Moving is a huge hassle, and selling and buying a house can be very expensive and stressful. That’s why many people living in the Gold Coast region choose to expand their current homes rather than look for something else.
If you own a single-storey home, one option is to put another level onto the top of your home. Turning a single into a two-storey home can nearly double your living space and give your family the room it needs to grow.
In this article, we’ll explain what these types of home extensions are, as well as some of the ins and outs of the finances…
Then we’ll cover the pros and cons and talk about how to find the right double-storey renovation contractor for the job. Let’s take a closer look.
🏘️ What Are Double Storey Extensions?
Simply put, these types of home expansions involve adding space onto your home above the ground level or first-floor level. This may be done by adding a second storey on a home, building additional space above the ground level (for instance, adding a room over a garage or porch) or other means.
💲 Do They Add Value to Your Home? Is it Worth it Financially?
Putting an addition onto a home of any kind almost always adds value, as long as the construction is sound and the job is well done. That’s one of the reasons why it is important to hire the best double storey extension contractors. Very often, the costs of the expansion can be offset by the added value onto the home.
Whether or not this will be the case in your individual situation depends greatly on many factors, including where you live, the size of your home currently, the type of rooms you’re adding, and the neighbourhood.
In terms of what these kinds of projects cost, again, that depends on the project itself. That said, many of them can cost more than $1000 per square meter.
👍 What Are the Benefits?
There are many benefits of adding a second floor addition to your home. Some of them apply more to your family, and some have to do with the value and quality of your home.
More living space: Perhaps the most obvious and important benefit is the additional living space you’ll have. With the costs of homes ever increasing, many couples buy “starter” homes without anticipating how their needs will change as their families expand.
Whether you need additional bedrooms for children, a dedicated office or play space, or even more storage space, this kind of expansion can be the solution to your problem. That way, everyone can have their own space and be more comfortable.
More enjoyable space: If you’re planning to add rooms to your home, you should absolutely make them the most enjoyable and luxurious as you can.
Many people choose to build beautiful new master bedrooms and bathrooms when they expand their homes in this way. Or, create a wonderful new place for your family to gather by building a state-of-the-art entertainment or movie-viewing room.
Increased home value: Homes are typically priced per square meter, so when you add square meterage to your home, it will almost certainly increase in value. Whether or not this will offset the actual costs of the expansion depends greatly, as we discussed above.
Keeping your outdoor living space. Unlike a first-floor additions, adding onto the top of your home won’t take room away from your yard and outdoor space. This is especially great news for families with children who like to play outside or who have pets. What is more, if you plan to sell your house eventually, having a large yard can be a major selling point.
No boxes: One of the biggest benefits of adding to your current home is not having to move. Moving may not seem like as much of a hassle in theory, but it will be. Selling your home entails hiring a realtor, staging, and then showing your home to a parade of strangers. Then you must negotiate the sale and then do it all over again to buy a new home of your own.
All of this must happen before you pack up all of your belongings and physically move everything you own. Building onto your existing home saves you all of that time and energy, and very often, you end up saving a great deal of money in the end.
🥺 Are There Any Downsides?
As with any major home renovation project, there are bound to be some negatives involved as well. Perhaps the biggest one is that your home will become a construction site for at least a couple of weeks. Be sure to have a conversation early on with your contractor about the project’s means for living in your home. Will you need to spend some time away? If so, you’ll need to plan carefully.
Of course, these kinds of projects are not cheap, so the cost is another consideration. Because it is a very involved and major project, the costs may not be immediately offset in additional equity, but the addition should eventually help your home be more valuable.
Another potential pitfall might lie in your relationships with your neighbours. For one thing, no one likes to live amidst a lot of noise and construction projects are nothing if not noisy. But in addition, consider how the project will be received by your neighbours when complete.
Will you wind up blocking someone else’s beautiful view? Or eliminating natural light from parts of their home? These issues don’t necessarily mean that you can’t move ahead with the project, but it is something to think about before getting started.
Finally, make sure that you look at renderings of how your home will look when complete and how it will look sitting in its place on your street. While extra space might be what you need, if it makes your house look unappealing, this may not be the way to go about it.
👷 How to Find a Double Storey Builder or Contractor
The process of finding a contractor for this kind of job is similar to finding one for any other. Let’s look at some essentials.
- Ask around and read reviews. See if someone you trust has hired someone and can make recommendations. If not, head online to do a search and read reviews.
- Make sure that they’re fully licensed and insured. It also helps if they are members of trade organizations.
- Make sure that they have done similar projects under similar conditions in the past. Ask for information about past jobs. You can also request references.
- Work with them to develop a proposal that includes approximate costs, anticipated timeline, and any contingencies that they have accounted for.
- Agree on price and negotiate a contract. You may want legal representation for this step.
- Obtain appropriate permits and licensing.
While deciding whether to add a double-storey extension onto your home is a big decision, once it’s complete, you’ll wonder how you ever lived in your home without it.
(If you are looking within your local council municipality, this will provide Council guidelines for customers within the Gold coast. If you are within the NSW corridor and located within the Tweed Shire, please reive the tweed Shire council building and renovation guideline.)
One of the best things about owning a home of your own is being able to put your own personal stamp on it in a way that’s not possible when you’re stuck renting. You may be interested in reading a further article on “What to look for when Engaginging a Second-story builder“. A great article worth a 5-minute read 🙂
Risen, your local building and construction company on the Gold Coast is only a click or call away, so please reach out to us today at 0404 REN OV8. A Double Story Extension can be the perfect solution for homeowners with LIMITED (property square meterage) and who would like to increase their living space in their homes. Please don’t delay and let’s chat soon!
