Bumping out a first floor bedroom

4 years ago

last modified: 4 years ago

Hello! My husband and I own a 3 bed 2 bath cape cod style home. There are two bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs. Our master bedroom and our daughter’s room are upstairs. The upstairs bedrooms are approximately 15x11’.

We are hoping to expand our family in the near future, and we are considering “bumping out” the back wall of our downstairs bedroom to create two closets and a few extra feet in order to move the master bedroom downstairs to keep the kid(s) upstairs. We were considering bumping out about 8x11’ (which includes two double closets). The downstairs bedroom is 11x11’ and has a single closet.

We don’t want to start anything unless we know there is a child on the way. Has anyone bumped out a first floor room (without expanding their basement)? We have no idea how much something like this would cost so we don’t know if this is even a possibility - does anyone have experience and numbers they could share so we could possibly start this renovation?

As a note, we live in NJ and moving isn’t an option as the market is insane here. Otherwise, our house has lots of space to grow and everything else about it works really well!

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Comments (4)

PRO
Patricia Colwell Consulting
4 years ago
There is no way for us to give you much idea of price but we nned to see the floor plan of what you have now and the plan for the addition all to scale all windows doorways and meaurements clearly marked thet is the beginning here to get help with the plan but you will need to get quotes when you are ready to begin.
User
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
A couple of hundred grand for an addition is not unheard of for NJ, even if the addition is small. The first few feet of any addition is the most expensive. After than, the price goes down for the square footage. That’s why people do the biggest addition possible. It costs less per square foot than a small addition, and adds more value to the home at resale. It also adds the most taxes, so that’s one more thing to consider.
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PRO
JAN MOYER
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
You get your existing floor plan you get at the very least a draftsman and a contractor to the site...YOU GET AN ESTIMATE, YOU WOULD NEED A PERMIT. No matter what you elect to do, and it's impossible for anyone to answer the question.

More important? Young children and parents are generally better located together on the SAME floor. .......especially when there is an infant /toddler involved. You might want to consider a second floor addition instead, keep the first floor bedroom for the play space/you may well need, or a guest area for the grands:, if when when they baby sit.

You don't mention the bath situation on the second floor,,,,,,,,,and a master bedroom worth a dime. needs a dedicated bath.

Your buggy is WAY ahead of your horse, at this point.: )
ngcurt
4 years ago
While I agree with the comments about doing more detailed planning and likely expense, just want to add that we lived in a small cape like this when our kids were born. Although it seems anathema today, the new baby and 2-1/2 year old shared the other upstairs room for several years. The older one slept right thru the baby awakening at night and visa versa. We managed. When we moved to the next house, when they were 3 and 5, we had a downstairs bedroom and they were upstairs. An intercom meant we could hear them and for all the talk about having to haul up the stairs at night, it honestly didn’t happen that often. As to your bump out, bigger might be better but maybe that’s all you can manage and isn’t IMO a terrible idea.