If you’ve been living in your home for a while and need more space for a growing family, you might consider buying a new house. But if you haven’t made full use of the space available on your plot, building an additional room is always something you can consider. Planning a home extension is a cheaper and more convenient option than searching for a new property. However, planning a home extension is a different matter altogether. The process includes a number of steps, and we’ll take you through them in an orderly manner below.
How to Plan a Home Extension?
There are several considerations that you need to make when you want to extend your house and enlarge the living space. These include:
- Brainstorm Over Your Plan
- Determine the Costs
- Figure Out How to Finance the Build
- Do Your Research on Planning Permissions
- Hire the Right People
- Design a Plan for the Extension
- Get Planning Permission for the New Plan
- Make Sure You Meet the Regulations
- Don’t Overburden the Utilities
- Consider Moving Out Temporarily
Let’s discuss each step in detail now.
1. Brainstorm Over Your Plan
There are many ways to extend your house. You can consider building an additional room, adding an extra floor, covering your open garage to create a room, or expanding an existing room into your yard. The options are endless. However, you need to make a decision based on the type of extension you want to build before you move on to the next stage.
2. Determine the Costs
It is fairly important to estimate the cost of the house extension project before you begin the process. Once you decide on the type of extension that fulfils your need for additional space, get quotes from architects, designers, and builders for the project. You can also do some research online on the estimated costs of extending a house or adding a room to your home.
When you consider the costs of a home extension, you will need to keep in mind the cost of the construction materials, the service charges for an architect and a builder, the labour costs, the building permit fees, and even the cost of living in a hotel or rented space for a few days if you decide to move out while the work is underway.
3. Figure Out How to Finance the Build
The purpose of estimating the costs is simple. An estimated cost will give you a better idea of the amount of finance you need to complete the remodelling project. Based on your estimates, you might be able to fund the project with the help of your savings, borrow money from family or friends for a short time, or get an official loan from a bank that you can repay at a later date. While credit transactions are limited in Pakistan, you can consider using your credit card to fund the home extension as it works similar to a loan taken from a commercial bank.
4. Do Your Research on Planning Permissions
Most local building authorities in Pakistan demand that you apply for a new planning and building permit if you want to expand the interior space of your house, similar to how it is clearly mentioned in the building regulations of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) and Lahore Development Authority (LDA). Thus, the next step in planning a home extension is to do your research locally about the kind of permissions you’ll need from the building authority in your particular city.
Thorough research will tell you exactly what documents you’ll need to submit for a new building permit along with the plans for the extension and the permit fees. This will make it easier for you to plan ahead for the remaining steps.
5. Hire the Right People
The most crucial aspect of any construction project is hiring the right people to accomplish the job in a timely and efficient manner. For the best results, your house extension requires a qualified and experienced architect to design the addition into your existing floor plans and an equally capable builder who can undertake the task and add a new room to your current structure seamlessly.
A few important considerations when you’re hiring designers and builders include:
- Check for past experience and qualifications
- Find someone easy to communicate with
- Get referrals where possible to find the best candidates
- Search for people who give you definite quotes for the cost of the project and its timeline
6. Design a Plan for the Extension
Once you’ve got a designer on-board, it’s time to begin planning the extension in practical terms. Communicate your ideas to the designer and work with them to modify the current floor plan of the house.
Please note that many building authorities might require you to mark the additions and changes on the plans that you are submitting in a different colour from that of the currently approved design. For instance, the LDA clearly states that all additions and alterations need to be marked in red, the original plans in black, and any demolishment to be marked in yellow.
7. Get Planning Permission for the New Plan
Once you and your designer have come to an agreement about the construction plans with regards to the addition to your home, you will need to submit the modified plans along with all the required documents to the respective authority. It can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to get the approval.
Make sure you meet all the other regulations set by your local housing authority. Otherwise, your request for an extension will be denied. You should also mentally be prepared to answer questions or to appeal again in case of a rejection.
8. Make Sure You Meet the Regulations
There are a number of regulations that you must meet to get planning and building permission for your home extension project or even a new construction on an empty plot. While they differ for each city and housing society, here are some general aspects that might be consistent throughout:
- You will need to leave a certain amount of empty space between your house and the neighbour’s
- You might have to dedicate a certain percentage of your plot to open space or green areas
- You might have to comply by fire safety standards
- You might face restrictions in terms of the external look of the property in some housing developments
- You may or may not be allowed to modify the number of rooms present inside the house if you plan on breaking down walls for a larger living space
- There may be a restriction on the number of windows that you can place in your plans
- Height restrictions are also present in certain areas, where you might not be able to build a second floor or raise the roof further
- You might not be allowed to extend the upper stories over your garage and lawn
- There might also be penalties on building a commercial office in a home extension if you only have a residential permit
- Building authorities also have limits on the minimum space required for a room to a bathroom within the house, and they might not let you reduce the floor area of one room to expand another
Check with your local authorities on the specifications that you must adhere to before you submit your building plans.
9. Don’t Overburden the Utilities
Building an additional room means adding more lights, fans, and switches to the home’s current circuit. But, before you do that, you need to check the maximum limit that your house’s electrical system can bear. If you overburden the circuitry, you might risk a power outage due to short circuits. Most homes do have the capacity to bear a few extra lights and fans. It is advised, however, that you get the load-bearing capacity checked if you plan on adding an extra kitchen to the plans because kitchen appliances require a lot of power to operate.
10. Consider Moving Out Temporarily
Planning a home extension is easy with the above-given steps, but the build will go a lot quicker if you are not currently living in the house while the work progresses. While you definitely need to keep an eye on the progress on a daily basis, consider moving to a friend’s or relative’s house for a few days or rent a small flat until the extension is built.
Please note that moving away is not mandatory. It is perfectly possible to live in the house while the renovation is underway, but you should then be prepared for the disruption that will be caused due to the ongoing construction work.
Now you know how to plan a home extension in the best possible manner to create additional living space alongside the current structure. Consider all of the points mentioned above to determine whether a house extension is the best choice for you before you begin the work. Good luck!
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