Home Additions in Los Angeles: Everything to Know for 2025

There’s nothing quite as exciting as making changes to your home. Personalizing your home to your liking — whether it’s through major home additions or more minor customizations — brings a sense of pride and allows you to use your home the way that makes sense for you and your family.

Below is everything you need to know for 2025 about making home additions in LA.

What is a Home Addition?

A home addition is defined as any change you make to your home that adds square footage in some fashion. Los Angeles is a very diverse city in many ways, and real estate is no exception. There are many different ways you can customize your home so that it fits your needs, desires and lifestyle.

Some home additions are relatively minor, while others can be major construction projects that require extensive work. In general, though, home additions refer to any project that adds valuable living space to the existing structure.

These projects involve some sort of architectural design, heavy construction and new build-outs. As such, they require the input and involvement of licensed designers and contractors.

Types of Home Additions in Los Angeles

As mentioned, there are many different types of home additions. Here are some of the major types as well as some of the pros and cons of each.

Room Additions

The simplest type of home addition is a room addition. These involve either converting an existing space into something new, or adding a new space entirely through a bump-out or similar addition.

Room additions can include:

Attic/basement conversion: Both of these projects include taking existing space and converting it so that you can use it in a different way. You could convert these traditional storage spaces into living spaces, adding bedrooms, bathrooms, gyms, rec rooms, a family room and more. These are great home additions, since it doesn’t require an expansion of your home’s footprint.
Bump outs: Projects such as these are horizontal additions to your home. They typically add one room that you currently don’t have, such as an office or sunroom, a family room, or an expansion of a current room, such as a kitchen. These additions could add a lot of value and usability to your home.

Conventional House Addition

If you need even more space, a conventional house addition could come in many forms. It could be a single-story or two-story addition, depending on the current layout of your home.

These additions are usually done to add valuable living space to your home, or an entire new wing that could include a master bedroom suite, a guest suite or more. These home additions could be used for things such as an in-law suite, to add an expansive master bedroom that didn’t exist, to build a large kitchen or to add bedrooms, bathrooms and other living space.

Second Story Addition

If you don’t have a lot of yard space available on your property, you could also build up with a second story addition. These home additions are particularly good in densely-packed locations such as Los Angeles.

You could in essence double the square footage of your home without needing the available lot space. That is a huge benefit of this type of addition, though it could prove to be expensive and/or a big project, especially if you need to make modifications to your home’s slab foundation framing and other supports, or if you need to repaint your house to make sure it matches.

Garage Conversion

Another popular option to get extra space would be to convert a garage into living space. If you don’t park your cars in your garage, and if you don’t need the space for storage, then you could take advantage by building entire new rooms as part of a garage conversion.

Even if you have a relatively small single-car garage, you could still come away with a great addition to your home by converting it. You could convert it to anything from an in-law suite to a rec room to a laundry room and more. Depending on where the first floor walls are, you could attach this space to the rest of your existing home, making for great flow with a private bathroom addition, a master bedroom suite and much more.

ADU or Junior ADU

One of the more popular home additions is adding an ADU or a Junior ADU. These additional spaces are built detached from the home’s main structure, and have a variety of uses.

ADUs or Junior ADUs are great because not only could they give you additional living space, but they could also be used to generate rental income as well. They tend to be very desired and valuable in the Los Angeles area as well.

Benefits of Building Home Additions in Los Angeles

Room additions can completely transform your home. They can spruce it up with new life, help you personalize the home to your liking and help you adjust to a changing lifestyle.

Here are some of the main benefits of home additions:

More Living Space: Home additions give you extra living space. If your family grows, for example, this is a great way to stay in your home rather than moving by adding square footage to your existing home.
Personalization: Home additions give you the opportunity to personalize your home to your liking. You can make certain rooms bigger or add entirely new rooms.
Increased Value: The additional space in your home will result in added property value. Home additions are often seen as smart investments, especially if you’re adding bedrooms and bathrooms, or expanding a kitchen.
Increased Functionality: Many homeowners can make their house more functional by opening up space, ensuring that things are less crammed and more. The renovation process could also just involve interior remodeling with the removal of interior walls, giving your first floor much more functionality.

How Much Does an Addition Cost in Los Angeles?

The total cost of a home addition can vary greatly in Los Angeles, anywhere from $50,000 to $1 million or more. That’s because there are so many different factors that you need to consider, including what type of addition you’re doing, what the remodeling project involves, the city fees, what the current structure of your home is, whether it's a first floor addition or if you're adding a second floor, the materials you’re choosing, etc.

That being said, there are some general guides that you can follow.

A primary suite addition could cost between $150,000 and $200,000 in Los Angeles. This would likely give you a great primary suite that would be about 400 to 500 square feet, and have a footprint of about 20 feet by 25 feet.

Adding a bathroom to your home could cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000. Of course, this cost will depend greatly on how big the bathroom is, whether it’s located close to existing plumbing, what you’re putting in your bathroom (tub, shower, tub/shower combo or just toilet and sink) and what materials you choose.

