If you are thinking about improving your home, you may be looking into making it bigger and, therefore, better. You could be considering adding an extension on your house. Be warned, while this may seem attractive, it can be quite complicated. But, if you take our advice, you will find that planning your extension can be done with ease.
Choose A Budget
Your first move should be to sit down with who you live with and decide how much you are willing to pay for this extension. The cost will vary, depending on the type of improvement you wish to make. But, you should expect to spend no less than a few thousand pounds on your extension project.
DIY?
We love DIY, but your extension might be a big scale change, in which case you may be better off getting some help. You can find plenty of designers and builders online who, for a reasonable cost, will help you improve your home. But be realistic. If you are adding a two storey section of your home, there is no way you can do it yourself. On the other hand, if you are building a stone conservatory on the side of your house, you may be able to do it with only a little outside help.
Electricity and Plumbing
If your extension needs electricity and plumbing, you are going to need an electrician and a plumber. We know that it might be tempting to try and do the jobs yourself, but this can lead to problems down the road. For instance, adding extra pipes to your plumbing can cause flooding in your home. This will mean you will need to hire an emergency plumber in any case. Electricity is also problematic because it is so dangerous. For these jobs during your extension, you are best to hire outside help, no matter how skilled you are at DIY
Can You Do It?
As silly as it sounds neighbourhoods do not always like extensions being added to houses. Some councils believe that it disturbs the aesthetic of a neighbourhood. Particularly, if all the houses look the same. You will find this information under any agreements you made when you bought the house. If you can not find any agreement on not adding an extension, you can move on to the next stage.
Getting Permission
You will have to get permission from your local council to build the extension and you may also want to speak to your neighbours. The council is the most important group as they will decide the legality of the extension and whether you can do it. This will usually take around four weeks to two months depending on the business of their schedule. Alerting your neighbours is just a matter of being polite as during the extension, there may be a lot of mess and noise. However, we strongly suggest you do notify them. Otherwise, they may pursue measures to halt the extension, disrupting your home improvement.
Once you have gone through these steps, you are ready to add an extension to your home. We hope it looks absolutely stunning.