If you’re looking at boosting the value of your home, there are many different options open to you, depending on where you live, the size and shape of your property and how much land you have around it. One popular way to boost the value of your property could be to put in an extension. Building an extension is likely to be the biggest investment you will make in your home, after the initial purchase, so getting it right is pretty important.
Before you call the construction companies for prices, however, it is always a good idea to have an idea of the ceiling price for property in your neighborhood. Extensions can add significant value, but a ceiling price within a neighborhood, irrespective of your renovations, can affect the overall return on any investment you make.
That said, building an extension will give you much-needed space that allows you to stay in your home and avoid all of the costs incurred when moving. It is certainly wise to consult a professional to get an estimate of your home’s potential value if you carry out the extension build.
Adding a double-story extension does not double your build costs, so is worth checking out. Every extension needs foundations and building a single-story extension usually has a higher average cost per square meter.
Build costs vary around the country mainly due to the differences in labor costs, with these likely to differ significantly based on your location. Material costs vary only marginally, but you will find yourself paying higher delivery costs for remote locations.
Standard or Luxury
Many of the construction elements are not affected by your choice of build quality, such as foundations and reinforcement costs (these can be estimated using a rebar cost calculator). However, the cost of your choice of roofing, windows, doors, floors, alongside fixtures and fittings vary enormously depending on the level of finish quality. High-quality fittings over standard can double a build cost. Decisions on the standard of fit and finish will not only affect your build cost but will have some impact on the overall value of your home on completion.
Who will do the work?
As we have mentioned previously, the labour costs are one of the great variables and realistically not within your control. If you want help with the work then paying the required labour rates are a must. At this point deciding how much you want to be involved in the build will enable you to calculate labour costs more realistically. Here is a quick guide to the four most common build routes you might follow.
- Largely DIY with occasional contractor employment – You purchase materials and organise the timescales and oversee your project, employing a little help when needed for specific small tasks.
- Directly Employed Subcontractors – You purchase most of the materials and have minimal DIY involvement, however you choose the contractors to carry out the work and organise the timeframes for the various aspects with each trade.
- Main Contractor followed by Subcontractors – The main contractor builds to the weathertight stage followed by subcontractors to finish. You purchase materials and organise contractors.
- Main Contractor – You have very little involvement once designs are signed off, they do all the work for you.
As you can see the route you choose will have a dramatic impact on the build costs, so it is important to be realistic as to how much you want to do yourself.
Shapes and Layouts
Complex designs are another big factor affecting a build cost, basically, the more square and simple your build the cheaper the cost will be. Even rectangular plans with the same floor area are more costly than a simple square to build.
