Families change over time. Typically, they grow larger. As this happens, the needs of that family change. While a home may have been an adequate living space when the family was smaller, this may no longer be the case after you have several kids and your parents move in with you. Many people can’t afford to move into a bigger place. So, one of the only options for many families is to expand the living space they do have.

In terms of a home expansion project, you have two choices. You can either build up or add on horizontally. Here the advantages and disadvantages of each choice.

Benefits of Building Up

One choice is to expand your house by building up. This of course means adding an extra level to either the main structure of your home to the garage to create extra living space. The main benefit here is you won’t lose any of your yard when completing this kind of expansion. You may also be able to avoid zoning restrictions that could be in place on the square footage of the floor of your home.

Disadvantages of Building Up

However, despite the benefits, there are distinct disadvantages to building up. Building a new stable floor can be difficult. Even if you find a good deal on timber for sale, you will likely require a contractor. Building a new staircase can take up a lot of room in the lower level you may not want to sacrifice. Building over your garage can also produce the danger of carbon monoxide poisoning if a car runs in the garage for long enough even with the garage door open.

Benefits of Adding On

Your second choice is to add on to your home by building out horizontally. This method may be preferable because it causes the least disruptions to your existing home. You won’t, for example, have to alter the existing foundation. Instead, you just lay more foundation. You’ll also have much more freedom to do what you want with a completely new addition.

Disadvantages of Adding On

Of course there are also possible disadvantages to expanding your home horizontally as well. You will of course lose some of your yard that you may have wanted to preserve. There may also be zoning limitations that introduce a legal element to expanding your house in this way.

Families grow and so do their needs. If your home doesn’t have enough space, certainly consider an expansion project. Put a lot of consideration into whether it would be best to expand horizontally or vertically. Each choice has its own advantages and disadvantages.