Extending a family home: what you need to consider
Have you thought about extending your family home? If like me you have an emotional attachment to your home, extending it rather than moving can be a great idea. However, there are a few things you should think about before you make your mind up:
Legalities
A lot of homeowners don’t think about the legal side of extending their home. What harm can it do to have an extension? Well primarily, the structure of the home may not support an extension, but there are other reasons too.
This is why you need to get permission from your local council. They have to approve any plans before you begin the extension. You may be required to have a buildings inspection carried out before you are given the go ahead.
This can be quite expensive but it’s definitely worthwhile. You’ll discover whether there are any potential problems you haven’t thought about. The last thing you want is to pay a lot of money for an extension and then thousands of pounds for repairs later down the line.
Another potential legal problem could involve your neighbours. It’s advisable to speak to them before you get an extension done.
You need to know what the restrictions are for ceiling heights and other things you wouldn’t usually think about. It’s quite a complicated process that shouldn’t be rushed into. If you go ahead without permission you may end up having to tear the whole extension down.
Other things to consider
As well as potential legal problems, have you thought about the cost and the disruption the work will cause?
Depending upon what type of extension you’re having done, you could end up with builders at your home for weeks. There would be a lot of disruption with noise, debris and potentially inaccessible parts of the home. If you need some cleaning solutions during this time, try Ideal Cleaning.
These are just some of the things you need to think about. I bet it seems like a bit more of a headache now! However, providing you have thought carefully about the extension, it could turn out to be the best thing you’ve ever done.
Remember your new room will need windows and doors. Why not replace sash windows throughout the home? These high quality windows will add a touch of character and last for many years.
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Our home is the right size for us now, but if I had the money I would turn the loft into a big craft room for me to escape too for some “me” time. Noah has his man cave in the garden and I want my own space too. *stamps foot*
I’ve thought about little else recently as our family is expanding to a size our house can barely cope with!
I really want to turn our loft into a proper bedroom, it’s a room but not legally so! Also been looking at garden rooms but think it might jsut take up our entire garden!
I thought a lot about extending, but now I’ve moved house and it’s plenty big enough 🙂
the one I am desperate to do is my loft conversion! We do have a ground floor extension, done by previous owners and it is our playroom
We are thinking about moving rather than extending. Some greta tips though.