Need More Space?
If you bought a home in central Toronto during the past 20 years or so, you probably made a conscious decision to choose central Toronto’s urban lifestyle over the much larger home you could have bought for the same price elsewhere. Good choice because Toronto is such a great place to live.
But what happens when you need more space? You can either move out of central Toronto, buy a larger home in central Toronto or increase the size of your existing home.
Let’s look at this third option. There are essentially three directions in which you can build to increase the size of your home: you can dig down, build up or add on the back. Here are a few things to think about if you’re considering any of these options:
Digging down: Most basements in central Toronto were originally only about 6’ high, probably because they weren’t used for living space in the old days. A basement was simply a place for the furnace (often coal) and for storage. Depending on the type of extra space you’d like, you might want to consider lowering your basement floor to increase the ceiling height and then having the whole basement nicely finished.
Things to consider if you go this route: Which method should you use – underpinning or benching? Both are acceptable, but is one better suited to your needs? Which one is more expensive? How much do you need to lower your floor to suit your intended purpose? Will that require you to install new drains which will add to the cost? How high is the water table under your property? Will it prevent you from lowering your basement floor as much as you’d like? Will it add considerable expense to your project? Do you want heated floors? Should you waterproof your basement before you finish it? Should you install a bathroom? How about a guest room or home office?
From a return on investment point of view, I’ve never heard a potential buyer say “I wish they hadn’t dug the basement down.”
Building up: I’ve recently noticed more people adding third storeys to their homes. The extra space is usually used for an additional bedroom or two, a home office and/or another bathroom. This type of addition doesn’t require any excavating or foundations to be poured and that means that the work can often be done less expensively and more quickly than a rear addition.
Things to think about if you’re considering this option: Will your tall home fit into your neigbhourhood or will it stand out? How will your neighbours feel about your home towering over their homes? Will the design of your 3rd storey addition allow it to blend in with your existing home or will it look like someone dropped a 3rd storey on top of a 2 storey home? Can you afford to lose the space on the second floor that you’ll need for a staircase to the third floor? You may be okay with the extra flight of stairs now, but how long do you hope to stay in your home? Will you still be okay with the extra stairs when you’re older? If you’re adding a 3rd storey master bedroom to your home, how will this affect your resale value if you live in a neighbourhood full of young families with parents who prefer the master bedroom to be on the same floor as their kids’ bedrooms?
When it comes to determining whether adding a 3rd storey will pay off from a financial point of view, the reviews have been mixed in my experience. 3rd storeys don’t appeal to everyone and their designs are often quite personalized so they tend to limit the number of buyers who will be interested in your home.
Rear addition: This is the option chosen most frequently. It usually costs the most, is the most disruptive and takes the longest amount of time to complete, but the final result is usually worth it.
Points to ponder: How much extra space to you need? What’s your budget? Do you need living space or bedroom space or both? Do you need only a main floor family room addition, a main floor family room with an excavated basement below, or a full basement, main floor and second floor addition? Will you be renovating your kitchen at the same time? How many bathrooms will you be adding? On which floors will you be adding them? Kitchens and bathrooms can be expensive. Will you be integrating your addition into your original home so your addition and original home don’t look like two different homes? Do you need to gut rooms or move walls to do this? Can you afford to excavate your original basement when you do your addition so your basement isn’t on different levels? If the full addition you really desire is beyond your current budget, are you prepared to do it in stages? If you don’t need a second storey addition, are you prepared to spend some extra money to ensure that your main floor and basement addition can support a second storey if future owners wish to build one?
Return on investment: A full two storey plus basement addition can add quite a bit of value to your home if done properly. There are usually plenty of buyers who want more bedrooms and living space and want to avoid the hassle and expense of doing a major renovation themselves. Main floor family room additions or family room plus basement additions will also add value to your home, but not nearly as much as a full two storey addition because there are not as many buyers looking for these smaller additions.
No matter which type of extra space you’re considering, there are some key issues you need to consider:
- Will the Building Code permit you to add the space you’d like or will you have to apply for a minor variance(s) from the Committee of Adjustment? This will add time and expense to your project and may get your neighbours angry with you.
- Do you have the financial flexibility to budget for going over budget because that happens with almost every project?
- Will you have to move out during your renovation? For how long? Where will you live? Are you prepared to live with this inconvenience?
- Do you have the time and energy to devote to a major renovation project? They don’t happen by themselves and usually take up much more of your time than you expect.
At the end of the day, after you’ve carefully considered all the above issues, there are two questions to ask yourself: 1. How much personal enjoyment am I going to get out of my renovation? 2. How will the cost of my renovation affect the market value of my home? If you’re going to love your new space and enjoy it for another 20 years, then do whatever pleases you most, but if there’s a chance that you might sell your home in the near term, keep an eye on the bottom line and on your design to make sure you don’t spend more than the market will bear or design an addition that will have limited market appeal.
As always, if you know of anyone who’s looking for an honest realtor who really knows his stuff and doesn’t pressure his clients, Please Don’t Keep Me a Secret. I really appreciate your referrals. Thanks for reading and don’t be shy if you have any questions or comments!
Dear Michael,
I love your article. A neighbour on my street in Toronto wants to build a 2nd story addition over her garage to accommodate her growing family. Although the design looks beautiful, some of the neighbours feel that their property values will go down if she builds this addition. In your honest opinion, do you think that this time of addition will cause homes in the neighbourhood to lose their property value? Your insight is sincerely appreciated. I would think the opposite would happen. When one property increases in value, the whole street benefits. Thanks.
Thanks for your comment and for your compliment. They’re very much appreciated. I can’t give you a specific answer to your question because I don’t know the address of the property in question or the type of addition being considered, but generally speaking improvements to one property on a street tend to help values instead of hinder them unless the improvement is so unappealing it might cause prospective buyers to say something along the lines of “I’d never want to live on that street because then I’d have to look at THAT every day”. Hope this helps!