Mistakes to Avoid While Extending Your Home in Stone Creek

So, you are planning to extend your Stone Creek home for an extra living space, bedroom or a new kitchen.

While extension creates a perfect space for your loved ones, it is a thoughtful process. Many homeowners make common mistakes when extending their homes. As a result, they see the expenses of their project going up along with the completion time. In fact, you can feel the project is getting out of control quite easily.

Costly mistakes not only eat into your money and time, but also lead to the frustration you have to live with. Obviously, you don’t want your home extension in Stoney Creek, Ontario, to become a steep learning curve and regret that you didn’t know a bit earlier.

The good news is that you can avoid costly home extension mistakes. All you need to get aware of these common mistakes and pitfalls for a perfect home extension.

Not Considering the Bigger Picture

Many homeowners are likely to keep their immediate requirements in mind, but overlooking future needs could make you regret it.

For example, a family built a game room for their children, but regretted it when the kids left for college. A better plan was to design a flexible room with natural light and movable furniture. The space could easily shift from a teen hangout to an elegant living room, saving them a costly renovation.

Whether your home extension is there to accommodate your growing family or anticipate changes in your lifestyle, make sure to think long-term. Keep the space flexible, ensuring it would fulfill the current family’s needs as well as future ones. With this forward-thinking approach, you can save time and cost in the future.

Not Taking the Natural Light into Account

Natural light makes your space brighter, bigger and warmer. Otherwise, it may look dark, dingy and gloomy. Light is an important factor to consider. However, not all lights are equal. It may make you feel different depending on the window direction.

For example, east-facing windows get bright, energizing morning sun while south-facing windows get harsh, strong light for most of the day. West-facing windows let the room receive a soft, warm glow in the evening, while north-facing windows make the room feel cool and dull with very little light. Ideally, you want to make the most of these lights as much as you can.

All you need to figure out is the point where natural light enters the home. You can consider maximizing the light by watching how the sun moves throughout the day. It helps you determine the position of your windows. If installing windows is not possible, you can turn to skylights that bring in up to 30% more light than a window.

Skipping Legal and Administrative Permits

 

Many homeowners are not aware of the building regulations of their municipality. These regulations set the allowable extension dimensions, height standards, and minimum distances from property lines. It also comes with aesthetic and urban planning constraints.

Therefore, make sure to know local regulations and make sure you have all necessary permits in place to start your home extension in Stone, Creek, Ontario or anywhere else.

Ignoring Aesthetic Integration with the Existing

See if your new extension can go well with the existing structure. A poorly designed extension can make the overall aesthetic of your home strange and even diminish its value.

 It is not just about the curb appeal. It is about ensuring the new parts blend with the rest. Picking different materials or shades that don’t complement your existing structure can lead to a jarring and unattractive contrast.

 

Not Planning a Realistic Budget

Another common home extension pitfall to avoid is not creating a realistic budget from the start. You cannot afford to start the process without figuring out the cost. Keep in mind that construction is always a costly process.

It is easy to see the costs exceeding your set budget. Thanks to material delay, design errors, necessary modifications, labour unavailability and market fluctuation. Without setting a realistic budget, you are simply making your project vulnerable to financial difficulties. Even worse, maybe you have to compromise on certain aspects of your project.

 

Not Going Beyond Aesthetics

Of course, a spectacular design is important. But it doesn’t mean to compromise your functionality just to make your home look beautiful. There is no use of a stunning extension if it doesn’t fulfill the practical needs. Make sure your design is a balance of both aesthetics and functionality.

 

Not Hiring the Right Builders

So, you have ticked everything that can lead to a perfect renovation. Meanwhile, you have found builders who agree to work immediately. Great job! The process of home extension begins, and you feel that things are going smoothly until completion.

Suddenly, you notice those big leaks and cracks. Even worse, the builder is not taking responsibility and avoiding your requests to fix the things. It happens. Choose an inefficient contractor and make your project vulnerable to a host of issues.

Therefore, do your research properly. Ask builders for references and get in touch with their past clients. See if they are licensed and certified. Is there any warranty for the issues arising after work?

The Bottom Line:

Adding to your Stone Creek home can be quite exciting. However, you cannot afford to skip a thoughtful consideration at every stage. From identifying your needs to taking all permits, to working with the right professionals and everything in between, every effort counts.

By avoiding these common mistakes, you boost your chances of success and ensure that your new extension will add to your quality of life.

One more thing—working with a good contractor helps you with most of the hassles associated with home extension. We at Prestige Construction and Landscaping help you at every stage of home extension and other construction projects.

We assess your space and come up with the right yet practical suggestions. We are licensed, bonded and experienced professionals with transparent pricing. Let’s discuss your project.