The Most Popular Single Storey Extensions

Many home owners feel like they could use a little extra space, especially if they have their family. As moving house is usually a mammoth task, not to mention extremely expensive, it’s no surprise that house extensions are often the preferred option. In many cases, families only need a small amount of extra space, for example, adding on to an existing room, or perhaps building another room for the house. As a result, most home additions are single storey extensions.

Here we look at the type of commonly seen single storey extensions in Birmingham:

Kitchen Extensions

One of the most popular parts of the house to extend is the kitchen. In many houses, the kitchen is not just a room to cook – for many families, the kitchen is also a social hub, where meals are eaten and people can talk about their days or discuss any plans. Whilst there are ways that the layout of a kitchen can be altered to make better use of space, adding a single storey kitchen extension to a home not only adds valuable space, but can also add value to a house, as large kitchens are much sought after by home buyers.

Living Room Extensions

Another common reason for house extensions is for more ground floor living space, particularly for growing families, or people that enjoy having guests over on a regular basis. For larger families, living areas can quickly become cluttered with furniture and belongings, in turn making the room seem even smaller. Adding extra space in the form of a single storey extension can help to open up a room, allowing more space for homeowners to relax or work, without having to worry about clutter.

Garage Extensions

As families grow in size, and children grow into teenagers and young adults, as well as living space, extra garage space can also be just as important. As many properties have a driveway that only caters to 1 or 2 vehicles, extra garage space can be extremely beneficial as young people pass their driving tests and get their first car whilst they still live with their parents. It may be that a garage extension may not actually be used to park a car, but function as an extra storage area or a work space.

It is important to remember when considering any single storey extensions in Birmingham or the rest of the UK, most building additions will require planning permission due to their size, as well as the type of roof that will be used and where new drains will be located.

For more advice on building single storey extensions, you can call Pantheon Construction on 0121 241 4419.

Kitchen Extensions – The Whys and Hows

Some of the most common reasons for people looking to move house are to find a property with more space, whether this be storage space, living space, more bathrooms, or very commonly, a property with a bigger kitchen. However, moving house is not always the best and certainly not the most cost effective option.

First of all, there are a lot of ways that you can manipulate a kitchen to be able to make the most of the small area of space. If you still can’t find the space to work comfortably or store all of your utensils, the best option maybe to invest in a kitchen extension. There are numerous benefits to deciding to extend your kitchen rather than going through the hassle of trying to find a more suitable property:

• Extending your kitchen allows you to stay where you are, rather than moving for the sake of one room
• Building a kitchen extension provides you with many more options for cooking and space to store utensils and groceries. This is extremely valuable for big families, or individuals that love to cook
• A Kitchen extension could be used for an extra dining area. Kitchen diners are increasingly popular, not only with families that prefer to save their dining room for special occasions, but also with home buyers if you are to sell your property in the future. Converting your kitchen into a kitchen diner by building a kitchen diner can help to add value to your house
• You may choose to create a kitchen extension that opens onto your garden and creates further space to relax in. For many households, the kitchen is a very social place

There are a number of ways you could choose to extend your kitchen, depending on your existing property and how much extra space you will want to achieve by adding a kitchen extension to your house.

• If you are looking to widen your existing kitchen, you could look to add on to the side of your house. By extending in this way, you can transform a narrow, cramped galley into a much wider space, with room for a dining area, more living space or even extra work surfaces. A popular choice for add on kitchen extensions is to install a glazed roof or a series of skylights to the extension to create the impression of more space by allowing in more light
• If you have the right budget and a large enough garden, you may choose to extend out and add a sizeable kitchen extension to your home. This is likely the best way to create the space for the perfect kitchen, with sufficient cooking and storage space, combined with dining and living area, all opening out into your garden. By installing bi fold or French doors, you can let in more light and create the effect of bringing the outside in
• If you feel that the layout of your house is unbalanced, with a small kitchen, but with copious amounts of living space, you may choose instead to knock through the kitchen wall and extend into the next room to create a kitchen/living area or a kitchen/diner. This open style of living is becoming increasingly popular rather than having a separate dining room which is much more formal and less comfortable

Thinking of Extending Your Home? – Types of House Extensions in Birmingham

Throughout Birmingham, extending your home is becoming increasingly popular for homeowners that have outgrown their current living space. Although there is always the option to move house, many people are starting to realise the benefits of building a house extension rather than upping sticks.

