How To Extend Your Home Up, Out Or Down

Running out of room? Extending could be the smartest solution.

- Sarah Pickette

Sometimes you hit a point when your house starts to feel a bit cramped. And when you love your home, your street or your neighbours (and hate the prospect of paying the real-estate fees and stamp duty involved with moving), extending starts to look like a really good idea.

It’s an option Australians are increasingly embracing. “An estimated $2.2 billion was spent on alterations and additions to residential buildings in the first quarter of this year, showing the popularity of upscaling and improving existing homes,” says Christian Hansen, product manager for James Hardie. “It appears this ‘remain and remodel’ mindset is here to stay, with industry figures pointing to a decline in new builds by about 20 per cent, while alterations are likely to remain relatively buoyant, decreasing by just five per cent.”

Adding an extension to your home can be a complex, expensive process and it’s vital to enter into any project with a clear picture of what you’re trying to achieve, say Matt Menichelli, a Hipages tradie and director of Elevate Building Group in Melbourne. “You don’t necessarily need to have design drawings done before you speak to a builder, but we do like you to understand the scope and budget of your project and its feasibility.” Extending your home can take on many forms…

GOING OUT

If you’re lucky enough to have the space on your block, adding extra rooms at the side or rear allows you to work with (or correct) the layout of your existing home while gaining additional living space. “The majority of rear extensions I’ve worked on in recent years have had the goal of providing homeowners with a new, open-plan living area that flows out onto a deck or garden,” says Menichelli.