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32 Degrees Building
How to save money building a First Floor Addition vs a Ground Floor Extension
We often have clients that approach us looking to add more room to their home.
A common question we are asked is ‘Should I build an extension or an addition?‘
We look at the benefits of building an Addition vs an Extension below.
What’s the difference between an Extension and an Addition?
Extension
In the building industry, the term ‘extension’ refers to extending an existing building; to extend its overall floor size. Basically, it means to add another room or make a room larger whilst remaining at the ground level. To add an extension to your home, you will need to sacrifice some of your backyard or front yard to accommodate the extra room.
Addition
Similar to an extension, an addition can add more living space to your home. However, with an addition (also known as a second storey addition/first floor addition), you do not need to give up any of your yard space as an ‘addition’ goes up and not out like an extension is required to do. In other words, when you have an addition done to your home, you will gain another floor level. Adding height rather than length.
The cost benefits of building an Addition vs an Extension
- You can keep living in your home whilst an addition is being built, this saves you the costs related to finding short term accommodation and relocating your family and your possessions.
- You do not have to worry about soil removal. When building an extension, excavation and site preparation costs can be high. Not only do you have to prepare the site to be built on, you often need to remove any excess soil and other materials to make way for the extension.
- An addition can add significant value to your home. How much value can vary greatly depending on what you plan to add to your home. Regardless, a first floor addition is said to add between 30 to 60% to the value of your home.
- If you add extra bedrooms and bathrooms to your home, you can expect a significant return on your investment. This increase in house value is often in line with the difference in house prices from going from a three-bedroom home to a five-bedroom home.
- Choosing to build a First Floor Addition to your home rather than a Ground Floor Extension will also result in you being able to retain more yard space and this will also further add to the selling power of your property.
Regardless of your decision, our team can assist you with an Addition or Extension to your home. Contact us to discuss how we can add more room to your home.
How we are keeping you COVID safe during your build
With the current challenges associated with COVID-19 and our clients’ safety and well being at the top of our priorities, we have implemented several measures to ensure that we keep you COVID Safe during your build.
We are a NSW Government registered COVID Safe business with a COVID-19 Safety Plan in place and we are committed to keeping you and your family as well as our team safe.
Some of the measures we have implemented are:
- We keep our team isolated from the existing home and our clients for the maximum time period that is practicable. This includes not penetrating the ground floor for as long as possible when building a first-floor addition and utilising scaffolding to complete the majority of the build until we are required to create the entry hole for the stairs.
- We have introduced hygiene stations (pictured below) across our sites, which ensures that there are adequate facilities for our team to enable good hygiene practices (e.g. soap, hand sanitiser, signage and reminders).
- We have developed and implemented infection control policies and procedures.
- All of our team have been directed to comply with the latest quarantine measures if they are experiencing any flu-like symptoms or are feeling unwell.
- Every individual that enters any job site is required to complete an induction and we keep log of their details.
- Rather than face to face communication, we can communicate with our clients via video calling/conferencing, messaging (Whatsapp, text messages etc.) and email before, during and after the build, to enable a seamless contact-free build process, eliminating any unnecessary contact.
Your family’s and our family’s safety is of the utmost importance and we have implemented the above strategies to ensure that we all remain safe and healthy during these challenging times.
We appreciate your continuous support and business during these times and would love to create more space for your family to live comfortably and happily together.
Should you wish to discuss your build or enquire about the safety measures we have in place, please contact us on (02) 4647 2324.
What type of loans can you use to fund your addition or extension?
If you are building an addition or extension on your home you may find yourself needing to arrange finance to pay for the build. We can help you secure the appropriate finance for your build.
Refinance your current mortgage
To pay for your addition or extension you can opt to refinance your existing mortgage. This means that you will use the equity in your home to obtain a loan for a higher amount than what you currently owe to finance your addition or extension project.
The new loan will replace your old loan and you can choose to stay with your existing finance provider or move to a new finance provider. Refinancing has several advantages for homeowners with substantial equity in their homes.
First, it may allow you to obtain lower interest rates without changing your monthly mortgage payment or adding on a new payment.
Second, some lenders “may approve a loan based on the estimated value of your home once the addition is completed,” which is convenient for projects that require a large amount of money, such as a second story addition or ground floor extension.
Take out a Construction Loan
A construction home loan is a type of home loan designed for people who are building a new home, a first floor addition, ground floor extension or doing large scale renovations. It has a different loan structure to home loans designed for people buying an established or existing home.