In many cases, people are happy with the house and area that they live in, but due to a change of circumstances, just don’t have enough space any more. In this kind of situation, it is understandable that the lure of building a house extension is much stronger than looking to move. Moving house can be very expensive, with moving costs, the extra costs of a new property and stamp duty adding up to considerably more than the price of extending an existing building.

Whereas it can be difficult to find the ideal new home to suit all of your needs, home extensions can take a wide variety of forms to suit any purpose that you require. You may simply need a larger amount of storage space, or in most cases, more living areas.

Here we look at some of the most common types of house extensions:

Porches

In most cases, a porch is a small extension to the front of the house. This being said, there is no rule saying that a porch can’t be much larger or be built on the side or back of a building. Commonly, a porch is quite a simple structure of brick walls, windows, a door and often a lean-to roof. You may decide to plaster the walls of your porch and add a light, heating and electricity sockets to make your home seem more inviting to visitors.

A porch can provide excellent storage space for shoes and coats, leaving you with more storage and living space in the rest of your home.

Due to their small size, most porches don’t require planning permission, however, it is always best to check with builders and local authorities before you start work. If your porch is separated from the rest of your house by an internal door and is not heated, you can also avoid building regulations, however, as with planning permission, it is always best to check rather than facing a hefty fine.

Single Storey House Extensions

For extra downstairs living space, whether it be a new or extended dining room, lounge area or kitchen, a single storey house extension is often the best option.

A single storey extension is an extension that is built to adjoin the existing property that has only one floor, unless there is a basement built. In most cases, single storey extensions will need planning permission due to their size. The main considerations for building a single storey house extension is how the size of the building could impact the neighbours, as well as how the extension roof will fit to the existing house. You must also think about where any drains, evacuations and flues will be positioned.

In a small amount of cases, planning permission won’t be needed for single storey extensions, but it is almost certain that building control permission will always be needed.

Two or Multi-Storey House Extensions

Like a single storey extension, a multi-storey extension can be built onto any part of the existing building, but with more than one floor. A two or multi-storey extension adds more living space to both downstairs living areas and bed and bathrooms above.

Due to the increased height of a multi-storey extension, it is likely to have much more of an effect on neighbours, so it is highly likely that planning permission will be required. As with any other house extension, it is always advisable to check with the local planning department to ensure that you are covered to make the planned changes to your home.

Over-Structure House Extensions

An over-structure extension is extended from the existing building, over the top as an existing structure, for example, a garage, living room, dining room, or kitchen, perhaps a previously built single storey extension. While this may sound simple, this is rarely the case. In most cases, especially if building over a garage with single-skin brickwork, new foundations will need to be dug, a new inner leaf added, and blockwork piers built into the existing structure, with steel reinforcement beams added to the top.

Due to the complications of building an over-structure extension to your home, the rules of planning permission can be much more difficult to define. It is most advisable to seek expert advice for planning permission as well as building control permission.

Garage, Loft and Basement Conversions

While conversions may not traditionally be seen as extensions, as they extend living space, there are also house extensions. As with other house extensions, it is advisable to consult with an expert in planning permission building regulations to ensure that you can legally make these home improvements

For more information on house extensions in Birmingham, you can visit the Pantheon Construction website.

Go For Local Builders in Sutton Coldfield

Knowing which builder to choose for your project in or around Birmingham can seem pretty daunting. If you know of reliable builders in Sutton Coldfield, for instance, then you’re more than half way to deciding who to use to do the work, but reliability, as important as it is, is only one part of the answer. Keeping to the schedule and, most importantly, being able to stick to the agreed budget, is what often separates the professionals from the wannabes. It’s not hard to find builders who promote themselves as reliable, professional, expert – all the usual descriptions. Finding a builder who finishes the job on time, to budget, and to the standard you demand, requires a little more research on your part.

