Cost-Effective Ways To Add Space To Your Home
Many of our clients come to us because their homes aren’t working for them. Their circumstances may have changed: families have become larger, or they need home office space or a larger kitchen. In some cases, the kids have left home, which gives them a chance to change their accommodation.
Whatever the circumstances, we would typically talk through an initial brief on the phone and then make an appointment to do an onsite appraisal. The appraisal gives us the chance to look at the property, talk to the prospective client about their thoughts and ideas, and see what we feel might be the most cost-effective way to achieve the changes they are looking for.
If you need to add space to your home, it’s a common misconception that you must build an extension. Sometimes this is the case, but there are some more cost-effective ways to achieve the extra space:
- You can still add an extension, but perhaps do it in a way that isn’t merely space bolted onto the outside of the property, but is reduced in size and fits with the rest of the home.
- You can reorganise the present accommodation: take a few walls out, reorientate the space and perhaps avoid an extension completely.
- Look at alternative ways of providing accommodation, by converting a garage or replacing a conservatory with a more modern, well-insulated space. We design very few conservatories these days. Nowadays, it more relevant to give you flexibility and accommodation that enables you to enjoy the room all year round.
- Converting the loft can often achieve additional space in terms of bedroom accommodation, but at less cost than creating the equivalent floor space with a formal extension (the roof and internal walls are already there). It’s even possible to convert a modern trussed roof now, by inserting a lightweight metal structure inside to free up the roof space.
No Need for Planning Permission
One of the additional advantages of remodelling your existing space is that it removes the need to obtain planning approval. This speeds up the process and reduces costs, in terms of additional drawings and planning application fees. It also enables you to move on from the initial concept feasibility design straight on to working drawings, building regulations and structural engineering, and it gets the work on-site quicker.
We are very commercially minded when it comes to design. It’s not just about achieving the client’s requirements, bolting on space, adding additional accommodation or reorganising internal rooms. It’s about taking an overview of the whole property, the client’s requirements and lifestyle, and looking at ways to unwrap the space differently. We aim to provide, not just a more appropriate modern living space, but to do so in a way that is cost-effective and makes the most of the opportunity.
We can advise at initial meetings and discussions what the possibilities might be. Following that we can put professional work together to include:
- Existing details
- Sketch and scheme design work
- Assistance with builders in respect of likely construction costs, as well as agents’ valuations to look at any likely increase in property value, were the work to be completed.
- Pre-application advice, if appropriate, to establish whether a proposal needs planning approval and, if it did so, was likely to be acceptable.
The vital concept from our point of view is that we don’t go beyond the sketch stage with a scheme until our client is happy with the proposals, and we know it is commercially viable and cost-effective.
If you would like to discuss your project with us, please get in touch below, and we would be happy to assist in any way we can.