A construction loan most commonly has a progressive drawdown. That is, you receive instalments of the loan amount at various stages of construction, rather than receiving it all at once at the start. You generally only pay interest on the amount that is drawn down, as opposed to on the whole loan amount.
A number of lenders offer construction loans that are interest-only during the construction period and then revert to a standard principal and interest loan.
Of course, a construction loan is just one potential source of funding for your project. The Federal Government recently unveiled its HomeBuilder scheme, which will give eligible homebuyers and existing owners grants of $25,000 to help them construct or substantially renovate their home. Strict eligibility criteria apply– for example, you’ll need to meet an income test, and be building a new home that’s worth less than $750,000 or a renovation that will cost at least $150,000. For more information visit our blog post here.
We can connect you with our finance specialist to discuss how to get started today.
Get a $25,000 contribution towards your Addition, Extension or Renovation through the HomeBuilder Program
Eligible Australians will be able to obtain a $25,000 HomeBuilder grant towards their addition, extension or major renovation under the near – $700 million federal government housing package in a bid to boost the economy and act as a lifeline to the home construction industry (Homebuilder program).
The government announced the $688 million HomeBuilder program on Thursday 4 June 2020. In an attempt to boost new projects between now and the end of the year, the Government will give $25,000 grants to owner-occupiers for certain works on their homes.
These works include first floor/second storey additions, ground floor extensions and large scale renovations.
Renovation work does not include structures separate to the main property, such as swimming pools, tennis courts, granny flats and sheds.
The scheme will not apply to investment properties or owners who intend on building or renovating on their own without the help of licensed builders.
The plan will be restricted to people on middle incomes and to new homes and major renovations valued between $150,000 to $750,000.
The pre-renovation value of the house must not exceed $1.5 million and excludes sheds, pools, granny flats and any other structures not attached to the property.
The temporary scheme that will last until the end of the year, aiming to build 30,000 homes by Christmas.
Construction of a new home or a substantial renovation (including first floor additions, second storey additions and ground floor extensions) must be contracted to begin within three months to prevent a rise in house prices.
The grants will be means-tested, allowing singles who earned up to $125,000 the previous financial year and couples who earned up to $200,000 to access the scheme.
The scheme will work along existing state and territory first-home owner grants programs, stamp duty concessions and other grant schemes, including the federal government’s first-home loan deposit scheme and first-home super saver scheme.
The HomeBuilder Program and its associated grants came to an end in March 2021.
If you’re planning a first-floor addition, ground floor extension or large scale renovation project you can start the planning process now. Or, reach out to our team below for more information.
How to compare building quotes
You’ve made a decision to invest in expanding your family home, but there are so many building companies out there, who do you contact and how do you select a builder and feel confident that you are making the right choice? What type of builder should you be looking for? And how can you avoid facing the common pitfalls and horror stories?
It can be a daunting process, and if you’re in the process of obtaining quotations for a potential second storey addition or ground floor extension on your home, you may be wondering why the quotes you do receive are coming back varying in price.
To help, we’ve compiled a list of items to consider when comparing the value of the quotations you are receiving.
What impacts a build cost? Put simply the following items below will all impact your quotation;
- Builders experience
- Building timeframes
- Allowances & inclusions
- Ambiguous quoting
- Items missed or not outlined clearly
- Service delivery and project management
So, how are all of the quotes so different in price?
It is quite normal to receive quotations and see a 5%-10% difference between them, any more than this would raise a red flag, and it is suggested that you approach your builder and ask the following questions to help determine where the cost differences may lie.
Is the quote apples for apples? Is it comparable?
It’s important to understand that allowance items and finishes are different between builders; for example, you may have an allowance for a $10K bathroom package vs a $3K bathroom package in your quotation. Immediately this will impact the build cost and also may be a deciding factor in the quality of the build you will receive.
How does the builder operate? Do they use employees or contractors?
If the builder is a smaller company, they may use contractors or have less employees, if this is the case, what are the timeframes for your build? The duration of the build may take longer, and you then have to weigh up the additional cost to you of a more prolonged disruption to your family and if you may incur potential additional rental or storage costs over this time. If they are a smaller builder, they may only complete 1-5 projects a year vs a medium-sized builder who completes 20-30.
This would then raise follow on questions of how long do they take to complete a build? How big is their team? And how will the project be managed? Will you be able to talk with the Project Manager during the build, will you have a site supervisor, how can you reach management if there is an issue, is there a support team in place to help guide you through the process?
If they use contractors or employees – how is the quality managed and how can they guarantee the timeframes?
