More Space for Less Money
Are you in need of a little extra space in your home? Perhaps you are looking for an additional bathroom or to expand the kitchen, but a full room addition to your home is way out of your budget. There is another solution to get some additional space without breaking the bank – a bump out. A bump-out addition is an extra space added to your home that is much smaller than a full addition and isn’t even qualified to be a room addition. Another name for a bump out addition is a micro addition. These two terms are interchangeable.
Bump out additions can be as small as two feet and can extend as far as ten to fifteen feet from your house. If two feet is all you need they can be cantilevered on a second story which is unsupported by posts. These small additions will not need additional heating and air conditioning and often have a shed roof or flat roof in lieu of extending the existing roof. Due to their size most bump outs blend easily to the existing exterior of the home. If considering a bump out addition to the first floor the foundation can be a simple concrete slab or elevated over a crawl space.
If you need a more significant space added to your home, maybe three feet by fifteen wide you could still fall into the bump out addition category. Adding 45 square feet to a room could boost a 150 square foot area by 30%. This can be an excellent way to expand a very tiny space making it more functional. By extending a room with a bump out addition you could add a window seat with a large bay window or provide a kitchen with a dining area like a breakfast nook or extra workspace such as an island. Perhaps you want to extend a powder room to a full bath. A bump out can make room for a tub/shower combination. An addition of this size will require a foundation to be extended and exterior updates which is more costly than a cantilevered bump out addition.
Benefits of a Bump Out Addition
Some of the benefits of a bump out or micro-addition are the cost, time to build, and space required. We shared some of the differences of a cantilevered versus a bump out addition previously. The cost is a bit higher to include a foundation and in most cases, you will need to update the exterior of your home. This said a bump out addition such as extending a kitchen by a few feet deep and 6-8 feet wide can make all the difference to the function of that space. Bumping out will still be much less money than an entire room addition, but that’s not all. Adding a room addition to your home is a lengthy process and can be very invasive to your lifestyle. This is another great reason for a bump out addition because the length of time to build and the amount of space that is affected is much smaller. A micro addition can have minimal impact on the exterior and interior of your home.
Perhaps your home is situated in a neighborhood or on a lot that will not allow for a whole room addition. A bump out addition is a great opportunity to extend your living space in an existing room to make your family’s lives more functional and enjoyable. Some of the places you could add a bump out addition are listed below:
- Bathroom: add a new soaking tub or enlarge the shower
- Kitchen: increase counter space for meal prep or add a breakfast nook
- Living Room: add space for a small home office
- Bedroom: a new closet or bay window with seating
- Garage: a workbench for tools
If you are not looking to pay the cost for a full room or rooms addition to your home or simply do not have space for one then consider a bump out addition. Another option is to build up and add a second floor to your home. Check out our post on second-floor addition to a garage. Contact our office if you have further questions and want to meet with one of our remodeling specialists to plan your new addition.