When you are adding on a porch to your home, or adding on anything to your home for that matter, there are quite a few obstacles you have to go through to get your project approved—more than people would think!

If you are interested in expanding your home in any way, whether that be remodeling your kitchen or adding a screened porch, there are some things that you need to be aware of and some steps you need to take to get your project approved before you begin.

Easements (aka lot limitations)

Utility companies, local governments, and surrounding homeowners could have an easement on your land, restricting your ability to add on as you please.

What is an easement, you may be wondering? An easement is a formal, written agreement that states that you can not build past a certain point on your land. Some easements may state that you can not build underground past a certain point.

Oftentimes people buy a home and sign the paperwork without realizing that there are easements in place. For example, a utility company may have had your neighborhood developer sign an easement, saying that nothing would be built over their gas line that runs through the entire neighborhood.

There could also be a homeowner association easement based on side lot or rear lot restrictions, which would limit what you are allowed to add to your home and how close you can come to the end of your lot.

Your local or city government or county could have and easement on your property as well.

Any of these easements would require your approval from the people who set up the easement in the first place, and sometimes approvals are not granted, which means that your project cannot be done.

For this reason, we encourage you to leave it up to the professionals! P. L. Lyons Architectural Builders has good standing in the community and is familiar with policies in many different areas in Louisville, Ky. You can hire us to find out if the add-on you desire is even possible before you waste a lot of time and energy planning a project that won’t work.

Have a realistic budget

Lastly, having a realistic budget is important when planning your project. We can assess your situation and give you a good estimate on what it will cost to complete the project you dream of. Many people start the project unaware of the price, and then end up being extremely frustrated when they run into obstacles that they didn’t expect and have to come up with the money to get the project across the finish line.

PL Lyons, Inc. has been building custom homes in Greater Louisville since 1974 and would love to help you get the home of your dreams! If you have any questions about a project or need advice on anything, please don’t hesitate to schedule a consultation with us today!