Home extensions can take a lot of commitment. It’s not something that can be completed overnight and while all homeowners ultimately want the extension to add value to their home and improve their home life, there can sometimes be an underlying concern that these results just won’t pan out.
We hear ya! Completing home extensions or large scale renovations can be just as involved as building a house from scratch. And one of the biggest concerns we hear from all homeowners is they simply don’t want to make costly mistakes.
They don’t want to go over budget, have problems show up throughout the construction or wind up with an extension that doesn’t look good or simply doesn’t live up to expectations.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, we’ve put together the four biggest mistakes homeowners make when adding a home extension. Take note and you can almost guarantee your extension project won’t fail.
Mistake 1. Having Unclear Goals and Unrealistic Expectations
This can be a common mistake with most homeowners. Most of us have big dreams for our home renovations and extensions. And we as builders love this! We love when a client comes to us with a grand vision about what they want to achieve.
An abundance of extra space, upgraded finishes, the inclusion of all the latest and greatest modern conveniences. It would be great if we could have it all, wouldn’t it? And if we could have it now, that would be awesome as well!
But most of us don’t have the budget or the space to achieve all these grand plans. And just like Rome, your home extensions are not going to be built in a day. All good things take time!
So, what is the difference between realistic and unrealistic?
For anyone who hasn’t undertaken a home extension project before or doesn’t understand what’s involved with the process, it can be hard to determine if your plans and ideas are unrealistic or not.
This is an easy fix. By engaging an experienced extension builder to talk through all your ideas, your dreams, your goals, they can help you understand what’s involved with home extensions and can guide you on what you can achieve with your property and what may not be possible.
The great thing about speaking to a builder about your expectations is they can help you decide what way you want to go with your home extensions, but they can also give you budget expectations and expert advice based on past experience.
Mistake 2. Not Putting Enough Attention into Design and Planning Your Home Extensions
Have you ever heard the term ‘prior planning prevents piss poor performance’ or what about ‘If you fail to plan, you plan to fail’? These are wise words that every homeowner who wants to renovate or extend their home should be keeping in the back of their minds at all times.
Because another big mistake that homeowners make when adding home extensions is that they don’t put enough time, energy and attention into the project’s design and planning stage.
While the design and planning stage may not be as exciting as the construction stage, it’s a highly important phase of the process that will either set your project up for success (if done correctly) or result in your project becoming a shambled, unorganised, time and budget blowout nightmare.
The design and planning stage is where you should be spending time refining the design of your home extensions so there are no costly variations along the way.
It should also be when you and your builder are locking in product and material selections, ticking all the boxes for a smooth council approval process and going through your budget to ensure you are getting the best bang for your buck and have everything covered so there are no hold-ups once the construction stage starts.
The early stages of the project are tedious and can seem like they take forever, but trust us, getting all your ducks lined up before breaking ground will be well worth it in the long run.
Mistake 3. Not Planning Your Home Extensions to a Budget
Completing home extensions over budget is one of the biggest worries with homeowners. In most cases, the budget can already be limited, so we completely understand that any cost overruns or budget blowouts can be the cause of anxiety. But if the planning and costings have been done right, there really should not be any cause for concern.
A good renovation and home extensions builder will be able to outline every detail involved in your project and give you accurate costing to complete the work. By working alongside your builder you’ll be able to avoid the common mistake of not planning your extension in line with your budget.
Your builder should be able to give you a complete rundown of all your home extension costs and everything you need to factor into your renovation budget.
If you are super worried about missing any details or having your builder not quote correctly on your project, our guide to understanding and comparing renovation quotes gives handy pointers to ensure everything is covered.
Mistake 4. Engaging the Wrong Builder
All builders can build, but this doesn’t mean that every builder is going to be suitable for your project. This is another common mistake that homeowners make and arguably the most critical error of all.
Side note: if you don’t know what the difference is between residential builders, we’ve outlined everything you need to know in another article here.
Renovating and adding home extensions to an existing home calls for specialised skills and expertise. This is why we highly recommend you talking to and engaging a builder, like ourselves, who are experts when it comes to renovations and home extensions.
It also pays dividends to hire a local builder who understands the planning rules and regulations with your local council and can help you navigate all the speed bumps and hurdles that are part and parcel with submitting building applications for council approval.
Engaging a builder who doesn’t know what is involved with home extensions, fails to adequately price the project correctly and is not able to give you a clear outline of what is going to happen and when, then you just might find you’ve got yourself the wrong builder.
When it comes to building your home on time and on budget…
ORGANISATIONAL SKILLS ARE CRITICAL
Especially with your builder!
Avoiding this mistake is as simple as taking the time to find the right builder for you and your project.
If you’re not sure where to start, read through our article about the top 3 questions to ask a renovation builder before hiring them or download our handy guide showing you what you need to do before signing a building contract.
Avoid These Mistakes for Home Extensions Success
Avoiding these common mistakes outlined above can take all the stress away from completing home extensions and ensure project success.
Have more questions about home extensions or common mistakes to avoid? Give us a call today and let’s talk.
