In this collection of articles originally published in Fine Homebuilding magazine, some of America's best architects and builders prove that upgrading no longer means uprooting. All across the country homeowners are increasing the value and comfort of their homes by incorporating properly scaled, artfully detailed, custom additions. Whether you're thinking about a substantial full-story addition or just adding the sun porch you're always wanted, add this book to your library before you draft the plans.

Additions come in all sizes, from adding an extra bedroom or bath to putting on an entire floor. This book contains dozens of ideas for additions along with candid accounts of the design and construction from the architects, builders, and homeowners involved - a rare chance to hear firsthand about the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. In this collection of articles originally published in Fine Homebuilding magazine, some of America's best architects and builders prove that upgrading no longer means uprooting. All across the country homeowners are increasing the value and comfort of their homes by incorporating properly scaled and artfully detailed custom additions.

• Features more than 175 photos and 45 drawings, including before and after floor plans
• Details a variety of additions from small to grand
• Covers master suites, bathrooms, and kitchens, as well as exterior add-ons like porticos, porches, and covered entries
• Reveals how architects and builders create additions that overcome a variety of common building challenges

As if the odd size weren't bad enough, the addition was built on a peanut-brittle foundation - stones laid along the ground with concrete drizzled over them - and framed with old doors, stood up, one next to the other, and nailed together. Given that the frost line here in Connecticut is at 42 inches, the foundation heaved, the wall sagged, and for at least 80 years, cold air and small animals enjoyed ready access to the house.

After ignoring the problem for as long as I could, I recently guttted the wall and started digging a real foundation. When I'm done with this project, I will have rebuilt my odd little addition in the same place and the same size as before - sturdier, more conventionally, but much the same. You might wonder why? Well, I'm a fan of houses that grow over time, and I want to preserve some record of this addition.

Like the pencil lines on a door jamb chronicling a child's height through the years, additions are a visual history of a home's growth. They tell a story about who lived in the house and how their needs, or their resources, changed over time. And sometimes, a series of additions can even manage a kind of fubsy charm that wouldn't have been possible had the whole thing been built at once. That's what I'm hoping for my place. But not all additions fit the telescoping model of my old cape. Some will dwarf the house they accompany; others will blend seamlessly.

As this book attests, additions come in all shapes and sizes. Collected here are 25 articles from past issues of Fine Homebuilding. Written by builders and architects from all over the country, these projects offer dozens of useful lessons for adding onto your house, whether all at once or bit by bit.
- Kevin Ireton
Editor in Chief, Fine Homebuilding Magazine

Table of Contents
Introduction. ADDING UP: A Coastal Remodel Triumphs over Limits by Duo Dickinson. A Town House Opens Up in Philadelphia by Tony Atkin. A Top Floor with a Low Profile by Laura Du Charme Conboy. Elevating the Shingle Style by William L. Burgin. Making Room by Todd Remington. Uncramping a Cottage by Matthew A. Longo. Adding on, but Staying Small by Harry N. Pharr. The View Tower by James Estes. Adding a Second Story by Tony Simmonds. ADDING ON THE SIDE: Expanding a Half-Cape into a Full-Blown House by Joseph B. Lanza. Remaking an Old Adobe in the Territorial Style by Ken Wolosin. A Wish for a Kitchen and a Bath by Louis A. DiBerardino. A New Approach to the Kitchen by Andrew Peklo III. A New Master Suite by Scott A. Kinzy. ADDING ON Remodeling a Cape for a Shrinking Family by Howard Pruden. Building a Grand Veranda by Kevin Wilkes. Adding a Covered Entry by Christopher Wuerth. A Shoji Bath by Dale Brentrup. ADDING OUT: Prairie Home Addition by Ken Dahlin. A Greek Revival Home Gets a New Kitchen by Holly B. Cratsley. A Victorian Blossoms in the Orchard by John Seibert. Adding a Sunroom with Porch by Didier Ayel. Kitchen Remodel, Family Style by Ann Finnerty. A Screen Porch Dresses up a Ranch by Alex L. Varga. Skylight Kitchen by George Burman and Patricia Looney-Burman. Credits.