The Differences Between Building Out and Building Up

17 Sep 2021 Custom Building

Over time, your family may outgrow the amount of space you have in your current home and make moving a tempting option. If you love your home and your neighbourhood, the last thing you want to do is pack up and move your family to another location. That is why the team at Twin Maple Construction is proud to provide complete home addition solutions for clients that need more space. As experts in residential construction, they understand that every home is unique. While building out may make sense for some living spaces, building up may be a better choice for others. To help you determine which option is best for your wants and needs, their team has compiled some information to outline the differences between building out and building up.

Learn about the benefits of home additions.

Building Out

Also known as adding on, building out refers to renovations that expand a space horizontally. Building out typically increases the footprint of the ground floor of a home, though it is certainly possible to build out for upper levels in some layouts. Examples of building out can include kitchen expansions, adding a family room, and expanding existing common areas like living rooms. Building out is less disruptive than building up as it allows you to utilize most of your other rooms like normal during construction. Additionally, building out tends to cost less than building up, allowing you to create more space for less.

It is worth noting that building out will likely take some of your yard space away. For some homeowners, this can be seen as an advantage due to the reduced lawn care and maintenance requirements. Though adding on is a sensible choice for most properties, it may not suit homes with little to no yard space.

Building Up

While building out refers to renovations that expand a space horizontally, building up refers to renovations that create more vertical space. Some common examples of building up include adding another floor to a one-storey house or adding living space above a garage. Building up is a great choice for properties with small yards or limited horizontal space.

Although building up can create more space than building out, it is often more disruptive as it will affect most existing rooms in your home. In some instances, building up may even require the removal of walls or the ceiling to replace wiring, plumbing, and other systems. This can drastically increase the cost of the renovation, making it more expensive than building out in most cases. Some jurisdictions may also have restrictions on the height of homes in an area, so you will need to ensure that your new living space will comply with these restrictions before starting construction.

To learn more about their home addition solutions and other residential construction services, get in touch with the team at Twin Maple Construction. They can be reached through their online contact form and will be happy to discuss your project.