By having employees, they are paid to turn up on time, every day as projected; this ensures no downtime and your project can run smoothly. Unfortunately, some contractors work to their own schedules which don’t always work in with the build and can result in delays. If they use contractors, can your builder guarantee the duration of your build and also the quality? What happens when something goes wrong with the quality, can they get the contractor back to resolve it or will there be project delays while they source someone else to resolve it? Where do you stand if there are delays in your build?
What type of contracts do you work with?
What type of contract used is important to understand very early on in the quoting process as this can have significant impacts to the cost of your build. We recommend only choosing a builder who is using fixed price building contracts such as the Housing Industry Association (HIA) and Master Builders Association (MBA) contracts.
These contracts have been made easy to understand and contain space for the parties to fill out information such as the price, contract completion date, any excluded work.
What is a Fixed-Price Contract?
Fixed-price contracts are contracts where the price agreed upon is a fixed lump sum. This is the most common type of contract used for residential building works.
There are several ways in which the contract price can be changed. This includes ‘variations’, i.e. changes or additions to the scope of works. It also includes provisional sum items (allowances) which may not have been decided at the time the contract is entered into, such as bathroom/kitchen allowances. If the amount allowed is more than the cost of the item, then the owner will receive a credit. If the amount allowed is less than the cost, then a variation will be created.
Cost Plus Contract
An alternative to the fixed-price contract is a ‘cost plus’ contract. These contracts have a capacity to become very expensive, and you should carefully consider these contracts before entering into them as there is no upper limit for the final price.
These contracts differ from the fixed-price contracts as, rather than agreeing to a fixed-price for the building works, the owner agrees to cover the builder’s costs plus an agreed margin for any overheads and profit encountered by the builder. In other words, the price is the actual cost of the works plus the builder’s margin.
How we can help you with your addition, extension or renovation
Your home is one of the most significant investment decisions you will make in your lifetime, and it is an emotional purchase and, as exciting as it can be, it can also be quite stressful at the same time. You need to be able to put trust into who you are engaging with to ensure a positive outcome and stressfree seamless process and this means that it is not always about taking the cheapest quote. You should feel comfortable with being able to approach your builder and talk over your quotation to understand what is included and how you will fit in and work together on your home.
At 32 Degrees Building, we have a team to guide you through the process to help you understand your quote, the process and work together with you on your build. This includes having your own access to your own project management team during your build for peace of mind and quick response.
If you would like to discuss your upcoming second storey addition or ground floor extension with our team and receive a detailed build cost estimate, please reach out to us.
That’s a wrap for 2019
Our team has officially wrapped up things for 2019! Here is an overview of our year!
Our office is now closed until 14th January 2020.
We wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
You can still contact us on our website during the break and we will be in touch when we return. For any enquiries please fill out the form below.
Planning a Second Storey Addition, 8 Things to Consider Beforehand
More often than not, when you moved into your home, you didn’t prepare for any future life changes to happen that require you to extend your house either outward or upward. But here you are and what do you do? There are advantages to either option.
If your property still has room for a ground floor extension, then you can build out and keep everything on a single level, however, if your property is smaller and you would like to keep the backyard space then you should consider building a second storey addition. Doing so also means the least disruption to the existing house below and you can practically live at home throughout the extension project.
Before you decide to build a second floor addition or ground floor extension, there are some things to consider.
Thermal performance
This must be taken into consideration when creating house plans for a new addition to your home and should be well-integrated into existing sections of your house. A building sustainability assessment is required to ensure an extension meets the minimum sustainability benchmarks.
Ensuring thermal performance can be a simple as fine-tuning the size and orientation of your window or a bit complex as adding skylights or light tubes.
Insulation
All new constructions are required to be insulated to climate appropriate levels. This could mean existing insulation in the original building may have to be retrofitted to prevent leaks of any kind.
Heating and Cooling
It is possible that your existing HVAC system will become insufficient once the new addition is completed. Increased living space often means increased heating and cooling requirements. So you should take this into account when developing house plans and when estimating a budget. Don’t forget the amount of work and costs needed for the ductwork if you go for a ducted AC.
Roofing
The roof on your second floor addition should blend well with the rest of the house. Unless, of course, if you prefer the extension to stand out. But if you want a unified look, it is important that the roofing matches the existing one, even in the choice of Colorbond tin or tiles.
Cladding
Continuing with a unified look so that your addition or extension blends in you also need to consider your cladding options. Brickwork, weatherboard, hebel or render. To match existing, to change the entire façade or to use a mix of different materials are all possible to make your addition look like it has always been a part of the home.
