The difficulty in an addition is never the new part. It is the joint between new structure and old, the roofline that has to look as though it was always there, and a family living in the house while it happens.
Before the finishes
Nobody goes looking for a contractor in the abstract. These are the three things we hear first, and what we do about each of them.
Where the new roof meets the old is what the street sees. It gets resolved on paper before the plan is finalised, not improvised in framing.
Siding profile, brick blend, window sightlines and trim proportions specified against what is already there.
Flashing, transition and expansion drawn as a detail. It is the place additions leak, and it is the place they look wrong.
What is actually carrying load, what the footings are, and whether the existing framing can take another floor.
Beams, posts, footings and lateral resistance calculated by a licensed structural engineer before submission.
A beam is only as good as what holds it up. The path is drawn all the way down, including new footings where they are needed.
Where the layout allows, the addition is built and dried in before the existing wall is opened.
Temporary partitions, negative air where it matters, and a defined route the trades use.
Planned into the schedule rather than discovered halfway through.
Our process
Six stages, in order, with what you get at the end of each one. Nothing here starts until the stage before it is finished and signed off — which is the whole reason the schedule holds.
Setbacks, lot coverage, height limits and easements. What the site will allow is established before anything is designed, so the design is of a building that can actually be permitted.
A by-right study: what can be built here without a variance.
Foundation, framing, roof structure and services as they are, not as the original drawings say. Older houses are rarely square and almost never as documented.
Measured existing conditions to design against.
The addition planned against how the house is used, and massed so the roof resolves. A well-planned addition that reads as a bolt-on has failed at this stage, and no finish rescues it.
Plans, elevations and a roof plan showing how old meets new.
Foundation, beams and the connection back to the existing structure, calculated and stamped. Then submission, review and any revisions.
A stamped set and an approved permit.
Excavation, foundation, framing, roof and envelope. The priority is closing the building in — everything after that is under cover and predictable.
A weathertight date in the schedule, tracked weekly.
The opening between old and new is made as late as the sequence allows, so the house stays liveable and sealed as long as possible. Then services, finishes, and matching in at every junction.
A snag walk that pays particular attention to the joins.
What’s included
Need inspiration?
Bring us the pictures you keep coming back to and our designers take it from there — working from the exterior style of the house, its proportions, its era and its materials, so every room reads as part of the same building rather than a set of separate good ideas.
One vision, carried through, inside and out. The image here is a reference for a treatment, not a photograph of one of our own projects.
Talk to a designer →What it takes
Every job is priced from its own drawings, so what follows is scope rather than a menu: what falls inside each level, in the order the decisions actually get made. The same three names run through our finish levels below, because the two questions — how much work, and to what standard — are answered together.
Priced at design
Priced at design
Priced at design
Same Queen Boss craftsmanship at every level. Scope and finish are what move the number, never quality of workmanship — and you get an exact figure for your own project after the walk-through and the drawings, not before.
Define the finish
Two rooms of exactly the same size can cost dramatically different amounts, and the difference is selections. Cabinetry, countertops, tile, fixtures, lighting, appliances, doors, trim and hardware all move the number. These three tiers give us a shared language, so when you say “a $50,000 kitchen” we can talk immediately about what that realistically includes.
A clean, well-built home using quality builder-grade materials — the right choice when maximising budget toward square footage and structure matters most.
Upgraded materials and brands throughout that elevate everyday livability and long-term durability — without moving into full custom pricing.
A full custom finish package with premium brands, natural materials, and designer detailing — built for clients who want the home to be a showpiece.
Per square foot, finishes only — excludes land, site work and structural. Same Queen Boss craftsmanship at every tier: the difference is customisation and material investment, never quality of workmanship.
Pre-construction investment
| Pre-construction stage | Scope | Investment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 — Design & Architectural | Complete plan set: layouts, selections, construction drawings & renderings | $2,000 – $4,000 |
| 2 — Structural Engineering | Site evaluation, calculations & engineer’s stamp (if required) | $2,000 – $4,000 |
| 3 — City Permit | Plan submission & city stamp · permit fees billed at cost | At cost |
| Total pre-construction | Final range confirmed once scope & areas are set | $2,000 – $8,000+ |
Design, engineering and permit are priced separately from the build, so you can stop at any stage with a set of drawings you own outright.
Financing
A renovation is usually worth more than the house was before it. RenoFi is built on that: their lending partners underwrite against your home’s after-renovation value rather than what it is worth today, which is why the number they can reach is so often larger than a standard home-equity offer.
RenoFi is not a lender; it works with lending partners who make the loans. Queen Boss Construction is not a lender or a broker, does not arrange credit and takes no part in the application or the decision — we point you at them because clients keep asking who to talk to. All terms, rates and eligibility are between you and the lender.
What moves the number
We do not publish prices, because a price quoted before the drawings exist is a number that changes. These are the four things that decide it, so you know what you are choosing between.
What is under the existing house, and what the soil will take, decides the foundation for the new part.
A simple tie-in is straightforward. A cross-gable into an existing hip is framing, flashing and time.
A larger house may need the panel, the heating or the water supply upgraded to serve it.
Staying in the house through the work is usually possible and always affects sequencing, dust control and cost.
In their words
Robert is a great communicator and we love working with him and his team.
Adam Peter S.They are always professional and strive to provide exemplary customer service.
Shannon L.Common questions
Usually, and we sequence the work to keep it liveable — the break-through happens as late as possible. There is normally a short stretch around it that is genuinely disruptive, and we will tell you when that is well in advance.
That is a decision, not a default. Matching seamlessly and contrasting deliberately are both good answers; the bad answer is nearly matching. We settle it at design stage.
We check setbacks and coverage before design starts. If what you want needs a variance we will say so at the beginning, along with what the process involves, rather than designing something that cannot be permitted.
Also from us
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A conversation and a walk through the rooms you are thinking about — no charge, and no obligation at the end of it.
