What You Need to Know Before You Extend Your House
  • What You Need to Know Before You Extend Your House

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    When it comes to extending your home, there are many things that need to be considered for the project to be carried out successfully. To ensure your extension is well planned and executed with all costs and legalities duly covered, it’s essential to hire a company that understands the complexities & challenges involved in extending a home. Otherwise, your extension can become an overwhelming and stressful experience. Fortunately, Extensions Unlimited provides some crucial information to consider before committing to extending your house.

    Choose the Right Specialist

    When extending a house, it’s important to establish the right specialist for the job. You need to be sure the chosen specialist; will give you practical advice on the configuration of your extension based on your lifestyle, your existing floor plan, budget and the amount of space desired. Design and build companies have a reputation in the industry for executing any brief to the highest standard. They understand exactly what it takes to design and construct an extension, which is why it’s paramount to speak to them first. In comparison, many issues can arise when you choose to consult with an architect for a home extension. Architects can lack certain skills and knowledge in the area of extensions, leading to cost blowouts and site issues between the builder, the architect and engineers. They can become more focused on the appearance of the structure, rather than what works best for the extension and the occupants.

    Think Practically

    If you’re thinking about getting your house extended, you must carefully consider the concept from all angles. This includes practicalities such as the economics of the project and where you’re going to live during the works i.e. can you builder manage the addition whilst you remain in the home? It’s also important to consider anything in your life that may get in the way of the project running smoothly.

    Assess the Cost of the Renovation

    When planning a house extension, it’s crucial to assess the overall cost. Design and build companies have the experience to be able to see the whole picture because they are totally involved from design to completion and are fully aware of all the processes, requirements and costs in between as they have been responsible for pulling it all together under one roof so to speak. In contrast Architectural or sole drafting Companies need to send out to third party builders and associates for quotes and designs that may not have any real cohesion between them or even necessarily know of each other or how they operate individually. It’s a major issue when clients feel like their personal budget has not been considered in the process. For this reason, you need to be wary of how much architects cost for renovations and instead choose a specialist who can work within your budget and take care of all aspects in-house.

    Compare the Limitations

    When it comes to house extensions in Melbourne, it’s important to compare the limitations between what an architect and a building company can offer you. For example, you may end up spending more money than initially planned if you hire an architect to provide architect drawings for a house extension. Furthermore, if you don’t really know who you’re hiring, you may have to work with an architect who comes up with impractical designs or who has unrealistic expectations. This is not ideal when you’re looking to bring your dream renovation to life. It’s important to remember certain issues may arise when hiring an architect and a separate builder rather than going with a company where the design and build is done by the same firm. Measurements, on site issues between architect, builder and engineer should items not work and the blame game starts. For the best results therefore it’s important to hire a unified design and build company that can deliver your vision.

    Understand the Process

    Building an extension − where to start? Know where to begin can be overwhelming, but the first step is to get your ideas sketched up by an expert. Most good design and build companies have a free consultation service available to save you time and money. The process generally from a design building company should look something like this……..Once your design requirements and budget are understood the company can then have your extension formally costed along with a specification. These designs are to scale and will be used to produce the working drawings which will be used to obtain all permits, engineering, energy reports and the myriad of other items required for your building permit. You should not have to worry about the above processes as the design and construct builder will do everything for you efficiently and cost effectively as they are in control of evry aspect as opposed to farming out for quotes from separate builders and engineers etc who have no harmony between them. You can trust that every aspect of your home extension will be constructed to the highest standards due to the seamless process.

    Integrate the Design

    When building an extension, it’s important that the designs compliments the existing home regardless of if you want to keep the original theme or make a more modern statement. Again designers that specialize in additions are able to give the best advice on materials and designs versus budget and expectations. Knowing the pitfalls and tricks of designing an addition are borne only out of many years of experience when balancing the fine line between the design and the budget in areas that are not obvious to the eye. These could be subtle positioning of second storey walls to minimise the impact on other walls for example.

    Acknowledge the Benefits of Design and Build Companies

    When extending a home, you should consider the benefits of using a design and build company like Extensions Unlimited. We have passionate and professional designers who are capable of matching the most functional design to your budget. Valuing integrity and honesty, we put the client’s needs first every time and ensure complete transparency in all stages of the project. We also make it a priority to monitor the costs through the entire process in order to make sure budget blow-outs are avoided. For more information on extending your home, get in touch with Extensions Unlimited today. We can help you with all your build and design needs.

Testimonials

We would like to express our gratitude to you & your team for your recently completed Project of a second storey addition to our existing weatherboard home. From our first meeting with the Designer, we were confident in his enthusiasm for the business & his passion to design an extension...

Steve & Sophie – Ringwood Nth

It was a great experience and was handled with great care. It could have been a stressful time with a toddler, newborn, two dogs & a home extension. But it was really good & we really love our new space and home.

Ryan & Lisa – Viewbank

We purchased in an area we loved & that was a major factor in making the decision to extend...we loved the idea of being able to create something that suited our needs.

Alex & Sam – Knoxfield

Right from the first phone call we found the whole team at Extensions Unlimited to be very attentive and professional. The Design Consultant listened to our requests, and came up with a design that suited our needs and existing construction. Once the work commenced, we had fairly tight deadlines due...

Brenda – Glen Waverley

Our initial contact with the company was great. The Design Consultant met us for our first appointment and listened to our ideas and came up with a design which was exactly what we were looking for. The process was very easy and construction started after only a few months of...

Michael & Natalie – Nunawading

Very happy with our upstairs extension. The company stood out from the very beginning in terms of customer service as well as promptness and clarity of communication.Our project was finished on time and within budget. Have to especially acknowledge our Project Manager and our Designer. Our Designer was very patient...

Harish – Essendon

We opted for Extensions Unlimited purely based on our experience with our Designer. We were impressed by his professionalism & conscientiousness in finding the best design for our needs. Moreover, we felt he was someone we could trust. In fact, all Extensions Unlimited staff members were professional & friendly, so...

Stephen & Kim – Glen Waverley

Excellent Project Management! Communication was always clear, precise, timely & trustworthy. The whole extension / renovation process was well handled and we enjoyed the journey.

Huei & Chin-Wei – Mount Waverley

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