Flooring
Should your second floor addition use the same type of flooring as the original building? The choice is really up to you. Different types would delineate the extension from the not, while similar types will ensure continuity and create the illusion of a bigger space.
Electricity
Depending on the size of the second-floor extension, 1 to 3 more circuits may have to be added to the electric panel. Not to mention, electrical lines that have to be added and integrated with the rest of the house.
Termite proofing
Protecting a home addition from termites should be a priority right from the start. This means choosing termite-resistant materials, adding termite barriers, treating timber products if you use them, or creating house plans that allow easy inspection access.
With these taken into account, it’s time to decide on what type of extension you want to build and the kind of materials to use.
At this stage, it is highly recommended that you consult with professional builders and designers. Tap into their knowledge of the best material to use or the most suitable design for the climate in your location. They, more than anyone, else have intimate knowledge in everything and anything building-related.
To book a consultation with the professionals, contact us.
Article written by: MyChronicles.net
Building Up: The Advantages of Adding a Second Floor to Your Home
At 32 Degrees Building, we specialise in ground floor extensions, first floor additions, and custom built homes. Often, whenever someone is planning to make more room in their home, a common question that we get asked is why is it better to build upwards with a second storey instead of outwards with a ground floor extension? What makes a second storey addition a great idea? So we decided to list just some of the benefits of adding second storey to your home:
Gain more living space without moving out
This is perhaps the greatest advantage of building a second storey (as well as the best reason to do so), especially if you live in a location that you really love, somewhere that truly suits your lifestyle. By renovating your home and adding a second storey, you can acquire more living space without having to give up the perks and convenience of living in an area that has all the amenities, services, businesses, and opportunities that you need, want and enjoy.
With greater room, you and your growing family can live more comfortably. On top of that, additional space means that you can stay in the family home for the years to come, as there is enough space available for a multi-generational household.
Keep your outdoor space
Why sacrifice your yard to extend the size of your home, when you can build on top of the ground floor and retain your outdoor space? Adding a second storey is the smart way to go, especially if you need additional space in a house that is built on a small block. This allows you to have the space outdoors as an alfresco living area with a pool, a lovely garden, or an amazing playground for your children and pets.
Get beautiful views
If you live in a picturesque location, a second storey is a great way to take advantage of the amazing views that your area has to offer. For example, if you live near the ocean, you can simply open and look out of a window in your second storey to take in the breathtaking waters without having to leave your house. Or, why not build a balcony where you can relax and have a drink while looking at the pretty sights before you?
Make necessary changes and repairs to the ground floor
On the practical side, if your home needs both repairs and additional space, a second storey lets you hit two birds with one stone. Building a second floor means that your ground floor has to meet the requirements that can provide structural support to the second storey. While the changes are being made, you can grab this opportunity to make some suitable home design decisions and improve your home’s overall interior look and style. You can also use this chance to replace faulty or damaged parts of the house, such as windows and doors and consider upgrading or adding ducted air conditioning.
Add value to your home
Last, but not the least, building a quality second storey can raise the market value of your home, should the need to sell arise. This is great especially if your house is located where there is a high demand for residential properties with close proximity and easy access to good education, career opportunities, medical centres, transportation, and other necessary amenities and services.
Do you want to increase your living space with a second storey addition? We at 32 Degrees Building provide our building services across South West & Western Sydney, the Illawarra, the Southern Highlands, the Eastern Suburbs, and Sutherland Shire. We aim to help our clients achieve their dream family home, with a spacious living area that can meet the needs and demands of their lifestyles. To learn more, contact us.
Article written by: ibuildnew.com.au
What should you expect to pay before your build can start?
To fund an addition or extension on your home, you may find yourself applying for a Construction Loan with your lender. This is all well and good, however, you may find that the lender will not formally approve and release funds until plans, Council approval and a Contract is in place outlining the progress stage payments of the build. So, to get to this point, how much should you expect to outlay? The short answer is that we find for most of our clients it’s around $20-$25K to complete the preliminary stage – this is for preparation of all the documents required to start building.
Here at 32 Degrees Building we break it down into two manageable costs for our clients and below is an explanation of the preliminary process to help you as a client understand what happens before we can issue contracts and start your build:
Preliminary Phase 1: Design and development of your architectural plans
This is the start of your building journey with us. Here we coordinate a survey and engage the draftsperson to come out and meet with you. The draftsperson will talk you through your ideas, then design your initial concept plan to align to the quotation you have received. Usually, a few tweaks may be required and then you can sign off your concept plan and the full architectural drawings can be created ready for us to lodge for planning approval.
