3 Big Benefits of Adding an Extension to Your Home

There often comes a time when it feels like your home is literally bursting at the seams. There’s nowhere for the kids to play indoors; perhaps you can’t accommodate overnight guests, or maybe you’re finding it difficult to seat everyone comfortably around the dining table.

If you’re struggling with space, but you love your home and don’t want to move, it may be time to think about adding an extension to your home.

Specialists in home extensions Sydney wide are seeing increased demand for both first floor and second-floor additions. Could an extension be the answer to your space problems?

1.       First Floor Additions are Often the Most Cost Effective

Adding an extension to the main level of your home is often the least expensive in terms of square footage. However, you should consider whether your land is flat and how easy it will be to tie the new extension into your existing property.

A chat with an architect will help you to establish a new floor plan and determine the costs involved before you make the final decision to go ahead.

2.       First Floor Extensions are Usually Simpler to Construct

Extending out at ground level usually means that the extension is simpler, structurally. There’s usually no need to retrofit a large part of your existing home or to alter the foundations.

Adding a second storey usually requires changing the structure of the house and removing or disturbing interior walls. So when it comes to deciding between a second or first floor addition, Sydney homeowners usually opt for the latter, unless they have no room to extend outwards.

3.       Building Out Rather than Up is Less Disruptive

If you’ve decided to opt for a second floor addition, it’s likely that you’ll have to move out of your home during all or part of the duration of the work.

With a first floor extension, the groundwork and some of the construction work can all be underway for several weeks before it needs to affect the existing part of your home.

Depending on the complexity of the project, it may mean minimal disruption while work is in progress, meaning that you can continue to function in your home pretty much as normal and that you won’t have to pay to move into temporary accommodation.

Will You Build Up or Out?

Deciding whether to build up or out is very much dependent on a number of things, including your budget, the space you have available and your preferences.

However, constructing at ground level does have its advantages both in the costs involved and the level of disruption involved.