Before a home extension is constructed, many factors have to be considered. These factors determine whether a home extension is the best course of action and, if it is, how to go about it. Here's what you need to know about home extensions:
What Is Your Reason for a Home Extension?
Do you need more space because the size of your family has increased (you have more children or your elderly parents have moved in)? Do you want to adapt to modern living styles and requirements?
These are the two main reasons why most individuals look into home extensions. Before going through with the construction process, you have to consider whether moving is going to be cheaper or more feasible. In most cases, moving requires many adjustments -- for example, changing schools, changing work, selling your house, seeking loans, etc. That is why home extensions often seem more practical.
Planning
Planning is the most crucial part of a home extension process. The amount of time and patience required during planning cannot be stressed enough. You also need to consult different specialists, such as architects, home designers, builders and home extension specialists.
Planning involves the specialists listening to your idea carefully, determining whether it can be actualised or whether it needs modifications, identifying the modifications required to make the home extension possible, ensuring the design does not affect the aesthetics of the neighbourhood or affect your neighbours' comfort in any way, identifying the materials needed, determining the construction period required and more.
If a home extension plan is not solid, the actual construction process won't be successful. This is because at some point during the process something can go wrong, and the project can stall or cost more than you had initially budgeted.
Costs
You might have questions about how much home extensions cost. This depends on how big the extension is, the materials required, how many stories you need, piping and gas installations, heating, finishing aesthetics, specialist fees, labourer fees, etc.
You cannot just get an approximation of the total cost; an actual cost can only be arrived at after the planning stage is complete.
Tip
As your home extension is being constructed, try to live elsewhere to make the construction period as short as possible. If you live in the house during the home extension construction period, you might interfere with the builders' work because they have to clean up every day for your sake, and they may have to wait to ensure you are not using any utilities before they turn off the water, gas or electricity.