Should You Extend Your House, or Is It Better to Move?
As an architect, you might expect me to always encourage people to extend.
But sometimes my advice is the opposite.
I recently had a follow-up design session with clients who had been looking at different ways to extend and remodel their home. We had already explored several options, and they had gone away, thought about them, spoken to a builder and started looking at what the work might actually cost.
And that changed the conversation.
Their builder had given them an initial figure of around £48,000 for a relatively modest extension. But that was before really getting into everything else that would be involved.
Structure. Windows and doors. Flooring. Electrics. Lighting. Heating. Decoration. A new kitchen. Changes to the roof.
Once you start putting all of those things together, a relatively simple-looking extension can become a very expensive project.
The question isn’t just: can we extend?
It is: should we?
The clients liked their house. They loved the location. Their children could walk to school, they had friends nearby and there was a lot of sentimental attachment to the home.
So moving wasn’t an easy answer either.
But equally, they were looking at potentially borrowing a significant amount of money to gain a relatively small amount of additional floor space.
And even after spending that money, the house would still have compromises.
The utility would still be small. The kitchen wouldn’t suddenly become enormous. Some of the circulation through the house wouldn’t change. And in five years’ time, as their children got older, they might want more separate living spaces anyway.
That is the point where I think an architect needs to be prepared to say, “I’m not sure this adds up.”
An extension shouldn’t just be about getting an island
At one point during the conversation, my client laughed and said something along the lines of:
“Does this all just boil down to the fact that I want a kitchen island?”
And sometimes that is exactly the sort of question you need to ask.
There may be lots of things you would love to change about your house. A bigger kitchen. Better connection with the garden. More light. An island. Somewhere for the children to sit. Somewhere for the adults to sit away from the children.
But if solving those things means putting another £100,000 onto the mortgage, it is worth looking very carefully at what you are actually getting for that money.
Look at the value of the house as well as the cost of the work
One of the things I suggested to these clients was speaking to local estate agents before making any decisions.
Not because I think every home improvement has to make a profit.
Sometimes you spend money on your house because you want to live there and enjoy it.
But you should still understand the numbers.
What is the house worth now?
What might it be worth after the work?
What would it cost to buy a house nearby that already gives you the space you need?
And how much borrowing would you need to take on to make the extension happen?
Those are all part of the design brief too.
Sometimes the right answer is to do less
The clients haven’t made their final decision yet.
We developed another option during the session and they are going away to speak to their builder and local estate agents before we take the design any further.
And that’s absolutely fine.
One of the reasons I run design workshops before clients commit to a full architectural service is to work through exactly these questions.
You might come out of the process with a fantastic extension.
You might realise that some clever internal alterations are enough.
Or you might decide that your money would be better spent moving house.
All three can be good outcomes.
For me, the important thing is that you understand what you are getting into before spending tens of thousands of pounds.
I’ve been doing this for around 15 years, and sometimes the most useful advice I can give a client isn’t “this is what we should build.”
It’s “I’m not convinced you should build it at all.”
Thinking about extending your home?
If you’re trying to work out whether to extend, remodel or move, a design workshop can help you explore the options before committing to a much bigger spend.
We can look at what is possible, what compromises each option creates and whether the amount you’re likely to spend actually makes sense for your home and your family.
[Get in touch with Pride Road Architects to arrange an initial consultation.]
