House extensions have always been a popular way of renovating your home. With an extension, you can add something extra to your property; you make it bigger and - potentially - better than it was before. As far as renovation tasks go, it’s probably the most dramatic one you can think of.

Today’s article is going to revolve around the idea of an extension for your home. Now, we’ve touched upon extending and expanding your home in previous posts, so if you’re looking for tips to do that, then this isn’t the article for you. Instead, this article is for anyone considering a home extension. More specifically; is a home extension right for you? We know there are many benefits, but there are also some drawbacks and things people don’t always think about when they make their decision.

As a consequence, we’ll present you with the pros and cons of extending your home. In doing so, you can view all the points, and make a more informed decision when considering whether or not it’s the right idea for your property.

Pros

There are lots of positive points that come with a house extension. You can see these pros from many different perspectives, meaning an extension could be ideal for lots of different homes.

Increase The Resale Value

As a property owner, you should always have one eye on increasing the value of your home. At some stage, your house will change hands. This might be when you retire and downsize, or it could happen a generation later when your kids own the home. Regardless, a great way of adding to the resale value is via an extension. Extensions add more space to your property, which always makes it more valuable. Think about it, a three-bedroom property that suddenly turns into a four or five-bedroom property will definitely cost more to buy. If you want a more accurate figure on the actual value that will be added it would be best to visit a quantity surveyor Melbourne. They will be able to tell you how much the extension will add to the property’s value so you can be sure the construction costs are worth it.

Provide You With More Living Space

It was briefly touched upon above, but an extension is a really good way of adding more living space and garage storage to your home. This is ideal for growing families that will need more space at some point. With an extension, you give yourself an extra room or two, meaning you can accommodate more family members. Not only that, but you give your family more room to breathe and can allow everyone to have their personal space. There are various examples that best illustrate this point. Imagine you suddenly have a baby on the way, and your house is no longer big enough for the extra human in your life. An extension can come along and give you the extra space you need. Likewise, what if you have two kids sharing a bedroom? It’s fine when they’re young, but there comes a time when they need some space to themselves. Again, an extension gives them the space they need.

Cheaper Than Moving Home

Another good benefit of an extension is that they’re much cheaper than moving home. Granted, they’re far from ‘cheap’, but I’ll talk about that later on. However, when you compare the cost of moving home with the cost of building a small extension, then there’s only one clear winner. Why compare the two at all? It goes back to my point about families needing additional space as they grow. For some, they feel the need to sell their home and buy a bigger, more spacious, one. However, if you have the means to build an extension, then this is a much more affordable option. You haven’t got to go through hell selling your home or pay all the additional fees that come with your sale. If you actually calculated the full costs of each, you’d be amazed at how much you can save by extending your home rather than moving.

Potentially Makes Your Home More Practical

One of the great things about a house extension is that it’s a pretty general term. It can mean almost anything, which opens your mind to many ideas. As such, extending your home can potentially make it more practical for the people that live there. For example, what if you extend your home by adding a garage to the side of it? This now gives you somewhere to store a car or place lots of your clutter. Either way, your home is now more practical as you can get a car safely tucked away - saving on car insurance might I add - or remove clutter from your rooms. Likewise, you can add a room to your home that functions as an office or study. Again, this is practical as it gives you somewhere to work, or somewhere for your kids to study. The bottom line is; you take your home and make it better.

The pros may be plentiful, but what about the cons? There are a fair few things you may want to think about, that could leave you thinking twice about whether or not you should get an extension.

It Can Still Be Very Costly

The standout negative point is that home extension can be costly. Yes, I did make the point that an extension is far cheaper than moving to a bigger home. This is definitely true, but compared to other renovation options, it’s still quite expensive. Especially if you’re just looking for an idea to improve your home or add value to it. If space isn’t a problem, and you’re just looking to upgrade your property in some way, then an extension is quite costly in that respect. You have to pay contractors to do all the work, and this often includes electricians, plumbers, and builders as well. So, if you’re looking for a cheap home improvement idea, this isn’t the one for you.

It’s A Very Messy Process

Building an extension for your home is pretty much the same as building a house itself. The only main difference is that it happens on a smaller scale. Having said that, you’re still going to be presented with a lot of mess and waste during the whole process. Your contractors will create lots of mess, and some of it can get in your home, which you’ll need to clean up. Some contractors will clear their waste away after they’ve completed the job, but others leave it up to you. Not only that, but they could uncover waste and junk from your home that you’ll need to get rid of. The only good news is that you can find fairly quick and easy ways of removing your rubbish and getting rid of any leftover building materials. The bad news is that your home will basically be a construction site for a good few weeks. It’s not really a dealbreaking con, but it is something to think about if you’re a bit of a clean freak.

It Can Be Disruptive And Take A Long Time

When you hire a contractor, they usually provide an estimated timeframe for the project. In an ideal world, they’ll get everything done in that time. However, this rarely happens. More often than not, they go over their estimation, and you end up with builders in your home for over a month or two. Building an extension takes time, and it can also be very disruptive. Your house becomes very noisy, and it also becomes slightly more dangerous too. Young children now need to be supervised extra carefully to ensure they don’t wander into the construction area. Also, imagine you have older children with exams. They’ll be trying to study in their rooms, all while this noisy construction happens. If you can’t afford the disruption to your home, then maybe you should think twice about an extension.

It’s Fairly Stressful

If you suffer from a high degree of stress in your life, then the last thing you want is an extension. As already mentioned, they can be messy and extremely disruptive. Not to mention the fact that things might not go according to plan. You might run into mishaps that push the finishing date back, and it all adds more stress to your plate. If you’re looking for a nice and peaceful home renovation idea, then this is certainly not ideal for you. If you can handle the additional stress it brings, then by all means, go for it.

Conclusion

In conclusion; should you extend your home? Is this idea right for you? It depends on what you’re trying to get out of it. If you’re looking for a cheap way of adding value to your home, then there are far better options out there. There are much cheaper alternatives that can potentially add more value to your property. So, if you’re doing it from that perspective, I would say it’s not strictly worth it.

However, if you’re looking at it from the perspective of someone that desperately needs a bigger home, then it becomes an excellent idea. Extensions aren’t cheap, but they’re way cheaper than buying and moving into a new house. So, if you and your family need extra space, then an extension is highly worthwhile.