Build An Extension Or Move Home? What You Need To Consider

I don’t know about you but the thought of moving home when we have a young child fills me with dread. I know a lot of people do it very successfully and some have no choice because they have to relocate for work or family-related reasons but there are also many good reasons for staying put.

It is true that you can simply outgrow a house. The space that was perfectly adequate when it was just the two of you now seems cramped and small. To solve this problem, you have two options. You can either extend your current home or you can move. The choice is yours!

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Staying in your own home is certainly the cheaper option and if you are struggling for money and trying to live on a budget it may be the only option that you have. It is also less disruptive. You could try to do some of the work yourself and build it a stage at a time so that you do not have to deal with all of the costs at once. The downside is that you only gain a room or two and may have to give up some of your garden to do so. Here are a few issues that you should bear in mind.

You may not be granted planning permission

The extension may not be able to go ahead. Deciding that you want one is only the beginning of a long process. Your builder from detaildevelopmentsltd.co.uk can advise you on what may or may not be allowed as they will have experience in this area of construction.

Before any work can start, you will need to apply for planning permission and this can be done at planningportal.co.uk where there is a lot more information. Your neighbours have the right to object and the planning authority will make the final decision.

An extra toilet is always useful

When you are adding an extra living room or an extra bedroom, don’t forget about the bathrooms. Growing families often need more than one toilet to prevent a queue forming in the mornings. You can put a bathroom or a toilet anywhere in the home as long as it has a wash hand basin and suitable ventilation. It may not cost as much as you think. You can add on a small bathroom to your extra bedroom for less than £3,000.

You could extend up or down instead of outwards

If you value the space that you have in your garden and do not want to lose any, you could extend up into the loft or down into the cellar. A loft conversion is a cost-effective way of gaining an extra bedroom and possibly a bathroom if there is sufficient floor space. Remember you will have to think about the pitch of your roof and head-height. If you already have a cellar area under your home it could be converted into a playroom or study.    

You just need to think about how you use your current space and how additional rooms would fit into your lifestyle.