extending a house

[sheilaB]

Hi

As house prices here seem to have risen while the UK has fallen does anyone know the ball park costs for extending houses here and how easy planning etc is.

I;ve seen a few iwth garage conversion which seems a safe bet. but what about buying a single storey and adding a second one to it??? can a weatherboard one be put on top of a brick house? i'm sure I've seen this done???
Anyone with any experience let me know, we're not sure whether to buy a small house to extend or a big one (if we can afford it!!!)

Also, what are the maintenance costs for weatherboard homes?

Thanks

S

[amaslam]

The planning regulations are run by the local councils and I believe they are fairly strict. If you buy a single story house and want to add a second story you'd have to address objections in case the neighbours lost views because of that. So if it's a street full of single story and no double story houses then you will almost certainly be rejected.

It is often easier to extend OUT rather than UP. So converting a garage to a room or adding a room towards the back is often an easier proposition.

DA (Development Applications) requests are often published in the local paper every week and any planning seems to take months rather than days or weeks.

Originally Posted by sheilaB

Hi

As house prices here seem to have risen while the UK has fallen does anyone know the ball park costs for extending houses here and how easy planning etc is.

I;ve seen a few iwth garage conversion which seems a safe bet. but what about buying a single storey and adding a second one to it??? can a weatherboard one be put on top of a brick house? i'm sure I've seen this done???
Anyone with any experience let me know, we're not sure whether to buy a small house to extend or a big one (if we can afford it!!!)

Also, what are the maintenance costs for weatherboard homes?

Thanks

S