Go local if you can

If you’re planning a new build house in Sutton Coldfield it makes a lot of sense to use local Sutton Coldfield builders. It’s a lot more convenient and time-efficient to use someone with local knowledge compared to a builder from another area. A local builder can get to the site quicker and is more likely to have a good network of other tradesmen or suppliers in the area to call on if necessary. Knowing what the conditions are like locally and who's who in the local planning department or services, can also be an advantage. Again, this is something a local builder will have first-hand experience of.

Look around

If you’re planning a new house, for yourself or as a commercial project, you’ll want a builder who’ll embrace your ideas and vision for the house of your dreams and turn it into a reality. Being recommended a builder by a friend is always a good start, as is looking around the area to find other new build houses that you like. Once you see examples of the builder's work that you admire, you'll feel more confident of hiring their services. 

In Sutton Coldfield, Pantheon Construction have a deserved reputation for the quality of their builds locally and around the Birmingham area. They've also got a name for delivering projects on time and to budget. Choosing a builder who can manage a project from start to finish makes your life easier, and Pantheon are able to do that for new builds, renovations, refurbishments, conversions, and more. They also cover all aspects of the build and provide all the trades required, all of which helps to make the whole experience a lot less stressful.

New Build Homes in Birmingham – Mistakes To Avoid When Building a New Home

When it comes to designing your own new build home, as you are investing so much time and money, it is important to avoid making mistakes during the planning stages. It is always recommended to work with skilled building contractors to make sure your home will be built to suit you and your family. It is also crucial that you should choose new build professionals who are experienced in creating purpose built family homes.

You may feel that you have properly thought through all of your plans to build your dream home, but have you looked at your plans from every angle? Whilst you may have spent a lot of time thinking about what will work for you and what you will need, there is a good chance that you won’t have spent much time thinking about what won’t work for you and what you won’t need.

Here are our top 5 mistakes to avoid when building a new home for your family:

Overall Planning – When you are working with new build professionals in Birmingham to design your home, it is absolutely crucial to take your family’s lifestyle and habits into consideration. What will your family need in the short term, but also in the long term? If you have children, is your new build home design suitable for them, and in the future, will your home be suitably for elderly people, or if not, will it be easy to make modifications? Essentially, when looking what the overall planning of your ideal home, what will you need from it?

Space Planning – Unless you plan to build an absolutely huge home where space isn’t an issue, careful space planning is essential. Think about the overall space that your property will cover, and then consider how much space you will need for each room, as well as creating enough storage space.

Room Placement – It is always worth spending a lot of time thinking about room placement; deciding where is the best place for each room to be to best fulfil its function. In any house, certain areas will naturally be louder, or busier and messier, so it is important to take this into consideration. If you are unsure where the ideal placement for each room is, you can talk to your specialist building contractors.

·         Bedroom – Try to keep the master bedroom as far away from outside noise and traffic as possible. It also makes sense to keep the master bedroom as far away as possible from living areas. If your house is planned on one storey, you should locate the master bedroom at on opposite end of the house to the main living space, whereas in a two storey house, avoid placing the master bedroom directly above downstairs living areas.

·         Kitchen – It makes sense for the kitchen to be placed near a main entry to the house. For example, when you bring in the groceries, rather than traipsing around living areas in your dirty shoes to get to the kitchen and put your shopping away, you can walk straight into the kitchen. A popular choice is to place your kitchen near a back, side or garage entrance.

Lighting – Many houses are poorly lit. First of all, you should try to have as much natural light as possible by including many windows in your house design. With windows as large as possible, natural sunlight can be your main source of light. Try to plan your home so that your main living spaces are in the right area of the house to get light at the right times of day.

Make your own decisions – It is crucial to find new build professionals that will be on hand to give you useful advice throughout the design and build of your home, but will leave you to make the ultimate decisions. You know better than anyone what you and your family need, so building contractors should respect this and work with you to build your ideal home.

