Not enough can be written about home offices:  they're the underdog of home remodeling.

While they do give you a nice tax deduction, home offices get lousy marks when it comes to property resale value.  Few home builders properly design home offices for anything other than very high-end homes.

So, that's why so many homes get extensively remodeled with the office in mind.  Offices get squeezed into closets, behind doors, under stairs, onto book shelves, and entire bedrooms.  You have to be inventive to find a place to work in relative quiet.  Our article, linked above, displays the creativity of a noted home designer, a big-box home design warehouse, and a home improvement magazine.

Images:  Images 1 and 2: (c) Stephen Saint-Onge; Image 3: (c) IKEA; Image 4: (c) The Family Handyman

Here is a list of common types of home additions:

1. "The" Addition:  No other thing to call it.  They range from 500 sq. ft. up to whatever your heart desires.
2. The Bumpout:  A micro-addition that enhances an existing room.
3. The Sunroom:  Typically pre-fabricated aluminum structures sold as kits.
4. The Conservatory:  Like a sun room, but more for growing plants.
5. The Garage Conversion:  A car garage whose door has been sealed off and the inside turned into a liveable space.

Shown here is a conservatory from Pioneer Craftsmen.  Image (c) Pioneer Craftsmen

Foam sheathing isn't used much in home remodeling, though it should be.

As of only a few years ago, wood-only sheathing was installed on 3/4 of all new homes.  For remodels, that number was far less.

Foam sheathing ranges from:

• The Low:  Thin sheathing that installs directly onto existing wood sheathing.  Its R-value is negligible, but it is effective at blocking air and water infiltration.  All the way up to...
• The High:  Thick, one-inch structural sheathing that installs directly onto the studs (no wood sheathing needed) and with an R-value of 5.  That's the sheathing you see in the picture above, Styrofoam brand from Dow Chemical.

Image:  (c)  Dow

Not far.

When you build a bumpout--a micro-addition to your house--you can typically either rest it on a foundation or cantilever it.

Cantilevering means to extend the bumpout into thin air.  No support posts (though this is an option, too).  It's an elegant look.

But it also limits how far you can extend the bumpout.

Image: (c) Lee Wallender; Licensed to About.com