Preliminary Phase 2: Council Lodgement – Development Application & Construction Certificate OR Complying Development Consent
Once your plans are finalised (sitemap, elevations, shadow diagrams, floor plans etc..) the next step is where we will lodge your plans to Council or to a Private Certifier either as a Complying Development Consent OR as a Development Application and Construction Certificate
CDC or DA/CC fees will be advised once plans are developed and a Council fee quote can be provided. Here we obtain the additional relevant documentation needed in order for your build to be ready to start and this includes;
- Statement of Environmental Effects – Details the potential environmental impacts the proposed build will have.
- Waste Management Plan – Applies to all homes across Australia and explains how waste generated onsite will be managed, maintained and disposed of.
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BASIX – The Building Sustainability Index applies to all residential homes across NSW and confirms the glazing and energy rating minimum that is required to comply to
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Engineering plans and if a first floor addition a first floor certification to confirm your existing home will support the addition
- Hydraulic plan and certification – This is to confirm your stormwater connections and how we will connect to the existing or if there are upgrade to the existing needed
- Sydney Water check – To confirm that your build will not impact any of Sydney Waters assets
- Sewer Service Diagram – We obtain this for the plumber to see where the existing connections to the home are
- Long Service Levy – Applies to all residential works over $250K
- There may be additional supporting documents required (e.g. Bushfire Report, Flood Report, Acoustic Report etc…)
- and any other supporting documents as required
How long does this process take? Well, this all depends on the Council, the service providers and you as the client. We find that from planning to Council approval to issuing you with contracts can take around 3/4 months. Once your build cost and inclusions have been finalised and your HIA fixed price contract has been issued you can then provide these to your lender in order to finalise your finance approval.
If you haven’t built before or have no knowledge of the building and construction industry then preparing all of these documents can seem quite daunting. That’s why with us, you would have us as your main point of contact to do all of the hard work for you. We even liaise between yourself and the draftsperson to help you stay within your budget when developing your plans and address any of the questions you have about the build along the way.
To get started on your building journey with us, we ask you to download our packages or complete our pre-quote enquiry form and tell us what you would like to build, from there one of our team members will be in touch with you.
Building in a bushfire prone area
We recently completed an extension and deck in Orangeville that was in a bushfire prone area and had to comply with BAL-FZ requirements. For those of you that are unfamiliar with being in a bushfire prone area, BAL-FZ means that the home has been classed as being located in direct flame zone and that there is an extreme risk to life and loss of the home should a bushfire occur.
Bushfire ratings are as follows;
- BAL-Low (Very Low Risk)
- BAL-12.5 (Low Risk)
- BAL-19 (Moderate Risk)
- BAL-29 (High Risk)
- BAL-40 (Very High Risk)
- BAL-FZ (Extreme Risk)
The BAL rating may determine the types of materials you are able to use or, additional materials that are required when building or extending your home (eg. bushfire shutters).
Bushfire Shutters at our BAL-FZ First Floor Addition in Lane Cove North (Click photo for full gallery)
What measures should you take?
If your property backs onto bushland or even a Council nature strip you will have to obtain a BAL Risk Assessment Certificate from a qualified consultant to determine your Bushfire Attack Level. The report will outline the BAL rating on each elevation (yes, your BAL rating can be different on each side of your home) and advise you of the measures you need to take to maximise the safety of your family and your home and ensure you stay protected.
Building in a bushfire prone area: flamezone
The home in Orangeville was classed as BAL-FZ as it was in a location where it was deemed an extreme risk to bushfire so there were a few requirements that we had to ensure that we undertook when building this extension to comply with the RFS and Council requirements;
- The deck was constructed with a cement based product with no gaps between the boards for embers to get into
- The subfloor brickwork still has to have ventilation, and so a metal gauze with no more than a 2mm aperture was used to cover the weep holes and stop embers from getting in under the home.
- The cladding we used was a minimum of 6mm thick with no gaps between the boards.
- The windows were made with 6mm toughened glass and aluminium frames
- Bushfire shutters were installed – you can have either manual or automatic
- The roof and deck frames were made of steel
- For the eaves we used firecheq plasterboard and importantly we ensured that all gaps and holes were sealed to stop potential embers getting into
If you are in a bushfire prone area and thinking of building an extension or addition, speak to us, we are able to provide you with advice and guide you in the right direction.
Watch our video
Watch Alistair, the builder out at the deck extension in Orangeville talking about how we met the BAL-FZ requirements.