This is often a question I get asked by my clients when they are at the very early stages of exploring how, what and when they are going to extend their property. Most of the clients say they love the home they live in, it’s perfect for the local schools and their children and usually have a well-established network of friends in the locality. This is especially true in the area where we all live and work, Earley, Woodley and Wokingham, the schools often have a waiting list and suitable properties rarely come onto the market and when they do, they are snapped up in days.
This means that many of the enquiries we receive are when families are busting at the seams and they desperately need more space. Of course, we explore all the options, including, loft conversions, garage conversions and extensions.
So is it more economical to have a two-storey extension than a single-storey? Well, of course, materials are going to be more expensive as you will need more of them, but the biggest question you are going to need to ask yourself is what is the additional space going to be used for.
Single-storey extensions are usually when a customer wants to change the layout of the ground floor, adding in a new kitchen and utility room, office space or playroom and they can also want to add in a downstairs WC. Most larger modern homes are always built with a Cloakroom, but some of the older properties didn’t include this additional facility and for a growing family, for someone who is running a business from home or just needs the extra loo! A downstairs toilet is an essential part of a single-storey extension.
When I meet with a new customer, I have an extensive list of questions I run through to really get to understand what this home renovation needs to provide, we can then provide them with some initial virtual drawings to give them an idea of what an extension will provide and what a layout might look like.
Once we have established exactly what the additional accommodation is needed for and what sort of budget a client is working to, we can look at if a double-storey or a single-storey suits their needs better.
Although the overall outlay of a double-storey extension is higher, the cost per square meter will be more economical. As a general rule of thumb (obviously taking into consideration what you are going to include in the extension) a double storey will cost less than 50% more than a single storey because you only need 1 set of foundations, 1 roof, 1 set of drawings and only 1 planning/building control application.
So if you have a growing family or you have elderly parents who are coming to live with you, a double-storey extension can be a perfect way to stay in the home you love and still get the additional living space. Some of our clients make the decision to use the disruption caused by building works to reevaluate their accommodation, upgrading existing bathrooms and redecorating the whole property. The great thing with most double-storey extensions the amount of disruption caused to the first floor is limited with usually a knock-through close to the end of the project.
If you are interested in exploring this further, get in touch and we can visit your property and discuss your ideas, if you are already invested in the project and have planning permission and an architect in place, we can provide you with a free quotation and give you an idea of start dates.
(All images are taken from our sites in the last year)