A Guide To Home Extensions

Many home owners have set their hearts on adding to the value and appeal of their house with a well-placed extension. Despite this, the process appears to have been made more difficult at every turn by forcing prospective renovations through the gauntlet that is planning permission. The rules seem unnecessarily complex to some, but in an attempt to boost economic growth, the government has reduced the vast sea of red tape associated with planning an extension on a home or small business in England, thus giving home owners a much greater motivation to extend for the duration of this three year initiative.

Any extension of less than 8m for a detached home will no longer require planning permission; great news for anyone wishing to expand a room or add a conservatory to their home or business. Extensions can be a fantastic way to boost the value of your property, with conservatories adding around 7% to the total value of a house, and full extensions adding up to 11%. Extensions increase the appeal of your property to prospective buyers by expanding the usable space and adding extra functional rooms to the property. But which type of extension do you choose? With the availability of loft conversions, conservatory additions, room extensions, or even the addition of modular buildings to the property, it is difficult to know the best way to add value to your home. The list below will provide some idea of the pros and cons of each type of extension, allowing you to decide on the best solution for you.

• Loft Conversion - loft conversions offer the unique opportunity to cash in on the natural light of the skyline, or indeed the romantic glow of the cityscape itself. Loft conversions can unlock the tremendous amount of space available to you above the ceiling of your home, but can become expensive if the house is older or has been constructed in a way which is unfriendly to loft extensions.

• Conservatory - a conservatory is a great way to facilitate relaxation in a room flooded with natural light, while still keeping the elements at bay. Conservatories can increase the value of your property quite dramatically, so the gain often more than makes up for the initial expenditure, although you should be prepared to invest a significant sum of money to get a good quality conservatory attached to your home.

• Room Extension - Room extensions are a great way to sequester some of a large garden to form an enhanced living space, but some find that they extensions of this type make smaller gardens feel claustrophobic. To combat this problem, many home owners have installed French doors to create an open-plan feel to the home and garden and banish the feeling of constriction.

• Modular Extension - if a permanent extension does not suit, adding a modular extension separate to the main house is a particularity good way to merge the garden with a multi-purpose function room.

With the explanations provided above, any interested home owner should have all the tools required to make the most of the temporary leniency in planning laws. If you've been considering a major renovation or extension, now is the perfect time to act! 


About the Author:

Eric enjoys any type of DIY challenge, whether that is fastening solar panels to a roof or building a new extension. Eric works as a mechanical engineering at Ejot Uk, were he has learn a lot of his construction skills.