Extending your home is a great option for thousands of Americans every year, the reasons why many want this extra space are plentiful and for many it gives the chance to stay in the home that they love and still have the extra space that they are looking for without having to move. Extensions can be costly but they can also a great amount of value to your property if done in the right way.
Before considering an extension there are lots of bits of groundwork you need to do and these steps are vital in the success of your extension. If this is something that you are planning then here are some of the steps which you need to complete.
Hire a Full Service Construction Company
Chicago-based Jonathan Bunge runs a construction company which offers a full service when it come stop things like house extensions, this involves planners, architects, foremen, ground workers and the construction staff themselves. This is the type of company which you should be looking to hire for your upcoming extension. You could elect to undertake the planning of the project yourself but it will be extremely time consuming and may end up being more expensive, professional companies will be able to get discounts on materials and staff.
Get Planning Permission
Without the necessary planning permission your extension will not be able to go ahead and before you lay down and brick or cement you need to ensure that you local counsel have given you and your extension the green light. Planning permission is in place to avoid people spoiling landscapes, hampering views or building something which alters the preferred style of a town or village.
Speak With Your Neighbors
It is vitally important that you have a chat with your neighbors about the work which you are planning and that you speak to them about how it will be taking place. A housing extension can cause a lot of upheaval for neighbors as large trucks carrying supplies will be coming in and out of the street, there will be dust and debris asa result of the work being done and for quite a while there will be the risk of loud noise during the day. It is your responsibility to be open and honest with your neighbors about what this extension process will look like and offer that you will do anything that you can to help.
Having an Emergency Fund
Large construction projects such as a housing extension can often run into unexpected costs, this could be anything from an unforeseen rise in material prices to poor weather holding back the job. The price that you start off with at the beginning of such a project is rarely the price which you will eventually pay and you need to ensure that you have a slush fund in place to cover anything unforeseen. The last thing you need is to have to get in to debt in order to finish your project and you should plan before the project begins to put more money aside than you originally think that you will need.