Additions That Look Like They Were Always There
Monument Construction is a home addition contractor based in Colfax, building room additions, second stories and primary suites for homeowners in Placer, Nevada, Sacramento, Yolo and El Dorado Counties. We're a licensed general contractor and a finish carpentry shop, so the same people who frame your addition also fit the trim at the end.
That matters most where the new space meets the old. Our goal is an addition you can't pick out from the street or from the hallway. California Contractor License #801602.
Types of Home Additions We Build
Room Additions & Primary Suites
A room addition is the most common way to add space on the ground floor: a bedroom, a family room, or a primary suite with its own bath and closet. We tie it into your existing floor, roof and heating so it works like part of the original house.
Second-Story Additions
Can you add a second story to a one-story house? Yes, if the foundation and framing can carry the extra weight, and a structural engineer confirms that before design starts. It's often the answer on smaller lots, including second-story additions in Sacramento and Folsom.
Bump-Outs & Kitchen Extensions
A few feet can change a room. Bump-outs push out one wall for a bigger kitchen, a breakfast nook or a roomier bath, without the scope of a full addition.
Garage Conversions & In-Law Suites
An attached garage already has a foundation and a roof. Converting it, or adding an in-law suite off the main house, gives family a room of their own under the same roof.
Sunrooms & Enclosed Porches
Glass-walled rooms that bring the outdoors in, with real framing, roofing and finish work behind them. See the sunroom addition below.
Looking for a separate unit with its own kitchen and entrance? That's an ADU, and we build those too. Ask us about ADUs.
What Changes an Addition in the Foothills
The same addition plan can play out very differently on a valley lot and a foothill one. These are the site conditions we plan for as a home addition contractor working from Sacramento to Tahoe.
| Site condition | What it affects | How we plan for it |
|---|---|---|
| Sloped and oak-wooded lots | Foundation, drainage, deck framing | Engineered foundations, with drainage worked out before framing starts. |
| Wildfire (WUI) zones around Auburn, Grass Valley and Placerville | Exterior materials, eaves, vents | Ember-resistant construction to current code: enclosed eaves, appropriate vents, non-combustible details where required. |
| Well and septic systems | Where the addition can sit | We lay out the addition around the existing systems and their setbacks before design begins. |
| Snow load in Truckee and the Tahoe basin | Roof framing, decks, a short building season | Framing engineered for snow load and a schedule built around the season. More on additions in South Lake Tahoe. |
| HOA architectural review | Exterior design approval | Plans drawn to the neighborhood's design guidelines, common for home additions in El Dorado Hills. |
| Older homes | Hidden structural and code issues | We look for them at the site walk and plan for them in the quote, instead of discovering them mid-job. |
An addition that adds heated and cooled living space also has to meet California's Title 24 energy standards for insulation, windows and heating and cooling. We build that into the plans from the start.
Who Permits Your Addition
Yes, a home addition in California needs a building permit, and who issues it depends on where you live. Inside a city, it's the city building department; outside city limits, it's the county. We prepare the plans, handle the submittals and schedule the inspections either way.
| Area | Who issues the permit | More local detail |
|---|---|---|
| Placer County | Placer County Community Development Resource Agency outside city limits; the City of Auburn for homes inside Auburn. | Auburn |
| Nevada County | Nevada County, or the City of Grass Valley inside city limits. | building and remodeling in Grass Valley |
| El Dorado County | El Dorado County (including unincorporated El Dorado Hills), or the City of Placerville inside city limits. | Placerville |
| Lake Tahoe basin | Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) review on top of the local building permit. | South Lake Tahoe |
| Sacramento County | Sacramento County, or the City of Sacramento inside city limits. | Sacramento |
| Yolo County | Yolo County, or the City of Davis Building Division inside Davis. | Davis |
Matching the House You Already Have
Most additions give themselves away in the details: a baseboard that's a little too tall, a door casing that doesn't match the hallway, a roof pitch that's almost right. Because we're finish carpenters, we mill trim to your existing profiles when it can't be bought, carry the roofline and siding through, and line up floors and ceilings so there's no step where old meets new.
When the new room calls for built-ins, a window seat or a mantel, our custom woodwork shop builds those too, in the same style as the rest of the house.
Recent Home Additions
Sunroom addition, Placer County. A glass-walled room off the back of the house, with a vaulted cedar tongue-and-groove ceiling on exposed beams. Outside, the new roof is framed and tiled to match the existing house.
More of our work is in the project portfolio.
Our Home Addition Process
Site Walk & Design
We walk the property with you and look at what will shape the addition: slope, soil, access, well and septic, and how the existing house is framed. Then we work out a design that fits how you live and how the house is built.
Engineering & Permits
A structural engineer checks the foundation and framing where the design needs it, always for a second story. We prepare the plans and take them through plan check with your city or county, plus TRPA or HOA review where it applies.
Construction
We do the framing and carpentry ourselves and schedule the plumbing, electrical and HVAC trades. Inspections happen at each phase. The work area stays sealed off from the rest of the house until it is time to open the wall.
Finish Work & Walkthrough
Trim, casings, flooring and paint, matched to the rooms next door. After final inspection we walk the addition with you and take care of anything on your list before we call it done.
You can usually stay in the house while we build. We'll talk through how the work area, access and noise will go for your project before anything starts.
Why Homeowners Hire Us for Additions
- • Licensed California Contractor #801602
- • Owner William Rogers on the job, not a salesperson
- • A finish carpenter running every job, from framing to the last piece of trim
- • 25+ years building in Northern California
- • Featured on DIY Network TV
- • Serving Placer, Nevada, Sacramento, Yolo & El Dorado Counties
Service Areas
Home addition services throughout Northern California:
Explore Our Other Services
Kitchen Remodeling
Full remodels and cabinetry-led refreshes, often paired with a bump-out.
Learn More →