With the expensive nature of home additions, consider these cost-effective alternatives using your existing footprint.

Almost all homeowners look for ways to increase their current living space. Whether the house is too small or is missing something like another bedroom, bathroom, or home office, many homeowners assume that a home addition is the only way to get the spaces they want.

What they don’t realize is that home additions are expensive. Expanding the footprint of a house means additional site work, foundations, exterior walls, roofing and potentially bigger and larger mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems to deal with the extra square footage.

With the high price of home additions, consider the alternative: working within the current footprint of your house to get what you want. It’s quite possible to get everything you want simply by reconfiguring your house’s existing layout which could save you tons of money in construction and utility costs, not to mention the increased property taxes you’d have due to a larger home.

If you’re looking for cost-effective alternatives to a house addition, here are four possibilities to consider.

Basement or Attic Conversion

Assuming there is enough headroom and stair access, the most economical way to expand your house is turning the attic or basement into livable space. The walls, floor, and roof are already there so why not use them? Of course, if you’re looking to expand a kitchen or an existing room, this isn’t ideal but if you’re looking to add an entire room of livable space to your home, this is a great way to do it.

Your biggest concerns for basement and attic conversions will be code compliance (ensuring adequate egress from the spaces) and ventilation (whether it’s a damp basement or a stuffy attic). But these unused spaces can be a great tradeoff to building an addition. Basements are great for TV rooms and play areas while attics are great for master bedroom suites and home offices.

Convert Underutilized Spaces

Assess your current house for spaces and rooms that don’t get much use and consider converting them into multi-purpose spaces.  Do you have a spare bedroom, for instance, or a formal dining room that only gets used a few days over the holidays?

Why not use these spare bedrooms and let them double as home offices or media rooms? You can get creative with your furniture and casework if you want and create a built-in desk that folds up and out of the way when not in use. There’s very little cost associated with converting these spaces and adapting them to other uses, far less than adding on from the exterior.

Remove Interior Walls

Another way to make the most of the rooms you have is to simply remove some interior walls and create an open floor plan.

Many newer homes already have open floor plans. But if you have an older home with separate rooms, consider removing the dividing wall between kitchen, dining, and/or living rooms.

Make sure to consult with an engineer to confirm whether the walls are load-bearing or not. If they aren’t, you can simply remove them. If they are, you can add beams to replace the walls. There’s a minimal engineering cost and construction cost associated with this, but at a fraction of the cost of an addition, your rooms will feel bigger and better.

Eliminate Wasted Square Footage

And lastly, you may also be able to find better efficiency within your existing floor plan. Does your home have redundant circulation space, like multiple hallways or stairs? Simply reconfiguring the traffic flow can free up the needed extra space for the spaces you want to add.

Also, consider your storage spaces and mechanical spaces. Do you need all that closet space? Can you move your laundry appliances to a different location so that you can reconfigure the space more efficiently? This might even help you accommodate a bigger kitchen or bathroom – all without building an addition.