EXTENSION INFORMATION GUIDE
Our Guide to Extensions
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Building an extension to your property is the easiest way to add extra value and space to you home. There are a few types of common extensions built within the UK, and can be put into 3 categories, roof conversions, single or double story, although sometimes it can be a combination of all three.
No matter how small your home and surrounding outdoor space is, most older homes do have room to extend, the key for all extensions is making sure that the cost of its addition is really going to make a difference to your quality of life and the general flow of the home you have. I have seen a lot of extensions over the years, some good some bad, they all answered the question of additional space, but some were poor layouts, that created cave like areas within the building because not enough thought had been given to natural light. I remember as a youngster living in London, two couples opposite each other in our street were always trying to outdo each other by building extension after extension, which resulted in both houses looking like they had grown a carbuncle’s on the outside, worst still was the cave like rooms inside with no natural light whatsoever. Generally, and thankfully, most people are savvier when it comes to improving their homes nowadays, which is testament to the work of architects, designers and more over the media both in its printed and digital form, with television playing the biggest part in educating the masses in how it should be done. |
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What I find so fantastic in all this, is that people actually take the lead in the design of their own extensions and self-build homes, as they have been able via this wide range of resources to include and take account of space saving ideas and ways in which to maintain and create more natural light. A great example of this is a bungalow we did in early 2015 which apart from the odd tweak by us, was the brain child of the owner, who was a remarkable man when you consider he was already a OAP.
The original bungalow had been added to a fair few times over the years by someone who had no idea what would happen when the additional extensions were added. The original extensions of which there was three plus a lean-to conservatory, were as we found out, poorly built, and one wonders where building control was during their execution, as virtually every part of the existing structure that was kept as part of the new design, required additional remedial work.
You will notice from comparing the old exterior photos, and the photos taken during the works on the front elevations, just how different the front of this old bungalow is now it has been completed. Apart from a cleaver reworking of the layout, good notable alterations were the forming of a new glazed back door that opened into the inner hall, and several obscure horizontal and vertical slot windows which without inclusion would have meant some areas being completely starved of any natural light.
The original bungalow had been added to a fair few times over the years by someone who had no idea what would happen when the additional extensions were added. The original extensions of which there was three plus a lean-to conservatory, were as we found out, poorly built, and one wonders where building control was during their execution, as virtually every part of the existing structure that was kept as part of the new design, required additional remedial work.
You will notice from comparing the old exterior photos, and the photos taken during the works on the front elevations, just how different the front of this old bungalow is now it has been completed. Apart from a cleaver reworking of the layout, good notable alterations were the forming of a new glazed back door that opened into the inner hall, and several obscure horizontal and vertical slot windows which without inclusion would have meant some areas being completely starved of any natural light.
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The real success story on this design is at the back, where as you can see from the photos of the original elevations, you can understand my point about carbuncles! The old extensions had made the entire centre of the building nothing more than a cave with absolutely no thought to how these old rooms should flow.
As you can see from the next few photos, once the whole house had been completely re-rendered, the new front elevations took on a completely different feel, the new design linked to the crisp new wall finish gave the bungalow a real contemporary feel that would give any visitor the anticipation of something quite special behind the door. Not to disappoint, the entrance which was the original garage, opens out into the grand open plan feature room that it was always designed to be. The large windows to the gable end of the new extension is nothing short of shear brilliance as it takes in the view over the fields towards the village and church and allows light to flood in. The original problematic flat extension roofs, along with a great deal of old interior walls had been replaced with a shallow 12.5 degree pitch roof right across the whole back end span, which although being a big part of the job, both in time and cost, in reality, it is one of the great things about my job building bespoke structures such as this, and experiencing the joy of my clients when their dreams and aspirations are brought to fruition. |
Saying that, on visiting the clients recently, the lady of house has made up her mind to sell it because she has found the open plan just to noisy, while her husband loves it. The problem is that they will be hard pressed to find a house off the shelf that will perfect in every sense of the word, and would require either compromise on their part or some form of alteration to suite them and their needs. This fact is why a lot of people who can afford to, design and build their own homes, as it gives them unlimited possibilities.
There is another type of extension that I have left to the end of this article for the simple reason of cost. Basements are within areas such as London becoming an excellent way in which to add space to an existing building especially those without any space to build on the surface.
But these basements are only viable where the resale of the property after such extensive works outweighs the costs involved, so for the time being I think this type of extension will be in short demand around South Yorkshire, but I do think that for the right type of site, basements will work for new builds.
I hope you find all this information interesting and will help you in some way. if you have any questions or quires that we have not covered, email us and let us know, as we would love to hear from you.
There is another type of extension that I have left to the end of this article for the simple reason of cost. Basements are within areas such as London becoming an excellent way in which to add space to an existing building especially those without any space to build on the surface.
But these basements are only viable where the resale of the property after such extensive works outweighs the costs involved, so for the time being I think this type of extension will be in short demand around South Yorkshire, but I do think that for the right type of site, basements will work for new builds.
I hope you find all this information interesting and will help you in some way. if you have any questions or quires that we have not covered, email us and let us know, as we would love to hear from you.