Home Extensions - the Ins and Outs

The Best Way to Plan Your New House Extension

Having a house extension can help you transform a good home into a great home, whether it's for your lifestyle or to entice potential buyers. Adding extra rooms is an obvious way to increase the value of your home, and to increase the liveability and versatility of your living space.

There are a few things you should take into consideration before you embark on building a house extension. It can be a lengthy, costly and disruptive process, so you'll need to make sure you're getting what you want and won't make any mistakes.

This guide will tell you everything you need to know and help you to avoid any potentially costly errors in your budget, builders or insurance policies. You can also contact your nearest Ultra Installer with your house extension questions by using our free search tool.

What do I Need to Know When I'm Planning to Build a House Extension?
Although you'll need to consider many factors before you get to work, there are a handful of things you should never start a house extension without being completely sure about. Most importantly, you'll need to know your budget, you'll need to know if you require planning permission, and you'll need to contact builders and possibly an architect to make sure all costs are catered for, and everybody is working from the same page.

You should try to estimate the time that building your house extension would take, and set a clear timeframe - building an extension can be disruptive to your day to day life. Nobody wants to live on a building site! Fortunately, Ultraframe products are delivered to site in almost-complete condition, which streamlines the installation process.

You’ll also need to think carefully about the style of your house extension. Do you want an orangery-style room that will feature lots of masonry, pillars, and a lantern roof – or are you keen to replicate that much-coveted garden room feel by incorporating a higher ratio of glass-to-brick into your design? The choice is yours.

Contemporary or modern design is possible – whether you want to use a conservatory or orangery as a basis for your design. You will also be able to customise your house extension by choosing from a range of high-performing double glazing products – like bi-fold or sliding patio doors – and colours, foils and accessories.

How Much Value can an Extension add to the Value of my Home?
This depends on a huge number of factors, but around 11% is a popular figure for complete extensions. If you want a more exact figure, you can always talk to a surveyor. Pick from a range such as the Extensions Collection from Ultraframe, where a detailed quotation is given upfront, making such costings easier.

However, if you're building a house extension primarily to increase the value of your home, there are a few things you should consider. Your new extension could take value off your home as well as add it on if, for example, you reduce your garden to too small a size, or compromise your parking, in the process.

Can Getting an Extension Affect my Home Insurance?
Getting a house extension will affect many things in your home insurance policy. While these can vary from insurer to insurer and extension to extension, you should always contact your insurer before any building work has begun, to tell them exactly what you are planning.

In general, you'll probably have to pay more for your policy to increase cover and the cost of rebuilding your home, but it's important to make sure you disclose everything, otherwise you may find that your insurer won't pay you if anything goes wrong.

You can, however, add legal cover to your policy, giving you some peace of mind as work on your house extension begins. This will adequately protect you from any damages or the results of poor workmanship.

Contact Your Nearest Ultra Installer

If you choose one of our UltraI nstallers, they can give you complete peace of mind and will ensure that from planning to completion the home extension is perfect. UltraInstallers are quality conscious, service-orientated companies who have applied for Ultra Installer Scheme membership, ensuring your investment will give you years of pleasure.

When searching for your nearest UltraInstaller, you’ll also be invited to contact the Ultraframe team directly. You’ll then be able to send us a message relating to any of our products – including orangeries, conservatories, replacement roofs and much more. There’s no obligation and we’ll be able to provide you with some guideline prices when you call.