Building An Addition Archives

Can You Add a Gazebo to Your Deck?

Posted on June 27, 2018 by Scott Merle Builders

Are you thinking of ways to enhance the exterior of your property? If so, you may consider attaching a gazebo to your deck. Having a gazebo attached to the deck in your backyard will provide you and your guests with a covered place to sit. It’ll also provide you with more space overall, which will mean that you can throw bigger dinners and parties. But before you attach a gazebo to your deck, you should consider a few things. Check them out below.

Do you have enough space to attach a gazebo to your deck?

The first thing you’re going to want to think about before attaching a gazebo to your deck is whether you actually have enough room to do it. You don’t want to try and stick a big gazebo into a small space since it’ll look silly once it’s done. You also don’t want to build a gazebo if your deck isn’t very large as is since it’ll swallow your square footage right up. You need the room to attach a gazebo to a deck comfortably.

Is it going to be safe to attach a gazebo to your deck?

The next thing to consider when deciding if attaching a deck to your gazebo is a good idea is safety. You shouldn’t try to attach a gazebo to your deck on your own if you’re not familiar with deck building. You could end up overloading your deck and causing it to tip. You could also do other damage to it and make it unsafe for people to sit in the gazebo or on the deck. Safety should be a major concern for you.

Will the gazebo attached to your deck fit the style of your home?

The last thing you’ll want to ponder when considering a gazebo for your deck is the style element. Is it going to look right in your backyard and fit your home’s overall style? You don’t want to have your gazebo sticking out like a sore thumb. Therefore, if you build it attached to your deck, it should match the deck and incorporate some small style touches and colors from your home into the mix.

Attaching a gazebo to your deck can be a bit of a challenge. Nevertheless, you can do it with the help of Scott Merle Builders. We can show you several options and help you pick out the right gazebo for your specific deck. Call us at 315-409-4124 today to get started.

What to Know Before Adding a Bedroom Over Your Garage

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Scott Merle Builders

If you’re looking to add a bedroom to your home, one of the most logical places to put it is over top of a garage. This will allow you to add square footage to your home while building up instead of out. However, you will need to keep a few things in mind before you add a bedroom over a garage space. Take a look at those things below.

Make sure your current garage can hold the weight of a bedroom.

Before you build a bedroom over a garage, you should bring an engineer in to see if your garage’s existing frame will be able to support a bedroom being on top of it. There are some garages that aren’t up for the task of supporting a bedroom. You may need to add a support beam to the top of a garage before a bedroom can be built.

Use fire-rated drywall on a garage’s ceiling and walls before building a bedroom.

In the event of a fire, most garages would burn down quickly since they aren’t always built using fire-rated drywall. If you’re going to be putting a bedroom over your garage, you need to fix this by using 5/8-inch-thick fire-rated drywall on all your garage walls as well as your garage ceiling. This will ensure that your garage and new bedroom don’t burn down quickly during a fire.

Figure out how to access the new bedroom over your garage.

To make your new bedroom functional, you may have to rethink the way the upper level of your home is laid out. As it stands now, a bedroom or bathroom might be located in the area where you’d need to place a door for the new bedroom. You should figure out the best way to give yourself access to your new bedroom without compromising the rest of your upstairs space.

If you want to add a bedroom over a garage, you should work with a trusted contractor who knows how to get the job done. Scott Merle Builders specializes in all types of home renovations and has experience with adding bedrooms over garages. Call us at 315-409-4124 today to see how we can help your new bedroom become a reality.

Why a Deck Could Be a Wonderful Addition to Your Home

Posted on May 11, 2018 by Scott Merle Builders

Do you wish you had more space in your home to throw parties and entertain guests? Putting an addition on to your home might not be an option. However, one great way to give yourself all the space you need to invite people over is by adding a deck to your home. It will provide you with an area to bring people when they visit your house. Check out some other benefits of adding a deck to your home below.

It will improve the look of the exterior of your home.

If the exterior of your home looks kind of blah right now, you can completely revitalize it with a deck. A deck will instantly bring your backyard space to life and make the outside of your home more aesthetically pleasing than it was before. It won’t be long before everyone wants to come and hang out at your home because of your deck.

It will bring the value of your home up.

It’ll obviously take some money to add a deck to your home. However, it will be well worth the investment. If you ever go to sell your home one day, your deck will be a selling feature as potential home buyers will love the idea of inviting their friends and family over to spend time on the deck. No matter how much your deck costs to build, you will likely get a hefty return on your investment one day as long as you maintain your deck and keep it looking its best.

It will come together in a short amount of time.

There are many home improvement projects that will take weeks, if not months, to come together. It can sometimes take an entire season to put an addition on to your home. Nevertheless, a deck can usually go up in a matter of just a few days. You won’t have to wait long at all to start enjoying your deck after you decide to have it built.

If you would like to learn more about adding a deck to your home, Scott Merle Builders can lay out your options and find the right deck for your space. Call us at 315-409-4124 today to schedule a consultation.

