hey guys, would love to hear some stories/experiences that ppl have had in 'opening up' the back of their place with simple extensions. we are looking at the possibility of opening up the back of a house that has currently got the kitchen and dining. we would just like to make this space a wee bit bigger to include a living/family space...
it'd be great to hear about ppls experiences...the good, the bad and the ugly LOL!
We did this many years ago and also added a deck. It was the best thing we ever did especially the deck as in summer we are out there alot. Some of the deck has a roof so we can sit out there nearly all year and it keeps the BBQ, love seat and other items dry.
It was alot cheaper than moving as we really love the area we are in.
Go and have a look at display homes to get and idea of what you want and then don't back down if you really want something and you cannot see why you need to.
Some builders have their own ideas of what you want/need so make sure you have ideas beforehand.
sorry for taking ages to get back to you...thought it wasnt going to get replies LOL!
i think you're right. we'll definitely have to check it out. for us we would want a bit of a deck with a cover (gotta love melbourne's inclement weather LOL!).
i'm a bit worried by the cost but like you said it is cheaper than buying a house that already has it done and not quite the way you want it IYKWIM....
Start drawing rough ideas of what you would like. In the end you will probably have about 6 drawings with things you like in each. It's then a matter of deciding what you really want/need and what you don't. It took us over a year but it was worth it.
The other thing to consider is finance. We set a ceiling and came in under it as we did some of the work ourselves (painting, floor etc.)
I put a 5 sq (big) deck on the side of my home in the hills - it was VERY high off the ground. It cost about 3k. We could have panelled half of it in for extra room and still had a great deck. Probably would have cost about $5k if we did - BUT we organised all the timber and did alot of work ourselves.
First work out the materials you want (brick or weatherboard etc), measure out the space you want roughly because I think there is some sort of formula they use per square foot x the materials for a rough guide.
I'd start looking for a good builder soon, word of mouth is the best. You may meet a few before you come across one you like. Get a nice looking one so you have something to compensate you for the dust and inconvenience
ETA: I will call exH and see if he still has the number of the guy who did our deck. He was awesome and a real craftsman. I saw his house and his extension was magic.
we have started drawing things up and gathering ideas etc. it is very basic and will be only one level (ie, not building up). but everything will need to be checked out against heritage overlay. shouldnt be a biggie as our council is not very, well, how should i put this, 'heritage friendly'. but it could still mean a years wait before we get approval
but i've heard that the builders can also get the ball rolling on this for you...so maybe not as big a hassle as i thought...
Damn my pregnant brain. When I saw the title of this thread I thought back extension... like a spine extension
Good luck! We are currently doing reno's to our house and I'd love to do extensions one day, our house would be particularly easy to go up with (my uncle is in the building industry and has told me so himself hehe!). Just working on convincing DF
costings for basic back extention...
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