Have you been thinking about extending your property lately?
Maybe your needs have changed over the years, your family has grown, you’ve started working from home, or you just want to live with a little more space in your life. Either way, there is one thing that stands in the way of so many householders’ dreams to live in a better home environment.
We’re in the architectural design business and designing extensions is a big part of what we do, day in and day out. So you might find it a bit strange that I’m not listing a handful of reasons why you should build an extension instead of a reason not to!
Above: Photo courtesy of steverenouk
The thing is, we want you to enjoy the benefits that the right living space can bring, and I hope that if you’re considering an extension then you’ll think of us to help you achieve your vision.
Let me give you a clue – The number 1 reason to not build an extension is NOT cost. Cost is just a solid, finite, measurable reality. Specify what you want, and a supplier will quote you for the work – either you can afford it, or you can’t. If you can’t, maybe you can find a cheaper supplier, you need to think smaller or more creatively. Either way, it’s not a good reason to give up on your project right away.
But I can share with you one good reason to call it quits, to give up, or to just consider moving house rather than expanding your existing home.
Above: Photo courtesy of junkmonkey
It’s risk.
Risk is the cost you can’t measure or you don’t know about. It’s the unknown factor in building something that lands you with a big bill when you don’t expect it, a home you can’t live in, a set of broken building regulations, or a disaster for a building site.
What’s there to risk when building an extension? Actually quite a lot. I’m sure you’ve heard horror stories of building projects that have had spiralling costs? Welcome to the world of risk.
If you hire a builder without knowing the quality of their work, you’re inviting risk into your project.
If you change your mind about something in the middle of your project, you’re introducing any number of new risks.
If you’ve failed to properly plan out your project at the start, if you haven’t checked to see if you need planning permission, or if you haven’t checked to see if your design complies with building regulations, then you’re opening your new front door to a whole stack of big, hairy, and potentially very costly risks.
Our advice? Don’t risk it. Dream big, but take your time and plan any project thoroughly. That’s where we can help – Building Tectonics work to make your vision realistic, functional and compliant. We transform your dream into a design, which has a key difference – it’s something that can be costed out, planned and delivered – with no big surprises!