Your family is growing. Or you just need a real office, a guest room, or a place for the kids to spread out. You have two main ways to add space. You can finish the basement, or you can build an addition. Both give you more room. They are not the same job, and they do not cost the same. Here is how to pick.
The two ways to add space
Think of it like this. Finishing a basement uses space you already have. It is empty room sitting under your roof, waiting. An addition makes the house bigger. You build new walls, a new floor, and a new roof out past where the house ends now.
That one difference changes almost everything: the cost, the time, the permits, and what kind of room you end up with.
Finishing the basement
This is the cheapest space you will ever add. The walls, the floor, and the roof are already there. We just frame, wire, plumb, drywall, and finish the inside.
A finished basement is great for bedrooms, a family or rec room, a home gym, a theater, or a full apartment with its own entrance. Basement bedrooms need an egress window so they are safe and legal, and we handle that.
The catch: it is downstairs. If you want more main-floor living or a bigger kitchen, the basement cannot give you that. Learn more on our basement finishing page.
Building an addition
An addition adds space on your main floor or up top. This is the way to get a bigger kitchen, a real primary suite, a bigger family room, or main-level living so you do not have to climb stairs.
It costs more because there is more work. We pour or build a new foundation, frame new walls, and tie a new roof into your old one. There is also more permitting since you are changing the size and shape of the house.
You get exactly the room you want, right where you want it. See our home additions page for what we build.
Rough cost: basement vs addition
Every home is different, so treat these as ranges, not a quote. The real number depends on size, finishes, and whether you add a bathroom or kitchen.
Finishing a basement usually runs somewhere around $40 to $80 per square foot. Add a bathroom, a wet bar, or a full apartment kitchen and you move toward the top of that range.
An addition usually runs around $200 to $400-plus per square foot. The foundation, the roof, and tying into the existing house are why it costs more. A new kitchen or primary suite pushes it higher.
Quick way to choose
Need bedrooms, a rec room, a theater, or a rental unit, and you have an empty basement? Finish the basement. You get the most room for the least money.
Need a bigger kitchen, a primary suite, or main-level living you do not have to take stairs to reach? Build the addition. It costs more, but it is the only way to get that space where you want it.
Pick based on the space you need
Start with the room, not the price. Ask yourself what you are missing. A place for guests or teens to sleep? A basement bedroom works great. A kitchen that finally fits your family? That is an addition.
Also think about the future. A basement apartment can bring in rent. A main-floor primary suite can let you age in place without stairs. Sometimes the answer is both, done in stages. Many homeowners pair an addition or basement finish with a wider update, and our whole-home remodeling page covers that.
"Dakota helped us with an update on a home that we were getting ready to sell and was absolutely amazing! He was excellent at communicating and keeping in touch with updates. I would 100% use him again on any home update or renovation project."
Kellie Shepherd · Home updateHow Lynnwood Construction helps you decide
You do not have to figure this out alone. Dakota comes to your home, looks at your basement and your floor plan, and talks through both paths with you. You get one honest price in writing before any work starts. No commission salesman, no pressure.
We are family-owned, based in Spanish Fork, and we have remodeled 53-plus homes across Utah County. Whichever way you go, you deal with Dakota the whole time.