Build
Additions that don't look added on
The work that matters on an addition is the joint, where new roof meets old roof, new foundation meets old foundation, and new siding has to read as if it was always there.
- Additions, dormers, garages and in-law suites
- Zoning, setbacks and septic capacity checked before design
- Structural tie-ins and frost-depth foundations to match
- Electrical, plumbing, heat, insulation and drywall in the scope
- You stay in the house; we plan the work around that
First question: can it go where you want it?
Setbacks, lot coverage and height limits get checked against the survey before design starts, because those are the constraints that quietly kill projects on smaller in-town lots in Dover, Portsmouth and Somersworth. If the house is on septic, the system was designed for a specific bedroom count, and adding a bedroom often means the system gets re-evaluated or replaced, a significant line item that takes people by surprise constantly.
When the plan does not fit the rules, a variance is a real process with a public hearing that commonly adds two to three months. Sometimes the better answer is redesigning to fit: going up with a shed dormer or a second story instead of out, or shifting the footprint eight feet, and we would rather show you three approvable options than one that needs a fight.
The joint is the whole job
Everything that goes wrong with additions goes wrong at the seam, and almost all of it is water or movement. New valleys and roof-to-wall intersections get ice and water membrane, step flashing woven into each shingle course, and a kickout flashing where the roof edge meets a sidewall, because a missing kickout rots a wall cavity in a decade and is one of the most common defects in this housing stock.
The new foundation sits at the same frost depth as the old one, roughly four feet here, and new concrete gets pinned to old with epoxy-set rebar so the addition does not walk away from the house. Cutting into an existing wall means the load that wall carried goes into a header or beam, sometimes carried down through the existing floor framing to a new footing, and where the design needs it we bring in a structural engineer to do the arithmetic.
Matching an old house
Thirty-year-old cedar, faded vinyl and discontinued shingle blends cannot be matched invisibly, so we plan the transition instead: run the new material to a corner where the eye expects a break, make the addition a deliberate architectural change, or redo the full elevation or roof. We price the options and you choose.
What makes an addition read as original is geometry: window sizes and head heights, clapboard exposure, trim profiles and roof pitch measured off the existing house and matched. We also shoot the existing floor before framing, because an eighty-year-old floor is rarely level, and we tell you whether the new floor tapers, adjusts at the sill, or takes a deliberate step before the wall opens.
How it goes
How the job runs
01
Walkthrough and feasibility
We look at the house and the lot, check setbacks, coverage and septic capacity, and tell you whether what you want fits, and what going up instead of out would change.
02
Design and permitting
Drawings, structural engineering where the tie-in needs it, selections and allowances, then permits. If a variance is required we build the hearing schedule into the timeline.
03
Build and tie in
Foundation, frame, roof and envelope go up while your house stays closed in. Then the wall opens, the structure ties in, and electrical, plumbing and heat extend into the new space, roughed and inspected before insulation and drywall close it up.
04
Blend and close out
Siding, roofing, trim, interior finishes and paint bring the two halves together. We walk it with you and work the punch list. Warranty terms are set out in your signed contract.
The spec
What goes into the build
- Structure & tie-in
- Poured concrete frost walls
- Epoxy-set rebar tie-ins
- LVL headers and beams
- Engineered subfloor panels
- Envelope
- Ice-and-water membrane at valleys and sidewalls
- Step and kickout flashing
- GAF certified roofing
- Fiber cement siding
- Cedar and engineered wood siding
- PVC and composite trim
- Wood and clad-wood windows
- Closed-cell spray foam
- Dense-pack cellulose
- Systems
- Electrical panel and circuit upgrades
- PEX supply and PVC drain-waste-vent plumbing
- Cold-climate heat pump heads
- Interior
- Drywall, taped and finished
Questions
Straight answers
- How long does an addition take?
- Roughly three to five months on site for a single-story addition, longer for two stories or a full basement. Design, engineering and permitting add two to four months in front of that, and a zoning variance adds two to three more, so six to nine months from first call to finished space is a realistic range. Your schedule gets written into the contract once the drawings are settled.
- Do I have to move out?
- Almost never. Most of an addition is built outside your existing walls, and the disruptive days, opening the wall and tying in plumbing, electrical and heat, are scheduled and told to you in advance. If the project takes out the kitchen or the only bathroom for a stretch, you get the dates before you sign.
- How do you handle surprises when you open up an old wall?
- Expect them: rot in a sill, knob-and-tube wiring, no header over an opening a previous owner cut, asbestos in old floor tile. We probe and inspect what we can before anyone commits to a number, and how allowances, contingency and change orders work is set out in your written contract before you sign it. What we will not do is quietly build over a problem so the schedule stays pretty.
- Will the addition match the rest of the house?
- It will match in geometry: pitch, exposure, trim profile and window head heights, which is what makes an addition read as original. Color will not match perfectly on day one, because material that has weathered for decades cannot be replicated. We plan the transition at a corner, as a deliberate architectural change, or by redoing the elevation or roof, and price all three.
- Does the addition include the electrical, plumbing and heat?
- Yes, and it starts with capacity: we check whether your panel can carry the new circuits or needs an upgrade, and whether the existing heating system can reach the new space or the addition gets its own heat pump head, which is often the better answer. Plumbing for a bath, laundry or in-law suite ties into the existing drain and vent stack where slope allows. All of it is roughed in and inspected before insulation and drywall, under the same contract as the frame.
- Do you handle the permits, zoning and the building inspector?
- Yes. We prepare the application, coordinate with the code office, and are on site for inspections at footing, framing, rough-in, insulation and final. If the project needs a variance or special exception, we prepare that application and go to the hearing with you, and we tell you up front when we think an application is unlikely to pass.
- Who is my point of contact once the work starts?
- One person who knows your job, instead of a different number for every trade. Nova carries every trade on the job under one contract, so the electrical, plumbing, heat, roof, siding, tile, flooring, cabinets and countertops are not nine companies with nine schedules and nine opinions about who damaged what.
- Do you offer financing?
- Yes. We work with third-party financing partners who can finance up to $200,000 of work, which covers most additions, and we will connect you when you are ready to talk numbers. Home equity lines and renovation loans are the other common routes, so it is worth comparing rates before you pick one.
- Is an addition cheaper than moving?
- Sometimes. An addition avoids realtor fees, closing costs and a move, and keeps you in a neighborhood and school district you chose, but you pay a premium per square foot working around an existing structure. If the house has a bad foundation, a failing septic or a layout more square footage cannot fix, we will say so before you spend anything on drawings.
Thinking about adding on?
Tell us what you're planning. We'll walk the property, talk through what's realistic, and put together a scope and a number you can hold us to.
Showroom in Dover, NH · Serving the New Hampshire Seacoast and southern Maine