Additions, Decks, Porches and Outbuildings
No doubt a classification that groups outbuildings such as sheds and garages with room additions such as sunrooms and kitchen extensions seems mismatched and unwieldy. We usually don't think of garden sheds and decks as being in the same league with additions, sunrooms and bumpouts.
These structures all have features in common that lead us, as remodelers, to treat them as essentially the same sort of creature.
Our post and beam 1-1/2 story carriage house used as a two-car garage with loft storage. Post and beam construction supports very large open spaces without the need for interior posts or supporting walls.
• First, they add space to your home — not just redo existing space.
• Second, most often a new foundation is required, and
• Third, and our favorite, we get to define the size and shape of the structure.
When renovating an existing space we are constrained to fit features and functions into the size and shape of the available space. If we are remodeling your kitchen, for example, all of the cabinets, counters, appliances and other items required for a kitchen must be fitted into the existing space in a manner that is both visually appealing and functional. The space constraint is the overriding limitation of the design.
Why settle for a 3-season sunroom when for about the same price we can build a fully insulated, climate controlled sunroom addition.
Planning for an addition, deck, or outbuilding we typically have more flexibility. We can, for example, design the space to fit it function rather than trying to force adequate functionality into an existing space that may not be the ideal shape or size. This is not to say that there are no limitations. We are always somewhat constrained by the size of the property, set-back regulations and connecting the additional space to the existing structure so that the space flows properly. But there is certainly more freedom to get it right in a well-proportioned space when we are designing the structure.
We do not build new houses, but we do build just about every other kind of residential structure from trellises to barns, patios to porches to pergolas, and of course, room additions, garages, and sheds. We even can build post and beam structures, including some very large barns.
Room Additions
Design for a redwood deck with pergola and gazebo for a South Lincoln home. See what deck options are available.
We can build a room addition for any purpose: sunrooms, kitchen and bath extensions, new bedrooms, a new family room or just about any other room you can imagine. Ours are fully insulated, climate controlled extensions of your house. We almost never build unheated "three-season rooms" only because the additional cost of actually building a insulated space is so small that there is no reason not to build fully functioning rather that partly useful space. For more information see Planning Your Addition.
Decks and Porches
We are not especially oriented to building decks and porches, but we may build more large, complex decks than just about any other remodeler in this area.
Our deck design software allows us to completely plan out your multi-level deck with pergolas, steps, benches, and any other feature you may want, and let your look at it in full color on your computer before we pick up a hammer.
For an overview of decks, deck building and the many options available, take a look at our Deck Handbook.
Your Old Garage
Our garages sit on full ribbon footings that may be insulated for a heated work space.
By far the most common outbuilding we build is a garage. We replace a lot of garages that are falling down now because they were originally built without a foundation — just a slab on the ground. The result is predictable. The weight of the garage walls eventually cracks the slab. The walls start to sag, them the roof. Finally the door jams and stops working.
Our garages have full ribbon footings down to the frost line under thick 4" slabs carefully sloped so that water drains quickly out of the garage. We can insulate the slab if you want to heat the garage now or later. We can build your garage using standard or post and beam framing. If you want a storage loft, a full second floor or a mother-in-law apartment above the garage, we can do that too.
Barns and Outbuildings
One of our larger barns. We also built post and beam garages, carriage houses and other outbuildings more suited to a city lot.
We can build great big structures using post and beam framing. Post and beam is a very old form of building using large timbers. Our sister company produces the timbers from Nebraska trees and the necessary heavy-duty hardware, and we use them to build things.
You may not have enough room for a huge gambrel barn on your city lot, but a traditional carriage house with loft complements many old Nebraska homes, and proves wonderful storage. We can build them just like they used to.
For more information visit our post and beam partner: Sand Creek Post & Beam.