Reasons to Add a Bedroom Atop Your Garage

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Scott Merle Builders

Have you ever thought about putting a bedroom over top of your garage? If so, you might be worried about all of the noise that a garage door can create. However, the truth is that if you take the time to insulate your new bedroom properly and upgrade your garage door with a newer model that works better, you won’t have to worry about that particular concern at all. You will also get to enjoy a ton of benefits that come along with adding a bedroom over your garage. Here are a few of them.

It will give you more space without cutting into your outdoor area.

Building up rather than building out when you are putting an addition onto your home is the way to go if you want to avoid cutting into the outdoor space you currently have. By putting a bedroom over your garage as opposed to building it out into your backyard, you can give yourself the space you need without losing any of the outdoor space you want.

It will increase the value of your home instantly.

Adding another bedroom onto a home will just about always add value to the home as a whole, and that’s especially true when you do it without cutting into your overall square footage. By utilizing the space above your garage to install a new bedroom, you will make your home more desirable to buyers in the future and get more money for it one day.

It won’t cost as much as you think.

You might think that adding a bedroom over top of a garage would cost a fortune. However, in reality, you can usually do it on a pretty affordable budget. By working with a licensed contractor who has experience with adding bedrooms over garages, you can create a new space in your home without blowing your entire bank account.

Would you like to learn more about adding a bedroom over a garage? Call Scott Merle Builders at 315-409-4124 today to get started.

Rebuilding Your Garage For Additional Bedroom Space

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Scott Merle Builders

A garage is an integral part of a house. Not only does a garage serve as a spot to park a vehicle, a garage also provides ample storage space. For some, a car garage is an ideal project for turning an outdoor space into a livable indoor place.

Garages that are not used for the intended purpose or for those that are an unsafe space, why not transform it into a functional part of your home. By converting your garage, you are adding usable square footage and value to the home.

Transforming a garage is a large project, especially if your current garage is not attached to your home. However, the first decision you should be making is what you plan to use the converted garage space for. Some people choose to rebuild a garage and build the space on top of the garage for living purposes.

This idea allows you to still park in the garage while creating a bedroom loft above. You can also choose to build more than one room with a bath or just a hangout space when you or your family.

The foundation and framework are already in place as well as electrical, so they process of building up should be a straightforward job, as long as the structure is sound. A professional homebuilder can take your vision of creating bedroom space and build a multi-purposeful place for both you and your vehicle to rest.

Aside from building a new structure, some of what you can expect from a garage conversion includes:

Insulating the walls and ceiling
Either tie into the home’s heating and cooling system or installing a brand new HVAC unit
Upgrade and add electrical to accommodate the new living space
Open the wall between the house and the garage, if attached, to allow for an open floor plan
Add new windows and doors

With a converted garage, your garage space no longer looks like a separate part of your home, it will be one cohesive look. Merle Builders is capable of converting your garage into usable bedroom space. We can help you devise and execute your design vision. Contact us today!

5 Steps To Plan For Adding An Addition To Your Home

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Scott Merle Builders

For most families or property owners, the purchase of a home is the largest investment they will make in their lives, possibly lasting generations. With that idea it’s extremely important that the owners look to re-invest in their property through renovation or remodeling projects that will ensure that in the future their home keeps or potentially increases its re-sale value.

That’s why if you live in a home that you are very attached to, that you don’t want to outgrow, constructing an addition will help you and your family cement your stay.

Here are 5 steps to building and addition on your home or property:

Step 1-Decide on square footage and size of the room.

When planning to build an addition to your home, it is important to decide on the square footage you will be adding to your home. Knowing the size of your planned addition will help calculate the expenses that coincide with room size, such as wiring and plumbing. This leads us directly to our next step.

Step 2– Figure out what fixtures you plan to add to the room.

Decide what fixtures you plan to add to the room addition. For example, If you are planning on making a bathroom addition, knowing what appliances or fixtures you will want will give you a more accurate estimated cost for the room addition. Remember, mechanical stuff such as your furnace, water heater and electrical panel all must be revisited when doing additions as well.

Step 3-Calculate costs in advance.

Decide on the other construction needs you’ll need to purchase to build the room addition. This will include lumber, paint, flooring and any other structural elements of the room. Determine how much of each material you will definitely need to complete the project, and add those costs to your appliance costs to get a rough estimate for your total materials costs. Every cost associated with the home addition should be calculated before hand to make sure you can afford the addition.

Step 4– Choose your addition style

A good addition to your home should blend with the original structure. Don’t head into a home addition without knowing what style your going with. If you have space restraints, consider building up or out so you don’t add to your homes footprint. Bumping out is a popular way of making an addition, where you hang the new room off the side of the home. Choose an addition style that maximizes your homes potential.

Step 5– Make sure you are building your homes value.

A home addition can lead to additional taxes. When you make a home addition successfully, your homes value should increase. If the value your home will build because of your addition is less than the cost of the addition, re-evaluate whether it is wise to make the addition.

Since 1962 new homeowners, expanding families, retirees and many others across Central New York have trusted Merle Builders to construct their perfect home. At Merle, we specialize in customization, elegance and perfection. We build each and every home according to your exact needs.

From sprawling two-story townhomes to single-story patio homes and much more, we construct and design each property according to your lifestyle, not the other way around. For more information, contact us today!

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