When looking to extend your home, you have 3 options. Up – adding an additional storey to your home. Out – extending your property out into your section. Or down (which will be covered in a separate blog)
Depending on the size of your backyard, you can choose to build up or build out. As sections become smaller, homeowners are finding they don’t have the space for additional ground floor house extensions. That’s where adding an a second storey becomes a better option. There are however plenty of other points to consider too.
– When adding another storey, there will be a significant amount of structural work required to the existing building. This can include LBW’s (load bearing walls), steel/laminated beams and foundation/footing works to support the additional weight and forces applied to the structure.
– New Internal stairs will need to be installed, which will take up space in both the new area and the existing home.
– The home will need to be structurally scaffolded and shrink-wrapped to protect it against the elements.
– Height to boundary – can you successfully construct a second storey without encroaching into the recession plane? (for more info on this please contact us)
– Depending where your home is located there may be caveats in regards to building heights. This is particularly true around historical areas.
Extending your home on the existing level is almost always a cheaper option if its available. If this option is viable, there are a few things to consider –
– Council – Can you extend the house as much as you’d like? – Regulations will determine how large the footprint of your home can be in relation to your section size. (contact us to determine this)
– Recladding – is your existing home plaster or does it have compromised cladding? this is the time to consider recladding the entire house as not only will it protect your most valuable asset, it will make the process a lot cheaper than revisiting the idea later and it will make the finished product alot more aesthetically pleasing.
– Access to site – the logistics of any given site play a major role in the end cost of any renovation. Access for diggers, materials and plant is a big consideration.
– Ground conditions – depending on ground conditions a geotechnical survey may be required, and additional costs may be associated for extra works to get out of the ground.
If you’re thinking about extending your home, get in touch with with us as soon as possible to avoid any of the pitfalls associated with home extensions. One of our creation specialists will even bring you a coffee to go over your vision.
0800 OUTLAST
