Bonus Rooms- Making Them Larger

MikeTheBuilder

In Florida it's pretty common to build a bonus room over a garage space. We do this a lot in new construction. When we have the plans drawn, the plan designer always specifies a width that they know the truss company can build. I have found that it usually can be made wider with little extra cost. Case in point. We are building a custom home with a 12' wide by 29' long bonus room over the garage. That's the way it was drawn. After we received the completed plans from the Clients designer I called our truss company and asked how much wider could they make the room with little extra cost? Since I had not awarded the contract on the trusses yet, they agreed to make it 4 feet wider without any additional cost at all. This happens all the time! We normally place trusses 24" on center. Sometimes, all it take is beefing up the top or bottom cord of the truss. Other times you add a few additional trusses and place them on 16" centers. Either way, it's a bargan! Most of the time I just call the Client up and say guess what! I can tell you that they really appreciate the good news! Other times I tell them what it will cost and add it to their bill. Doing what we all do is a tough job and a difficult process for our Clients. There are going to be times when the Client is not happy with something. I find that throwing some positive things into the mix for the Clients that is free or of little cost goes along way. In the end you don't want the Client to feel like a loaf of "Wonder Bread". Squeezed by the builder whenever he got a chance for more money. It's things like this that I use to reinforce the relationship with my Clients. A happy Client tells all his friends how great you are. Unhappy, Clients tell the world!

__________________
You can pay people to work for you, but you can't pay them to give you their heart. They have to give that of their own free will. The best Managers are the ones that can make that happen.
www.regalclassichomes.com

mdshunk

That's a good tip, Mike.

Related to bonus rooms, how do you GC's typically ask for them to be wired? I'm always torn on exactly how to handle these rooms, since they aren't normally finished off by the original builder. I most often put a switch at the top and bottom of the stairs that will turn on a light or two in the bonus room, and bring a couple 12-2's to the room and cap them off for future use. How's it being done in your area?

woodmagman

Are the bonus rooms you are talking about on a detached garage or attached?

MikeTheBuilder

The garages are normally attached to the rest of the homes structure.

50 % of the clients ask us to build the house with the bonus room unfinished. Trusses, a couple of switched bare light bulbs in the ceiling and floor sheathing if the Building Department will let us. 90% of the time after we start building and they see this wonderful room over the garage, they ask for a price to complete it, while we are building the rest of the home. I give them the price and tell them if I have to come back and do it at another time after we leave the job site, it's going to cost them twice as much. Most of the time they have us finish it while we are there.

__________________
You can pay people to work for you, but you can't pay them to give you their heart. They have to give that of their own free will. The best Managers are the ones that can make that happen.
www.regalclassichomes.com

Vabuilder

the largest trusses I've used recently were 39' long with a built in 10' cantilevered roof. I've found that a truss company can design/build almost any size truss you want.

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72chevy4x4

I was in a commercial space which used 60' trusses spaced 24"-if I recall they were of 2x8 construction and two pieces (top thingy was attached to bottom part on site). What's the top 'thingy' of a truss called?

thanks for the tip.

MikeTheBuilder

The top pieces in 2 part trusses are called piggy back trusses.

__________________
You can pay people to work for you, but you can't pay them to give you their heart. They have to give that of their own free will. The best Managers are the ones that can make that happen.
www.regalclassichomes.com

MHMConstruction

worth a shot - i've got a bonus room in my house coming up

many thanks