Living through an addition, or moving out.

Excavation and footings happen outside the existing walls. Noise and machine traffic are the disruption here, not loss of use. This is also when any tree permit work and engineering pre-application conditions get resolved on site.

For a rear or ground floor addition the new structure rises beside the house, which continues to work normally. For a second storey this is the phase where the existing roof comes off, and it is the reason that project usually means moving out.

Sheathing, membrane, roofing, windows and doors. Nothing that needs a dry space can start until this is done, so it is the milestone worth tracking above all others in a coastal climate.

The existing wall is opened into the new space, and services are tied in. Expect scheduled interruptions to power and water, the most dust of the project, and the loss of whichever rooms sit at the junction.

Electrical, plumbing and heating rough-in run through the new structure and into the existing where needed. Inspections gate the close-up of walls, so this phase moves in steps rather than continuously.

Flooring, millwork, paint, fixtures. Less disruptive to live with than anything before it, and the phase where the difference between a finished addition and a nearly finished one gets settled.

Can I live in my house during an addition?

Whether a family can stay depends on which parts of the house the work interrupts. A rear addition that leaves the existing roof, kitchen and bathrooms intact can often be lived through, because the new structure goes up beside the house and is only opened into it late in the sequence. A second storey addition removes the roof over occupied rooms, so the house is usually vacated until the new structure is weather-tight.

What does weather-tight mean and why does it matter?

Weather-tight is the point at which the new structure is closed to rain: roof on, sheathing and membrane up, windows and doors in. It matters because it is the gate that controls everything after it. Insulation, drywall, flooring and finishing cannot proceed until the space stays dry. On an addition in coastal British Columbia, reaching weather-tight is the milestone the rest of the schedule hangs from.

Which parts of an addition are the most disruptive to live with?

The loudest and dustiest phases are demolition, any structural work connecting new to existing, and the opening of the existing wall. Cutting into the house is the moment the addition stops being a separate site next door and becomes part of your living space. Trades that need to reach existing systems, such as electrical panel work or plumbing tie-ins, also mean scheduled interruptions to power and water.

How is an addition sequenced around a family still living there?

The usual approach is to keep the addition as a separate site for as long as possible. Excavation, foundation, framing, roofing and closing in all happen outside the existing walls, so the house continues to function. The connection into the existing structure is deferred until the new space is weather-tight, which compresses the genuinely disruptive period into a shorter window near the end.

Will I lose my kitchen during an addition?

You lose the kitchen when the addition includes it or when plumbing and electrical tie-ins run through it. An addition that extends a bedroom wing at the rear may never touch it. An addition designed to enlarge the kitchen will take it out for the duration of that phase, which is worth establishing at design stage because a temporary kitchen changes what the family needs from the rest of the schedule.

Does the addition need its own access for trades?

Trades need a route to the work that does not run through your living space, and where that route goes is worth deciding early. On a rear addition it usually means side yard access. Burnaby's interior side yard setback in the R1 district is 1.2 metres each side under Zoning Bylaw No. 14815, which is enough for people and material but not for large equipment, so machine access sometimes has to come through the rear lane or the front yard.

What should I expect during a major home renovation or addition?

Expect the project to run as a sequence of dependent phases rather than a set of parallel tasks. Site work and foundation come first, then framing, then closing in to weather-tight, then the mechanical and electrical rough-in, then insulation and drywall, then finishing. Each phase gates the next, which is why a delay early in the sequence moves everything after it rather than being absorbed.

Is it better to move out for an addition?

Moving out is worth it when the work removes the roof, the kitchen or the only bathroom, or when the family includes people for whom noise and dust are a health issue. Staying is reasonable when the addition is a separate structure until late in the schedule and the existing services keep running. Decide before the schedule is built, because the answer changes how the builder sequences the work.