Adding a kitchen could cost at least $120,000 in Los Angeles. This is often one of the more expensive single-room additions due to the materials used, the plumbing and electrical required, and the appliances and cabinetry. Kitchens can get quite expensive quickly, too, because of these materials.

A second-story addition could cost from about $400 to $700 per square foot. This will depend on what’s involved with the construction (reinforcement of foundation, raising/replacing the roof, exterior work such as a backyard makeover, etc.), whether it’s a full or partial addition and the materials you choose.

Again, there are a lot of factors that can dramatically impact the price of your home addition in Los Angeles, but the above can serve as a general outline and guide for your project.

Get a Quote for an LA Home Addition from Avenue Remodeling

If you’re thinking about expanding your home, you need to make sure that you’re choosing a contractor that you can trust and that has years of experience in the Los Angeles area. At Avenue Remodeling, we are fully licensed and insured and can handle any home addition project you have in Los Angeles.

For more information, or to get a free quote, please contact us today.

Process of Building a Home Addition in Los Angeles

Home addition projects can be quite extensive and involved. There are many different steps to the process, including getting a quote, designing your addition, submitting the plans for city approval, selecting materials and having the work done.

It’s important to make sure that you’re following each of these meticulously if you want your project to be done the way you want, on time, on budget and up to all appropriate codes.

The first step in any home addition in Los Angeles is to get a quote. Once you have decided on the project you want, contact multiple contractors so you can get the best quote possible.

Next, you will need to get your home addition designed. This process will involve your contractor and/or an architect and designer. They will sketch out your home addition, including details such as the layout of the room, how it will connect to your existing house, and other structural considerations as well.

These design plans will then need to be submitted to the city to obtain the required permits. The building department and all other appropriate departments will analyze the plans to ensure that they are compliant with all local zoning regulations and building codes. They’ll also make sure that the construction is being done in a safe way to provide the proper support to your home and the addition.

After the city has reviewed your plans, you will receive a permit for the work. This is when the construction company can actually begin working on building your home addition.

A big part of the process that can also happen while awaiting the permits is to choose the various materials that you want to have in your home addition. If you’re building a new kitchen, for example, you will need to choose everything from the style, materials and color of your cabinets; the countertop and backsplash materials; appliances such as dishwasher, oven/range, microwave and refrigerator; flooring; paint colors and much more.

The process of selecting materials can be a lot of fun for the homeowner, but it’s also a process where your budget can fluctuate significantly. So, make sure you work with your contractor and/or designer to stay within budget and choose appropriate materials for your home addition.

Key Considerations for Home Additions in Los Angeles

There are many things that you need to weigh as you’re planning a home addition in Los Angeles. Here are some of the key considerations …

Needs: What are your goals with the home addition? Do you need more space in general, or are you in need of something specific such as additional bedrooms? Defining what you need first will help determine what type of addition you should pursue.
Current Footprint and Lot Space: A lot of what you can do in terms of home additions will depend on the current footprint of your home and the available space you have on your lot. If you don’t have any room to build out, for instance, then your only options would be converting existing space or building up. Whether you can do the latter, though, depends on the local zoning regulations.
Budget: Of course, the budget needs to be front and center of all home additions. LA can get expensive in terms of home remodeling and renovation projects, especially if you don’t consider things such as materials.
Contractor: It’s extremely important to hire a contractor that’s experienced in home additions in LA, is licensed and insured, and that you can trust. Make sure to vet multiple contractors before hiring one, and get multiple quotes.
Timeframe: The permitting process in Los Angeles can take a while, so you should also consider your total timeframe. How immediate do you need the extra living space, and does that align with the project you’re undertaking?

Avenue Remodeling Can Bring Your Dream Home Additions in LA to Life

As mentioned above, hiring the right contractor is of the utmost importance when you’re planning home additions in LA. By properly vetting prospective candidates, you can ensure that you’re hiring one that has years of experience, is fully licensed and insured, is transparent and communicates well, and has the expertise you need.

Avenue Remodeling is the #1 remodeling and home addition contractor in Los Angeles. We can bring your dream home additions to life — no matter what your needs or vision. We’re a fully-service remodeling and construction company, acting as your one-stop shop for everything you need to get the home of your dreams.

FAQs About Home Additions in Los Angeles

Is a home addition a good investment in Los Angeles?

A home addition is a good investment in Los Angeles. The added space increases your home value and also maximizes your enjoyment of your home.

Is it cheaper to build a house or add an addition in Los Angeles?

It is cheaper to build an addition in Los Angeles. Even though you may need to do some retrofitting in terms of added supports, it’s always cheaper to add less square feet in a home addition than a full new home construction.

What is the cheapest type of home addition in Los Angeles?

The cheapest type of home addition in Los Angeles is a single-room bump out. These can vary in cost, too, but the cheapest ones are those that don’t involve bathrooms, kitchens and/or primary suites.

How much does it cost to add 1000 square feet to a house in LA?

The cost to add 1,000 square feet to a house in LA can vary greatly, depending on whether it’s a bump out, conversion or second-story addition, what rooms you’re adding and what materials you’re using. The range can be great, too — anywhere from $150,000 to $800,000.

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