Thinking about home additions is exciting. It’s easy to get carried away when you first plan to extend your home. Home renovating, an additional bathroom or bedroom, a home office, or just to ensuite your home, all these home renovation ideas are wonderful when you turn them over in your mind, but when it comes to practicalities and cost then it’s best to keep your feet firmly on the ground.

We are used to advising clients on the implications and potential problems relating to all kinds of small home renovations, extensions and additions, and we’d like to help you avoid some common pitfalls that can spoil your dreams.

Here is another really interesting article about how to get a home improvement loan on ehow. If your house is several years old, it is probably time to make some major improvements.

So here are three points you should think about before you commit yourself.

1. What is the purpose of your home addition?

Why do you want to build one? Is it just to increase the value of your home before you put it on the market? If this is the case, then look at things entirely from the point of view of a prospective purchaser. What kind of room would he probably like to have added on? And what kind of addition would activate the “wow” factor in anyone visiting the property for the first time?

But if it is for your family’s enjoyment, then think about your needs not just at the moment, but in five or ten years’ time. Building extension a new games room for teenagers is all very well, but make sure it can easily be converted into a bedroom or home office after they’ve moved out.

What you intend to use the new space for can affect the size. Larger means more expensive, it’s true, but on the other hand it becomes proportionately less so to build a larger addition than a smaller one. It’s uneconomical to have to extend your new room after it’s built, So if in doubt, be generous about the size.

2. Where is the best place to build your home addition?

If you’re building outwards then you should consider whether the ground is suitable, i.e. fairly level and solid, and not liable to subsidence or damp. Building house extensions upwards means considering how the additional space will be accessed, whether it will need its own staircase, whether the existing walls and structure can support it, and in what way the roof needs to be altered.

The services that the new room needs – electricity, and perhaps water and drainage – need to be established, together with how that will impact on the rest of the building.

And with building upwards, more so than with a horizontal extension, you need to blend the exterior with the existing features of the house, so the brickwork and any renderings, and the style of windows match. Don’t forget the possible impact on your neighbours’ houses. Would your new room interfere with their right of light? Would it block their view of surrounding countryside? If there’s any uncertainty it’s best to speak with anyone who may be affected and gain their approval.

3. How will your home addition affect the rest of the house?

We’ve covered how the exterior, and the services, may be affected, but what about the natural lighting? Will the additional room diminish the natural light that reaches other parts of the house? How will the view of the house extensions be affected? Here you may need the help of an architect or designer to draw up plans.

We’re here to help

Why not pick up the phone and call us now for one of our consultants to come over and discuss home additions with you?

House Extension - House Extension

Home renovations and extensions Sydney are currently very popular in Sydney, and things look like staying that way for some time to come. As Sydney contractors who have built everything from houses to kitchen house extensions, we have seen a steady increase in the demand for all kinds of home renovations in Sydney and the surrounding area.

In a time when the housing market is stagnant, home loans are tight, and the costs of moving house are at an all time high, it’s not surprising that the need for a larger home is increasingly being met by building an extension onto the owner’s existing house. The problem is that many people who go down this route don’t give sufficient consideration to what is involved, and consequently pay the price in higher costs or an inferior finished product. Let’s have a look at 3 points that you should think about before you go ahead and instruct a builder.

Here is another really interesting article about how to start a home renovation business on ehow.  The most important things to acquire are the proper licenses and insurance.

Questions To Consider For Home Renovation in Sydney

1. What is the best option for your particular property?

Make sure you’re selecting the right kind of extension for your needs. Do you need a kitchen extension, a bathroom extension or a living room extension? Or perhaps an extension for another purpose, such as a games room or garden room? For example, if you need more space in your living or dining room, it isn’t necessarily an extension to that room that is the best option. Consider, instead, a kitchen extension.

A larger kitchen is often used for eating in and other activities, freeing up space in the rooms formerly used for these purposes. On top of that, a kitchen extension in most cases is the best investment in terms of increasing your home’s salability and resale value. Often the extension cost will be more than offset by the increase in value of your house.