Pantheon Construction are building contractors that specialise in new build homes in Birmingham. For more information on the services that they can provide, you can visit www.pantheonconstruction.co.uk.

The Advantages of Buying a New Build Home

Looking to buy a house but can’t decide what to go for? Here are five reasons why a high quality, new build home has so much more to offer than a previously owned property. 

First choice

Buying new build homes means you have exciting options to choose from in a range of styles, shapes and sizes. Regardless of whether it’s a three-bedroom family home or a modern flat, you can be sure that everything about the new build home will be bright, fresh and clean. There won’t be any walls to strip and re-paint, no worn carpets to replace, and no dismal DIY projects done by the previous owner to dismantle. New builds are all yours to furnish how you want – a blank canvas on which you can express your own personality.

Greener and more efficient

New build houses are definitely greener, generating around 60% less C02 emissions than older properties and are also more energy efficient. Built to modern environmental standards and making maximum use of space, new builds are also well insulated, which means they will cost less to heat than an old house and are kinder to the environment. New builds also require less upkeep and maintenance than older buildings.

Quality and security

The quality of new builds is generally excellent in the UK and any reputable house builder will offer an extensive warranty on the property, as well as a customer care service plan. With a new build you’ll also have the opportunity to discuss any concerns you have with the builder, or to make any special requests. Many new build homes will come with alarm systems included and will also be designed with the latest safeguards in terms of fire and electrical safety.

Get moving

When buy a new build home you don’t have to wait for anyone to move out before you can move in! There won’t be any of the last minute delays so often associated with buying a previously owned property, and once you’ve paid your reserve or deposit, there’s no fear of someone coming along and beating your offer, or the deal falling through for some other reason. Once you have the completion date, you can start to plan for the big day when you get the keys to your new home.

Property ladder

There are a number of schemes that can make buying new build houses especially attractive for anyone wanting to get onto the property ladder. Government schemes such as FirstBuy and NewBuy offer special deals to anyone buying a brand new house, which can make all the difference in what is an important investment.

The Advantages of Building House Extensions Compared To Moving

Figures show that although housing stock is continuing to grow, there are much fewer houses being bought and sold each year. On average, people are only moving house every 14.5 years, and therefore, people are staying in their homes for much longer than only a few years ago. What we can draw from these statistics is that a lot more people are extending their homes rather than moving.

When you look at the advantages of building house extensions, it is clear to see why increasing numbers of people are choosing to stay put. Rather than having to move to a new neighbourhood to find a house with more space for a family, many people are choosing to extend their property so that they can stay where they are happy. For families with children, especially those of primary school age, choosing to extend their home allows their children to stay at the same school so that their education doesn’t suffer from interruption and they can keep the same friend groups.

Selling your house can actually be very costly. By the time the cost of the estate agents fee and stamp duty on the house you want to buy is calculated, in many cases, a decent sized extension could be built for roughly the same price, so it is well worth thinking about staying in the same home and consulting house extensions Birmingham specialists.

Choosing to add a house extension to your Birmingham home means that you can create additional living space specifically to suit your needs, whether you choose to create a larger living room or dining room, an extended kitchen, or even the creation of brand new rooms. Perhaps you could create an extra bedroom, play room, a home office, study area or even your own personal gym.

When looking to build an extension to your property, it is important to find highly experienced contractors, specialising in building home extensions for a number of purposes. Birmingham house extensions experts can talk you through the whole process, from initial planning to the finished result.

Home extension specialists ensure that they fulfil a number of services:

• Initially, they will provide a free site survey, with a no obligation quotation and transparent pricing

• They will provide help with planning permission and complete all work to current building regulations

• They will use only the best materials and work to pre-agreed timescales, keeping regular contact with you, the customer

• Most importantly, many specialist contractors provide a 10 year guarantee on the quality of all workmanship

For more information on house extensions in Birmingham, you can visit the Pantheon Construction website.