An extension is a great way to add space and value to your home – if it’s done well. So, how do you ensure the money you spend gets the results you need? George Clarke, architect and resident expert at The Home Show, tells us how.
I always think, if you’re going to do an extension, make it as big as you can possibly afford without compromising on quality of your house, compromising the size of your garden or annoying your neighbours. If you’re going to do it, do it. There’s no point in doing a tiny one. Once the builder’s appointed and he’s in, it’s worth making the most of it – 5m by 5m metres might cost you £20K – 6m by 6m might only add another couple of thousand, but you’ll get a much better space. The additional cost of getting an extra metre out of it is negligible once the guys are on site.
Design it properly to get what you really want. Get the size of it right, get the scale of it right, get the proportions right.
What do you want it to be built from and how will it be designed? Unless you’re going to go down the super-contemporary route, it has to be in keeping with your existing property. It sounds old fashioned but I think it’s disrespectful to a house if a new extension doesn’t fit.
Credit: Simon Whitmore
If you’ve got an old house with a contemporary extension, that’s cool, but think about proportion and scale, think about how things might line up. Do the windows on the new extension line up with the windows on the old house? If they do, it will look good. I’m an alignment nutcase, if things look balanced and like they’re meant to be, then what you put on the back will look good.
Think about what the appropriate materials are that you’ll use. You might want to do a timber clad extension or timber frame. Is it brickwork to match the existing house? Is it in stone?
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