05 Nov Need Space? An addition to your existing home made easy
It is hard to believe that in the 1950’s the average home was less than 90sq metres. Travel forward to 2020 and anything less than 200sq metres would not be considered by most people, unless it was an apartment. In fact, 200sq metres is an average sized 3 bedroom home. Today most people want more bedrooms, ensuites, extended living space, parent retreats and butlers pantries to name a few of the essentials.
The size of your home needs to be relative to your block and today it is not unusual for your home to cover 35-40% of your lot, this is a change that started in the 1990’s taking space from the large back yard.
34.5% of blocks of land in Australia today are between 540-720sq metres. It is an important decision when deciding to make additions to your existing home that you have a clear idea of how you are going to achieve the extra space in your home with an addition that will work with your land and meet all legal requirements.
Many locations in the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie area provide home owners with views either to the ocean, the lake or the mountains so it may be that you decide to go up to access those views. Alternatively, your existing home may have a smaller footprint and you have the ability to increase that footprint on the land to achieve your goals.
It will be a personal as well as a logistical decision based on what you currently have and what you would like to create by doing an addition to your home.
Working with an experienced builder who understands the local legislation and requirements ensures your addition gets the necessary approvals during the process. Working with an experienced builder from the beginning can make a big difference when making decisions about additions to your existing home.
When merging an existing home with an addition you want the finish to be seamless, this may require some upgrades such as plastering, painting, fittings to the existing home. Your builder will be able to talk you through the options that are available to make the addition an integrated part of your finished home while adding space and your own unique stamp.
Deciding to make additions to your existing home may cause some inconvenience during the process. If you can stay in the house, there may be noise, dust and tradespeople in and out of your home during the build. Your builder will manage the build in a way that ensures your family is safe, and that the intrusion is kept to a minimum while the job is in progress.
You may decide to vacate your home during the addition which will require careful planning on whether furniture is stored, where it will be stored, a place for you and your family to stay during the addition as well as careful planning in the lead up to commencing the addition to your home. Again working closely with your builder with regards to timelines both before work commences and during the building process will ensure that it runs smoothly.
Getting the most out of your existing home and block of land with a carefully planned addition will definitely add value to your home as well as an improved quality of life that will see you enjoying your home to the fullest now and into the future.
Engaging an experienced builder who communicates well, who is well organised and aware of the impact on your life will ensure that the addition to your home is built to a high standard, on budget and as close as possible to the timelines you discuss. Your builder’s goal is to work with you to achieve your goals.
Don’t shy away from committing to an addition to your home to get the space you need, just do your research and engage the right builder with the right experience.