Thinking of building an extension, don't know where to start

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 13:00

Can anyone here send me in the right direction? We live in a fairly small 3brm house (120sqm incl garage, built in 1990s), and we're considering building a small extension. The idea is to convert part of the lounge/dining spot into a bedroom/ensuite, and add 15sqm extension to recover some lounge area. This would also include a new kitchen (needed anyway) and a lot of new glazing.

Do I look around for a good builder and work with him? Or should I be getting in touch with an architect/designer? I'm completely hopeless with design, so I can't even visualise if my plan will work well.

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 13:14

If it helps, this is my idea. The extension is the part that extends out bottom-right. Currently the entrance to our house is a sliding glass door directly into lounge, so we'd also be building an actual entrance way.

Current: https://imgur.com/a/CZoo3

Proposed: https://imgur.com/wN4KL7S

**Akzle** · 29th January 2018, 13:31

Originally Posted by Mike.Gayner

.

Do I look around for a good builder and work with him? Or should I be getting in touch with an architect/designer? I'm completely hopeless with design, so I can't even visualise if my plan will work well.

you'll need both. and consent etc.

possibile things stopping you are height to boundary.
also you're removing a good section of load bearing (east wall in image) which will probably be an issue as i'm sensing hip trusses... either need to put in massive bearing lintel or re-truss. neither attractive or cheap options, bearer might not be possible if subfloor can't be bought up for point loads.

so yes. find some cunt who knows what the fuck they're about and go from there.

**Akzle** · 29th January 2018, 13:33

also, practically, having an entrance either facing a bedroom door is weird, or a 90degree would make moving furniture and shit through difficult.

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 13:49

Originally Posted by Akzle

you'll need both. and consent etc.

possibile things stopping you are height to boundary.
also you're removing a good section of load bearing (east wall in image) which will probably be an issue as i'm sensing hip trusses... either need to put in massive bearing lintel or re-truss. neither attractive or cheap options, bearer might not be possible if subfloor can't be bought up for point loads.

so yes. find some cunt who knows what the fuck they're about and go from there.

Cheers, good to know. Correct, hip roof, so there are definitely engineering considerations. Floor is concrete slab.

Regarding the section, that's the reason for this "sub optimal" extension design - there's nowhere else to go that will realistically work with the boundaries and section shape. Still plenty of section out that side (it's a huge deck presently, would be halved and it would still be large-ish).

Originally Posted by Akzle

also, practically, having an entrance either facing a bedroom door is weird, or a 90degree would make moving furniture and shit through difficult.

Yeah that's true. This house is already a strange design, so can't get any worse. The bedroom door would probably be on the south partition.

Good input, thanks.

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 13:50

Do the room sizes make sense? I have difficulty visualising this stuff. We don't mind small rooms and a small house, but obviously everything has to make sense and be usable.

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 13:53

This is standing on the deck, facing the wall that would be extended. You can see I've marked roughly where the extension would go.

https://imgur.com/a/Nfg9I

**eldog** · 29th January 2018, 14:26

Originally Posted by Akzle

find some cunt who knows what the fuck they're about and go from there.

I am looking for that person.....

mike have you considered moving?

check the direction of sun relative to the building. I consider having the living areas on the north facing ish side a bonus.

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 14:29

Yeah we've been watching the property market. That's what has led us to the idea of extending - Tauranga property is just so insanely expensive now.

I have NO IDEA what an extension like this would cost, but if you could do it for $100k (including extension, new bedroom, new ensuite, new kitchen) it would easily be worthwhile versus moving.

**Akzle** · 29th January 2018, 17:03

Originally Posted by eldog

I am looking for that person.....

you know me son... five bucks and a baggie =D

check the direction of sun relative to the building. I consider having the living areas on the north facing ish side a bonus.

there's a lot of designs which should be mandatory, that aren't.
passive solar (north is glass with long eave/ deciduous tree cover), thermal mass.. blahblah. look it up. hippy greenie shit.

Originally Posted by Mike.Gayner

Floor is concrete slab.

unless you got lucky and they did a 5" slab and/or a mossive footing (unlikely, at a guess) you could be shit out of luck for point loading it.

i'm going to suggest re-trussing that entire end of the house, then re-roofing and lining will fail the cost-benefit analysis. especially if you've got old wide stud spacings.

i'd be inclined to shitcan the garage and use that space.

**Akzle** · 29th January 2018, 17:11

actually... if the roof plane is as i expect then you could feasibly continue the W-E plane and end up with two valleys for the N protrusion. will need to pour more concrete and tie it to the main slab.

**Mike.Gayner** · 29th January 2018, 17:20

Thanks for the input. Who should I consult about this stuff? A builder? Engineer? Architect?

**Akzle** · 29th January 2018, 17:45

Originally Posted by Mike.Gayner

Thanks for the input. Who should I consult about this stuff? A builder? Engineer? Architect?

the word "architect" immediately trebles the cost. i avoid them like the plague unless they started life as a building apprentice.

builder, would be my first choice. a good one will know what's needed, and who's who. if you can get a local recommendation from friends//family that's best.

you'll need an LBP to do the work - able to sign off CCC on slabs, framing, roofing and cladding (at least three different quals) - which could end up being three different guys, or not.

and you'll need consent plans for council - some LBP can/will provide this. otherwise find a draughtsman, and the builder will then work to their plans.

your local council will probably have downloadable consent applications, which will detail everything you/your LBP needs to provide.

otherwise just go for bust, do the work, fill out a CoA application (need roughly the same info, but saves the cost/hassle of pre-approval) and only bother submitting it if some officious twat comes knocking, or you sell the place.

take photos. lots of photos.

**YellowDog** · 29th January 2018, 18:08

Mike buddy, it is always best to talk to a builder who knows what's what. He'll tell you how it needs to look, so it's a straightforward job and then get a draughtsman to put it on paper to present to the council. Architects are subjective creatures and will take great pleasure in costing you 3x what you need to spend, based upon your desires and their engineering expertise. And if they are really good, the roof will leak and it will all be the builder's fault and not their impractical design