Home Improvements: Home extensions

People often think about home extension for a variety of reasons. Perhaps their family is growing and they just love their current home, perhaps they are thinking of moving in the future and want to make home improvements that add real value, or perhaps they have just got fed up with having too little space (say, in the kitchen).
A home extension is a major cost, and most people will need a loan or increase their mortgage to manage it. On the other hand there will be a number of people who have had money left from their relatives and want to invest it so it increases in value.
Some householders will already know what they think they need, but it is worthwhile spending considerable time on thinking and planning before decisions are made.
A good architect will be a crucial part of your plans, and who will give you feedback on your initial ideas, suggest amendments and alternatives and, after drawing up your plans, submit them to the local planning authority.
One decision will be whether to have a single storey or double storey extension. You need to be sure that the extension you want will fit in with the overall style of your house or the area, or the plans may not get agreed. A single storey should be able to get planning permission for and a two-storey extension will be harder to attach to the upstairs rooms of your house. However, building a two storey extension will not be twice the cost of building a single, and it just might be worthwhile to invest the extra to get twice the space. Think also about how you could save money by DIY improvements.