2. How will your extension affect the rest of your home?

Natural light entering your house through the windows is a very important, if often underestimated, factor. An extension ideas can substantially reduce the amount of light, and darken the interior of the rest of your house, if it is not designed with this in mind. Often the answer is to have the outside wall in the form of a glass window, especially if the view outside is suitable and privacy is not an issue. In Sydney this is often very feasible, given the warm, sunny climate.

3. Should your extension blend in, or should it stand out?

This matters more if you live in an older house, maybe in somewhere like Annandale, where a new house extensions may look out of place if you don’t blend the colour and style of it properly.

In other places, though, you may feel bold enough to place a modern design against a traditional house, to enjoy the contrast. It’s a matter of taste, but bear in mind that you may have to obtain planning consent before you can start the work. This is just the start, of course. There are several other things to consider as well, but if you can decide on these three points then you’ll be well placed to approach an architect and builder with your proposals. Remember, we are the extensions Sydney builders, and one of our consultants will be only too pleased to visit you at home to take things further.

House Extension - House Extension

Building extensions and renovations cost money, and the trouble is that many people who decide to extend their property underestimate how much the home extension costs will be. This can lead to serious problems before the project is completed. The one thing you would want to avoid is running out of money while part of your house resembles a building site.

Costing your whole project before you approach any professional advisers is therefore essential. We’ve been helping our clients build the home extension of their dreams without breaking the bank for some years now, so let’s look at a few points to watch out for when calculating the total cost of the renovations.

Here is another really interesting article about how to save money on home renovation on ehow.  You may be interested in home renovation because there are problems with your existing house or because your family is getting bigger.

Budget For Home Renovation Costs

1. How much work will it take to clear and level the site, and dig the footings? You may be able to reduce the cost of house extensions by doing some or all of this work yourself, although the footings should only be tackled if you’re certain you can do it properly.

2. What kind of flooring will be laid? Stone flooring costs a mite more than, say, wood flooring or just concrete and carpet, so that’s something else to factor in. Much will depend on the character and age of your house, so if it is an established house then stone flooring may be more fitting.

3. Do you need an architect? Only if the project is on a small scale and very straightforward should you consider going ahead without one. Other professionals you may need are a designer, a planning consultant and a structural engineer. It’s important to have the project running smoothly from the outset so as to avoid regular problems of one kind or another. To this end, an architect will produce plans that tell the builder exactly how to build your extension ideas (saving time and possible errors) and how big a quantity of materials to order.

4. How are you going to select your builder? Don’t necessarily select the cheapest quotation. This can be more expensive in the long term and sometimes result in a great deal of trouble, delay and additional expense. Avoid anyone who appears to be a “cowboy”, or rogue trader. These people typically use substandard materials, and often, after they’ve started the work, demand additional money on top of the figure they quoted you to get the job. They can disappear for a week or more at a time. Leaving your house in a mess, while they carry out work for another customer.

Trust your gut instinct. Ask for references. Any building company of repute will keep references from satisfied customers on file and will be pleased to show them to you on request. And while you’re at it, obtain a written quotation setting out a time schedule for each section of the work to be done.

5. What are the foundations of your house like? If it is an old house there is a possibility that they are not directly under the walls, where they should be. If an extension is to be built onto that side of the house then that will have to be put right, at additional expense.

Checking these points should help you to calculate the likely cost of your house extensions, but when you’ve done your sums do add on another ten per cent to cover the inevitable additional expenses that you haven’t considered yet. When you’re ready to proceed, why not give us a call on the number given? One of our experienced consultants will be happy to visit you at home to discuss your options and advise further on the likely extension costs.

House Extension - House Extension

There’s currently a boom in extensions Brisbane. Sometimes it seems that everywhere you look there are newly built home extensions, bathroom extensions, or kitchen extensions, and there are more being built all the time. More and more people are getting caught up in this building renovation craze in Brisbane, and as established builders in this city we have handled this work for hundreds of satisfied clients.

Our experience in this type of building extension is that often people rush in and instruct us to build them an extension to their home without giving sufficient thought to the issues involved. Following are three points which, if you’re planning on any extensions to your Brisbane home, you should consider.

Here is another really interesting article about how to plan a room remodeling project on ehow.  o remodel is to make a modification or addition to an original structure so that the appearance, functional utility and resale value of the entire structure increases.

