Home Additions in Aurora IL - More Room Without Leaving the Home You Love

There's no line on a calendar that says you've outgrown a house. But most people know it when they feel it. Here are some common signs.

Everyone is always in the same room. If the family room is also the playroom, the office and the place where homework happens, you're short on space, not organization. Buying more bins won't fix it.

Someone new is moving in. An aging parent, a grown child coming home or a new baby can change what a house needs fast. A bedroom with its own bath on the main floor can make that move a lot easier on everyone.

You love the location but not the layout. Plenty of people like their lot, their commute and their neighbors. They just need one more room. Selling, paying moving costs and starting over somewhere else is a big trade for one room.

The garage holds more junk than cars. If the car parks in the driveway all year, that garage may be better used as living space.

You've already finished the basement. If the lower level is done and you still need room, building out or converting space you already have is the next step.

You want more daylight. A room with windows on three sides can change how a house feels, especially in winter.

If two or three of these sound like your house, it's worth getting a remodeler out to look at what your lot and your house can handle.

Not every addition means pouring a new foundation. Some projects add brand new square footage to the outside of the house. Others turn space you already have under the roof into rooms you can live in. Here are the three kinds of projects this page covers.

Room Additions are the classic choice. A remodeler builds a new ground-level room off the side or back of the house, often a family room, a bigger kitchen area or a primary suite with its own bath. This is the biggest job of the three. It takes a foundation, framing, a roof that ties into the old one, and usually new heating, wiring and sometimes plumbing. It also gives you the most freedom to get the room you want.

Sunroom Additions add a bright, glass-heavy room you can use all year. This page covers the four-season type: insulated walls and roof, real windows and heat, so it works in January as well as July. A sunroom often feels like part of the house, not a porch with walls.

Garage Conversion turns an attached garage into finished living space. The walls, roof and slab are already there, so the work centers on insulation, a floor that sits warm and level, closing up the big door, and running heat and power. It can make a good home office, guest room or den.

If your space problem is really about the floor plan inside, a whole home remodeling project that opens up walls may get you there without adding on. And if you have an unfinished lower level, basement remodeling is often the first place to look for more room.

Aurora has a wide mix of houses. The median home here was built in 1987, about 1 in 7 homes went up before 1940, and about 4 in 10 date to the 1990s and 2000s, according to Census Reporter's housing data for Aurora. An addition on a house from before 1940 is a very different job from one on a house built in the 1990s. Older homes may have uneven floors, odd framing or old wiring that has to be dealt with where the new room meets the old one.

Every addition here needs a building permit. The city lists additions, new construction and structural changes among the work that needs one on its permit page. The permit has to be posted where it can be seen from the street, and it expires after 6 months with no activity, so a stalled project can mean starting that step over.

Before you apply, the city's pre-permit checklist mentions scaled drawings, a plat of survey showing setbacks, and whether an HOA needs to sign off. If your neighborhood has an HOA, check its rules early.

If you live in one of Aurora's local historic districts, Near Eastside, Riddle Highlands, Tanner or Palace Street, new construction needs a Historic Certificate of Appropriateness before work starts.

It starts with you. Tell us what you want to add, roughly where it would go, and how you want to use the space. You can read more on our How It Works page.

Most additions start with a site visit to measure the house and the lot and talk through what's possible. After that comes a free written quote, and whether you move ahead is up to you.

From there, a typical addition goes like this: drawings, the permit application, site prep and foundation, framing and roof, windows and doors, then rough electrical, plumbing and heating with inspections along the way. Insulation, drywall, flooring and trim come last, followed by a final inspection. How long all that takes depends on the size of the project, the weather and the permit schedule.

An addition is one of the larger jobs you can do on a house, so take your time picking who builds it.

Ask whether the remodeler meets the City of Aurora's contractor licensing requirements. The city won't issue a permit until they do. Ask for proof of insurance and call the insurer to confirm it's current.

Get a written contract. Under Illinois law, any home repair or remodeling job over $1,000 needs a written contract that shows the total cost and the business name and address. Read it before you sign.

Agree in writing on who pulls the permit. Ask who will be at the inspections. Get more than one quote so you can compare what's included, and be careful with anyone who wants all the money up front.