, or moving the kitchen from elsewhere so it opens onto the backyard or garden, Davis said.
“The trend is to do the back elevation on the main floor as all glass,” she said. “If it’s a more traditional home, it’s a series of french doors, and if it’s a modern home, they will go with the accordion doors.”
With a two-level addition, the second-storey typically includes turning a smaller bedroom into a master suite, complete with a walk-in closet and spa bathroom that has a separate shower and big soaker tub, she said.
“These are the kinds of things that everyone wants and homes in the city are just not built for them,” Davis said.
Getting permits-ion Before work on an addition can get started, however, there are a few mandatory steps homeowners must follow. That process typically starts at city hall.
There’s a cap on how much structure can exist on a given lot, and that can vary from neighbourhood to neighbourhood.
If your city says your home has maxed out its allowable space, or if your plans for the addition go beyond what zoning bylaw allows, all is not lost, said contractor Evan Bramson of Bramson Construction.
You can apply for an adjustment by submitting your architect’s plans to a city adjustments committee.
“Typically the rules are if another neighbour has already been awarded an adjustment similar to the one you’re asking for, you’re likely to get it,” he said.
Once that is done, a contractor will want to see that proper checks have been done for wires and pipes underground, Bramson said.
When work begins, you can leave more than the construction to the contractor, he said. Let him or her lead what he calls “neighbour relations” as work gets started, the noise gets louder and the neighbourhood gets dustier.
“The best person for the neighbours to be mad at is the general contractor because I’m going to leave and not be there ever again,” Bramson said.
“But the homeowner has to live with that neighbour for the rest of their lives.”