Hi everyone - I visit the Home Decorating forum quite often, but I am new to the world of renovation.

We have been at our 1974 center hall colonial for 2 years and would like to make an addition to the second floor. Over the family room is wasted attic space. I would like to build over the family room to increase the size of our second floor (hopefully a bedroom and office), totally redo the kitchen and open it up to the family room to make a great room and also renovate 2 full baths.

I am going to meet with 2 builders this week for an initial visit to review what I want to do. The first builder is someone we used for a minor job at our old house. They say they do design and build work, but they also build from architect plans. The second company is a true design/build company where its one-stop shopping from concept to construction.

Any key questions to ask or things to look out for. We have never done any type of addition at all. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!