10 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Plan an Extension

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House extension is an exciting project but can be daunting for many too. With proper planning, right advice and with some discipline, you can take control of the process and assure your extension will improve your lifestyle for many coming years.

Here are ten questions you should know yourself before starting your extension work to get you started and heading in the right direction.

  1. What would be the first step? – Either its small or large extension work, each project requires a custom design solution. House extension gives a chance to increase the liveability of a house, by adding some real value to the property. House extension London, professional help at each designing step of the project, to ensure that you will get the best outcome for your given budget. It should be your initial step. Generally, for extension work, you will require a draftsperson, a building designer or an architect. You can take your friends and colleagues recommendations or ask them to help while shortlist of preferred designers, though ensure they can demonstrate their work experience with a brief and a budget which you prefer.
  2. The purpose behind the house extension – This is an essential and often excused question. People often get into an extension project without having enough clarity about what they are trying to achieve. You need to think carefully about the purpose of the project, and for whom you are building it. As an example, maybe your kids are growing, and for them, you want some space, or perhaps the kids have already left, and you are approaching retirement; in which case you should ask yourself if you actually need any extra space at all. Your design summary should address these personal aspects of your life, rather than implying a list of casual thoughts and ideas you have seen over the years. It can help you to create a detailed outline, which will help you avoid overspending on random spaces and items.
     
  3. Do we have sufficient space to extend? To know the answer, first, you should have clarity about your actual need. For example, one extra room may not take a lot of space, but a bedroom and kitchen is a more significant extension, that may leave a huge impact on the area you have leftover for a backyard. Consider the size of your existing rooms as a guide to know how big each room can be. Then stand back and evaluate how much space you have left, and are you happy with the open space that remains.
     
  4. How to make it cost-effective?  Extension work is a demolition work, and the knock-on cost tends to follow. For each demolished wall, there will need to be a lot of rectification work which includes several tradespeople. A high potential value of demolishing walls is the possibility that structural modifications will be required if the wall being removed is load-bearing. However, regardless of whether the wall is load-bearing or not, repairs work still be required at the bottom of the wall where it connects with the floor, and at the top of the wall where it connects with the ceiling. Think very carefully during the planning stage, as, depending on the rooms conversion, electricians, plumbers, ceramic tiles or timber floor installers may also be required.
     
  5. Maybe you need to go up? If you have enough space for ground-level extension, you may need to consider adding a second storey. Going up is a great option to retain backyards and open space. Extending up is a costly option as there is a lot of work in removing the roof structure, establishing new floors and supporting the new upper-floor walls. However, investing in a second storey will enhance the look of your home and give it more appeal in the streetscape, you should consider the benefits of engaging a good architect or building designer to balance the practical solutions with the aesthetic considerations.
     
  6. Do we need to match the existing house? You have an opportunity to play with designs while extending. While constructing the building style of the existing one, you are open up with numerous possibilities for material choice, use of texture, roof structure, ceiling height, glazing proportions and many more. Modern materials are a more reliable choice for an open-plan living style which we generally want, enabling more natural light and airing, with the ability to personalise colours and finishes. When choosing to extend in a contrasting style, House extension London considers changing from old to new as deliberate and economical as possible.
     
  7.  Can we get sufficient sunlight and natural warmth? One of the critical considerations when extending the house is to investigate ways to get proper sunshine and warmth into the house. North direction will give you a good idea of where the sun will be at different times of the day; which will be one of the key priorities when extending, especially for a living or family room where you spend more time. A thorough understanding of the orientation, appropriate glazing specification and proper use of shading elements is critical, as in winter sunlight beaming can be a lovely outcome, on the other hand scorching hot summer sun can make the space unliveable. House extension London designers will help you to achieve the best results in your circumstances.
  8. Would we need to move out?  Any extension project that involves a significant amount of renovation work to the existing part will be complicated to live in throughout the construction. In these circumstances, the project may be able to stage so that you can move from one part of the house to the next.
     
  9. How to find a good builder? Recommendations help a lot when looking for a builder. Select an experienced builder who is doing similar work and within the same budgets to yours. Take a suggestion from your friends and colleagues and select the best suitable one after being completely satisfied with the quoting and all.
     
  10. How long will it take?  A quick and straightforward extension might only take four to six weeks. Say, as it may not require a full range of tradespeople for the job. A similar timeline would apply if you were adding a kitchen or bathroom. If the extension is for a decent size, the time frame is probably more like three to six months. Large extensions generally involve a lot of renovations to the existing house may take even longer, especially for second storey addition.


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