If your goal is to enlarge your house and call the home extension builders, consider three available techniques: height extension (about an elevation of the construction), depth extension (commonly called excavation), and horizontal extension, i.e., enlarging the house from the side. The latter will be the main character in this article. More precisely, the horizontal house extensions in Sydney increase the surface of your house to gain m²: either a massive construction made of masonry or wood materials or a relatively light one, like a veranda.
You have multiple organizational possibilities. A horizontal extension of the house in Sydney will allow you more modularity for your home. You can build an extension to your current home or even create an adjacent wing, enabling you to organize a guest room or isolate a part of your home more effectively. You have many options for the garage, office, space for entertainment, and workshop! In addition, you can build a side extension on one level or several floors (s). You will thus get an extension and a significant increase in your house. Plus, you have a wide variety of construction systems.
Call on the Home Extension Builders
No matter your wishes and tastes, you will likely find an answer from the home extension builders: you prefer a wooden frame, masonry construction, glass, or even a veranda. Unlike the vertical extension, which requires relatively light materials and a wooden frame, the horizontal extension does not impose many constraints. Be careful, however, to size the foundations and the slab according to the nature of the soil and the chosen construction system. However, the materials are not the only ones that can make a difference! Don’t limit yourself; all room shapes are possible for your horizontal extension.
Extension of the wooden frame is an increasingly common choice for constructing a side extension: better insulated, more natural, lighter, and more durable. For homeowners, building a timber frame extension also means a solution that can be implemented more quickly and whose architectural process generates less waste and inconvenience than a masonry extension. The wooden frame house extensions in Sydney can receive any finish and easily fit the facade of the existing structure. As for the extension of a house made of masonry materials, it is the traditional choice for side extensions, a technique well-known and well-mastered by artisans.
It is suitable for concrete, stone, or brick; it requires very well-sized foundations, ideally suited to the soil. And finally, the veranda or extension of a glazed house is the fastest, simplest, and least expensive solution. It is necessary to differentiate between the veranda itself (the structure that comes in the form of an installation kit, dissociated from the original house and does not, from a legal point of view, bring a bonus of livable square meters) and the actual glazed extension on the side, more expensive, but which increases your living space and offers the possibility of housing living rooms.
A Home Extension for All Styles
Depending on the orientation, the glazed extension of the house can serve as a bedroom, kitchen, living room, or even a connection to two buildings. This type of construction will also allow home extension builders to play with shades, shapes, and materials. However, the veranda will be more suitable for temporary uses, such as a winter garden, reading room, pool house, or reception room. The glass roof is also a trendy alternative in the family of glazed extensions. Featuring floor-to-ceiling glass, it offers a stunning view of the outside and lets in a significant amount of light.
The construction of a house extension on the side can ultimately be part of the continuity of the existing facade. Depending on how much extra space you want, you can even add more floors to it. The roof plays a vital role in this architectural continuity, linking the newly built volume to the existing one. If you opt for a roof in the same style, the extension of your house in Sydney and the original structure will become a unified whole. If you opt for a modern turnkey with a flat roof, it will lean slightly against the gable of your house.
Extending a House on the Side: Precautions
Certain precautions and constraints deserve your attention before carrying out the house extension project. One of the main constraints to your horizontal extension is the buildable area of the land. Indeed, just because your garden is spacious doesn’t automatically mean you can build your extension on the side of your house. It is recommended that you check the details at the town hall. If making an extension is not legally possible, see your other possibilities. For any modification of the facade, you must also respect the law. Any new construction on your lot, even behind your house, must comply with the property lines and easements.
All these preliminary checks are necessary to find the right location for your home extension, calculate the floor area you can allocate, and guide your aesthetic choices. For the final result to be perfect and durable, an insured and competent specialist must carry out the extension. A lateral extension is built on the foundation with a construction method adapted to the nature of the land, and this can vary on the surface of a plot, even near the house already built. The new foundations must rest on something other than the existing ones of the home or the neighbor’s.
Extension and Building Permit
Two possibilities are available to you depending on your project: simply submitting a preliminary declaration of work or applying for a building permit, the most common case. That will depend on the coordinates of the future extension of your house. No planning permission is required if the floor area does not exceed 40 m². However, if you do not live in an urban area, you will encounter a disadvantage: you will need a building permit for an extension more significant than 20 m². If your extension exceeds an area of 40 m², you will need to apply for planning permission.
Always remember: you need to study your land and the location of your future expansion before starting the construction project. You should avoid a horizontal extension if:
Its orientation does not allow you to organize the room you want perfectly usefully;
- The vacant land will no longer allow you to enjoy the open air as you are used to;
- The house extension is just a storage solution. In this case, interior remodeling is often sufficient.
If you are confident about your need to add a horizontal extension, you can start. Contact home extension builders if you need help and suggestion.