A Step-by-Step Guide to Planning Your Home Extension
We all love our homes. We choose the house that best suits us at the time, occasionally considering the future in our planning and purchasing.
Sometimes, though, the occasion arises in which we want more space, or a bigger living room, or a garage, or whatever the new need is. Then comes the fun but difficult part of planning the home extension.
Where do you begin? Who do you need to call? What is the best place or method of extending your home without causing structural damage?
This guide will hopefully help you begin your journey to planning a home extension, but in the end, the details are up to you.
Consider Your Budget
Just like when you purchased the home, you must take into consideration what you can afford.
How much of an extension do you desire, and can you afford it? What is the most cost-effective method of extending your home without breaking the bank or compromising the house?
These are all things you have to consider when planning your home extension because your budget will determine exactly what kind of extension you can do.
Think About Your Desires
What do you hope to achieve from your home extension?
In this new space you hope to create, consider what sort of room it will be or what purpose it will serve. Perhaps it will be a larger, open living space for your family to spend time together, or maybe you hope to build new garage for your extended collection of cars that your family is racking up.
Whatever the case, the purpose of the home extension is incredibly important to you and the developer. Just wanting more square feet won’t be very helpful.
Consider Impact
Talk to your neighbors and make sure you research if you need any planning permissions before you begin any construction. Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s with construction is an incredibly important aspect that many never think about.
You may also want to sell up your plans to your nearest neighbors while you’re at it, as certain types of additions can be challenged at a city-hall meeting. The happier you can keep your neighbors about it, the less likely you’ll run into trouble.
Start Researching
Once you have a general idea of what you want from you home extension, where you want it to go (up, down, or over), and how much you can spend, begin researching developers and builders to help you achieve your goal.
Look for someone trusted, well-reviewed, and accredited to be sure you hire the right people. Also, consider local builders first before you branch out into other areas – say, if you are in Tulsa, then a home builder in Tulsa, OK, is going to know the area far better than a builder from another part of Oklahoma. Knowing note only the terrain and the area, but the local codes and regulations, are all a key component of find the right builder.
Think About Time
Both before and after you hire a building company, it is important to think about your timetable. How big is the extension you want to make, and how long do you have to achieve it?
Or, if you do not feel you are under a time crunch, how long would you prefer it to take? Even if the home extension is not a pressing matter, setting a timetable will be beneficial both to your own satisfaction and stress, and to the builders who will have a better idea of what they need to accomplish and when. Setting solid deadline will help you and the builders gather everything you need and accomplish your goals that much faster.
Enjoy the Benefits
A home extension is a big project to undertake, but it can often be more appealing in a market with soaring housing costs. Moreover, a home extension can often increase the value of your home as well as your space, so if you ever sell your house in the future, you have created a more valuable property than the one you stepped into.
Home extensions are a great solution for families who need more space but cannot afford an entirely new home, as well as for people who simply desire just a little bit more room. With the right planning and precautions, home extensions are a valuable asset to your happiness.
