Second Story Addition vs. House Lifting: Better Option?

The best way to invest is to do in real estate because it has a very low risk of loss and the property prices are rising day by day, especially in the USA. The highest cost in the USA is in the area of Seattle. If you live in that kind of area where costs are increased, then what will you do?

If you are intelligent, you will try to expand your house by adding a new story in your home or lifting your house. There are both options available for you, but you might think which one is the better one? In this article, we will see which one is better, but first, we need to know why we should expand our house.

Table of Contents

Reasons to Expand

The main reason for expanding your house is that it will increase the resale value of your home so, if you are planning to sell your house, then remodeling or adding some new spaces in your home is a good available option for the market.

The other reason for doing this is that it gives you a sense of satisfaction and completion when adding some new spaces to your house; if you have minimal space in your home, this is a very good option.

How many Types of Home Additions can you do?

There are many options available when you are planning to make the home additions; some of them are we mentioning here:

The first one is called the conventional in this type; you buy land with your home and build it interlink with your home; this way, you can expand your space.
The second is the most common one in this type; we add another floor to our house and then make a home or anything on that; we will discuss this type in detail later.
The other type is called the basement addition; in this way, you lift your house and put a basement in it; this type will also be discussed here later.
It is also a good option to turn your garage into a living space if you don’t have a car or have any other place to park your car.
Another famous addition is called the bump addition; in this, you expand your existing room and add more space. This way, the old room foundation work is perfect.

Second Story Addition

In our view, this is the best way to add some spice to your home, and this will not only add some spice, but you can redesign your home completely and make your living palace better and lovely. It is not a small project, and it might cost you a lot, but once it is completed, the resale value of your home will also be doubled because now you have two houses instead of one.

Look at the practical situation: if you have two rooms, washroom and kitchen previously, you can do same on the second floor, and now you have four rooms, two kitchens, and bathrooms, but we will say you should contact some good architect and make your good modern design.

There are some important things that you need to check to add another floor to your home, and that checks the permissions that if it is permitted in your area to make the second floors. Then hire a good contractor and make him analyze that if the foundations of your home are strong enough to lift another floor or not when these all things are done now you can add an extra floor to your home.

The best thing about the addition of the story is that you can easily give your home a new design, which is not possible with a single story. Hire a good architect and tell him that you want to change the home structure, and he will do the rest. There are many legit stories of the houses whose prices are tripled once they add a story to their house so this is a good option for the home addition.

Pros

Best way to increase your space
Increase the resale value
Modernize your existing home.
Suitable for the growing family
Now you have a better view of the mountains and your city

Cons

It is an expensive project

House Lifting Addition

If you live in an area where it is not allowed to add a second story to your house, what should you do? The best option you have at that time is to add a basement to your home because this is now the most suitable option for you. The basement is the most versatile thing I have ever seen in the home.

There are many options available for you; when you have a basement, you can make it a good master bedroom with a bathroom, or you can try to go with the drawing-room in the basement; this is also a good option. We have seen many other things like make it your office, studio, or home gym where you can train.

It is the best way to increase your home’s existing space; however, this is not good as the second story, but it can still do many things for you. But you should know to consult with some good contractor and discuss everything with him then he will tell you what you can do and is the basement possible in your home.

The basement will also increase the space of your home, but this might not affect the overall design of your home because everything is done underground so, you can see it from outside. However, still, it will increase the resale value some percent because now you have more space than the single floor.

Pros

Increase your space
You can make it your gym, bedroom, and many more other options are there for you.
It protects your home from earthquakes and floods.
It will make your home more robust than before.

Cons

It does not change the design of your home
The cost is of making the basement is doubled.

Points	Second Story Addition	Basement addition
Space	Building another story of your house increases your space.	While building down basement is also a good option to increase the space
Exterior	The second story can make the exterior of your home very attractive or transform its look.	The basement does not affect the exterior of your home.
Versatile Option	The second story is not versatile; you have some traditional options available while building up.	The basement gives you versatility means you can play with it and make the office, gym, gaming room, and many more things.
Protection & Views	The second story addition gives you clear and better views of your cities and mountains.	The basement gives your home protection against floods and earthquakes.
Cost	Building the second story of your house is a long and expensive project.	The cost of the basement building doubled the price you estimated for building the second story.

Conclusion

When you need to increase your house’s space, you have two popular options: the build-up and the other is house lifting; both have benefits and disadvantages that we discussed above in this article. Both are practical options, and both are very good to increase the space.

Now which one you should adopt depends on your personal choice; if you want to add a master bedroom and kitchen space in your home, then build-up is a good option, and if you’re going to utilize your area as the home office or home gym than the basement is a suitable option, but you should know that it is cost twice more than the build-up so, now the choice is yours that which one you want to build.

Here we compared these two home additions, but if you have any questions related to this top, don’t hesitate to ask us in the comment section below.

FAQ’s

Is it cheaper to build a house or add on?

Obviously, adding up in your existing house is a good and cheaper option when we compare it to buying a new home or even building a new house for you. But if you are selling an old house and then purchasing the new one, it might be a good option, but it would not be a cheaper option.

Is it worth it to add a second story?

Yes, it is worth adding the second story of your house; first, it will increase the space, second, it will change the structure and design of your home, and third and the most important thing is that it will increase the resale value of your home and there are many case studies in which after adding up the story the price of a home tripled.

How much value does a second story addition to your home?

It depends on the area of your house, city, and design of your house, but if we look at the things generally than when you build up the second story of your home, the value of your home increased by 30% to 60% and this is a significant increase in the price.

Is it cheaper to add a second story or build-out?

Yes, adding the second story to your house is cheaper, while build-out might not be a more affordable option. We talked to many contractors and discussed this thing, and after discussing these things, we found out that the build-out might cost double than the build-up. So, adding build-up is an affordable option; you can go for it.