How Do Northern Virginia Additions Change Your Landscaping?

Building a home addition certainly alters your interior living space, expanding the space and often rearranging traffic inside your home. But have you thought about how Northern Virginia additions change the landscape as well? More than simply displacing a few flower beds and chewing up the turf, large scale home improvement projects such as this one may require major landscaping alterations.

Common Landscaping Changes

Some home addition designs do not alter the exterior living space as much as others. For instance, an attic refurbishment or second story addition does not change the footprint of your house. Other than the heavy equipment tracking through your front yard and debris cast off in the demolition stage, this type of project should not greatly change your yard or landscaping plan.

On the other hand, any Northern Virginia additions that do expand or alter the footprint of the house will very likely affect the surrounding gardens, turf and hardscaping such as decks, patios and fences. Consider how these changes influence your outdoor living by asking the following questions:

• Where will the newly expanded foundation be located?
• What trees, gardens and hardscaping will need to be removed? Can they be moved to another location?
• How will the traffic flow and walkways change and how do those changes affect safety and security?
• Will the new addition create more shade or alter the exposure of your yard?
• Will existing trees need to be trimmed to avoid potential damage?

Depending on where the addition is located, the most common landscaping alterations include:

• deck or porch renovations
• patio repairs
• fence renovations
• garden relocation
• tree transplantation or trimming
• turf repairs
• irrigation system repairs
• hot tub relocation

Some landscape features cannot be relocated, repaired or affordably renovated. A swimming pool, for instance, may need to be ripped out and replaced if your home addition encroaches on the pool deck. Older trees and traditional stonework may not survive a move, and when extended restoration is required, you can expect these heritage materials to take a back seat during your home addition project.

Budgeting for This Portion of the Project

It may be difficult to predict the costs of landscaping alterations. Major deck or patio renovations can cost nearly as much as building a new structure, and the cost of replanting your garden often depends on the success of transplantation. Turf repairs are easier to budget for, although you may not know how much of the yard will be destroyed or damaged during the project.

Talk to your general contractor about this situation and go over the potential exterior work. Find out whether they will be working with a licensed landscape professional and consider how that hiring decision will affect your overall cost. You may want to delay the landscaping work until weather permits or plan to DIY certain parts—all of these decisions will affect the budget.

Certain styles of Northern Virginia additions will alter your landscaping and require an expanded budget. Be sure to have a trained professional on the job and consider delaying some of the landscape work if the weather or budget does not allow. These details help to make the most of your home improvement project, and keep your home looking its best.