Three Ways To Consider in Planning For Renovation

1. Should you expand outwards or upwards?

Sometimes the additional space you need can best be provided by adding an extra floor to your house, or by, for example, building over an adjoining garage. This can often make for a neater solution, and a cheaper one as well. Loft conversion is another option in many cases, though probably not if you’re looking to provide an extra bedroom for a small child. It is ideal, though, if it is large and robust enough, for providing a games room or additional bedroom for your teenage offspring.

2. What about the power supply, water supply, and drainage?

These are fundamental and should be thought through at the outset. The electric circuits and pipes that serve your house at present will have to be changed so as to serve the house extensions as well. Have a clear picture of what you want and where you want it for your architect to produce a suitable plan.

How the roofs of the existing house and the extension are joined are for the architect and builder to handle. But you should also give some thought to it, so that a practical but economical solution may be found.

3. Which builder should you instruct?

If you want your extension ideas to be built soundly with a minimum of disruption and delay then you should only instruct a capable, honest builder who will be straight with you and not abandon your project halfway through to go and work on someone else’s project. Make sure you obtain a signed contract incorporating a time schedule (subject only to weather interruptions).

Ask for references and check them out to see what previous clients have experienced. Many builders give references on their web site these days, so it’s easy to contact the referees and speak live to them. Don’t necessarily go for the cheapest quotation. Builders who give very low quotes are more likely to be disreputable, and ask for extra money once the project has started, with the threat of leaving the work for days at a time while they work on something else. A well respected and genuine builder will never do that unless forced to by weather conditions.

No doubt you have other questions on your mind as well, and as experts in building house extensions in the Brisbane area, we would love to hear them. One of our consultants will be pleased to visit you at home to discuss your extensions Brisbane and offer unbiased, independent advice.

House Extension - House Extension

House renovations is now a serious alternative to moving house. The decline of the property market in recent years has caused many people to stay put in their existing home and think up the best renovation ideas they can so as to be able to live in the home of their dreams.Young couples getting onto the property ladder for the first time, but lacking the financial credentials required by mortgage lenders are looking closely at buying a house for renovation at a cheap price, leaving room for the cost of “doing it up”.

We are a house extensions company as well as established builders, and we are happy to attend with you on site at the house you are considering purchasing in order to renovate. One of our consultants will happily advise you on all aspects of the repair work that is necessary, and any proposed improvements to the original design. Some houses only need a small amount of work done, such as woodworm and damp treatment for the timbers, a damp proof course installed and a complete redecoration from top to bottom.

Other houses that are in a more dilapidated condition also need re-roofing, timber replacement, re-pointing of walls, a fresh plumbing and electrics system and even structural repairs such as a new stairway and new floors. All this, of course, costs money, and how much your budget is will determine what kind of house you will be able to buy for renovation, or how much renovation you will be able to have carried out on your existing house.

Here is another really interesting article about how to claim a tax credit for home renovations on ehow. The IRS will pay you (through tax credits) for making energy-saving renovations to your home.

Famous Areas for a Home Renovations

The most popular small home renovations are on kitchens and bathrooms. Of the two, home kitchen renovations are the most requested, as the scope and variation of the alterations are so much wider. House bathroom renovations are largely limited to the replacement of the bath, shower unit, bidet and wash basin, with perhaps a new window, tiling and floors in some cases. A kitchen home renovations, however, can mean not just a new floor, replacement window and a refurbishment with new cooker, refrigerator freezer, sink unit and wall and floor cupboards with work tops to match, but also the designation of a separate area of the kitchen as a utility room or breakfast bar.

Again, it comes down to your budget. Even with these more minor works you should control the costs carefully. Our company always gives detailed quotations for the work that we are asked to do. Many times, though, people underestimate how much work needs to be done to yield a given result or they only guess at the scope of the work. In reality often doing one kind of work uncovers further work that needs to be done. For example, a re-roofing job may uncover wet rot in the roof timbers. Because of this tendency it is best to allow for anything up to a 50 per cent increase in house extensions costs, to avoid being left short of funds.

Nevertheless, house renovations is one of the safest investments you can make, both financially and in terms of the quality of your life at home.

House Extension - House Extension