Tips For Renovations & Extensions

Do you  dream of living in a bright contemporary home? Light filled, spacious and  energy efficient as well as a home that flows and functions really well for your family? Perhaps your existing house needs an extension, or some remodelling in order to transform it into the home of your dreams.

Extending and renovating your house has become very popular in recent years. Given the lack of new homes on the market and the limited supply of existing houses for sale, people find that re-working their home is the only viable way of achieving more floor space to meet changing needs. Extending has many clear benefits: you don’t have the cost and disruption of relocating and your family can remain in an established community in familiar surroundings. (Ask any parent: children don’t like leaving their friends!) However, extending and renovating your house is not without its challenges and pitfalls. 

We have set out below top tips to make the process as successful as possible.

1. DESIGN EXPERTISE

Use a Qualified Architect! Badly designed extensions are not only a waste of money, but can adversely affect the quality and character of your home. A well-designed  extension/renovation can transform your house and add a new energy and dynamic to the spaces and this in turn can be life enhancing. You can be penny wise and pound foolish, and people often regret not investing in the architectural expertise required to give that quality of space you can enjoy for the next 50 years or more. Remember good design seeks to be timeless.

2. BRIEF

We have a saying in our office: “the better the brief, the better the project”. Set out your wish list from the start and identify the shortcomings of your existing house. What functions or activities do you want in the new space? As architects, we believe we must understand not just the physical space you need, but the lifestyle you like to live. This could be a more  generous living/dining/kitchen space to serve a growing and enlarged family or to facilitate home entertaining. You may need a home office, with a degree of separation from the humdrum of everyday living. And yes, don’t forget your storage and utility requirements to get that clutter out of your main living spaces.

3. BUDGET

An extension/renovation will undoubtedly add value to your home, but you will not necessarily recover the money you spend on it. The real value is the enhanced lifestyle you will enjoy out of the additional space. Be realistic about your budget. We always recommend clients to get a cost check by a QS on an emerging preferred design, in advance of planning (if required) and to ensure that the project is viable. You should allow for upgrading existing floors, walls, roofs and see the extension and upgrade as one holistic project. 

4. LIGHT LIGHT LIGHT

Light and the harnessing of daylight is the one design constant in an Irish climate. So many existing houses suffer from lack of light due to small windows or poor orientation. Clever design should ensure that this problem is not compounded when extending. Dark interiors can be depressing, whereas light filled interiors are mood enhancing and up-lifting. If your extension area faces South or West, then you are lucky. Extending to the North or East can be more challenging, but both the configuration of the extension and the use of roof lights can overcome this. With enhanced window systems which give extremely good U values, there is more freedom to use glass walls and to make meaningful connections from outside to inside. 

5. PLANNING

Your Architect will establish from the offset whether the works envisaged require Planning Permission. Certain Extensions are exempt from planning. As a general guide, extensions to the rear of a house up to 40m2 are exempt from planning, provided the house had not been extended previously. Where this is the case, the floor area of the extension proposed and the floor area of previous extensions cannot exceed 40m2. It is worth noting, as it often catches people out,  for terraced or semi- detached houses, the floor area above ground floor level cannot exceed 12m2. Velux roof lights to the rear of a house are exempt, but dormer roofs are not exempt.  Garage and Attic Conversions can be exempt, but the latter brings into play compliance with strict Building Regulations. The area of planning exemption can be quite complex, and the Local Planning Authority can be very helpful in advising in this regard.

6. FUTURE PROOFING

When extending or renovating, it is an ideal opportunity to future proof your house. Many older houses do not have Accessible Toilets on the ground floor. This WC room may not just be for someone visiting in a wheelchair or someone who is ambulant disabled, it could serve an elderly relative or a family member in the future. When designing this room, we always suggest making it a little larger to incorporate a wet room shower (ie the turning space for a wheelchair), and locating it close to downstairs bedroom or a room which could be a bedroom in the future. If space is extremely limited on the ground floor, you could consider a “soft spot” to take a future platform lift to access the first floor. Doorways in any extension/renovation works should be built wider and the main entrance door should have a level threshold. We would also recommend that all sliding doors to outdoor spaces should be level and the patio outside and floor inside be on the same level. Steps are notorious trip hazards and the causes of most accidents in the home along with stairs. 

7. ENERGY

Extending or renovating your house affords a great opportunity to reduce your heating and energy bills. SEAI have  grants for home improvements and energy saving measures, in an initiative to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Extensions should be designed to achieve  fabric U values well  in excess of the Building Regulations: Triple glazed windows are not significantly dearer than double glazed units ,and achieve U values below 0.8. Walls, roofs and floors should also be well insulated and achieve U values circa 0.13. Air-tightness of the structure plays a huge part in energy management, but requires a well designed ventilation strategy, such as a “Heat Recovery Ventilation System”. 

Older houses often have  little insulation. It is often necessary to take up old floors and use the opportunity to install a radon membrane,  insulation and screed. Older houses often have gun barrel heating pipes which will , or have already corroded , and need to be replaced. Older houses with cavity walls can be dry-lined internally, cavities pumped or external insulation applied. A word of caution for older solid stone walls: these walls must be allowed to breathe so the insulation and system choice is critical to avoid future condensation issues.

Older oil boilers should be replaced with high efficiency condensing boilers and smart controls fitted. You should also consider renewable energy options such as photovoltaic panels or thermal solar on the roof, or airside heat pumps with underfloor heating.

8. TIMELINES

Be realistic in planning your extension and renovation works. Allow time for briefing, design, planning, preparation of detailed tender documentation and drawings, tender action, selection and appointment of builder, and the build process. If the works envisaged are significant, you will need to move out, so factor in the cost and time involved. To avoid cost over runs, we would recommend the following: a) ensure your architect and his team prepare detailed construction drawings and specifications to fully describe the works involved. B) only use competent experienced builders and take up references. C) don’t change your mind….changes on site cost money! Spend time with your architect in setting out your brief and freezing the design. It is time and money well spent. D) for older properties, get you Architect and Engineer to carry out a detailed condition survey to establish the work needed for upgrade.

9. DESIGN INTEGRATION

This is where the design skill of your architect comes into play. Reworking an existing house can be more challenging than designing a new one.  Badly designed extensions may leave residual unusable or poor quality spaces. Single storey extensions to the rear are common challenges and the use of roof lights can light inner spaces. Other configurations can lead to a courtyard type design, and if successfully integrated, these spaces can become wonderful “outdoor rooms”.  Invariably, existing structural walls will need to be removed to open up new glazed spaces. Free standing columns can be very attractive and act as space dividers. Your Architect and Engineer will come up with the most cost effective design solution. Also, when extending and selecting materials, it is often best to express the new structure, not just for clarity, but it will create a dynamic and “dialogue” between the old and the new.

10. EXTERNAL SPACES

Too often, people think only about the extension space and not the relationship with the outside. The external spaces should be integral in the design, whether by use of view or vistas, or by considering the outside space as an outdoor room. The choice of materials and levels can help this seamless transition from inside to outside. Courtyard spaces can be created by using the form of an extension as an edge or by redesigning the face an existing outbuilding/garage as an edge. We sometimes use raised planters to define a space, and the plants can add colour, texture and scent. External artificial lights at night time will animate the space and further reinforce the relationship between inside and outside.

As  architects we will listen to your dreams, understand your project needs and create a bespoke design for your extension,  so that your house will become that home of your dreams. 

Contact us to discuss what you dream of doing to your house.