Due to the unpredictable nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more people are starting to work from home. Despite this, not everyone has the room to do so and may be considering a home extension to make for a more permanent fixture. Multiple businesses can be adapted to take place from the home upon a dedicated extension being built. Whether your work is office-based or customer-facing, a lot can be done with a house extension when it comes to establishing your business from the comfort of your own home. So, what needs to be done when adding an extension to your home in the name of business? For more information about home extensions be sure to check out Supa Group.
Preparing the Ground
Unfortunately, you can’t simply build on the ground you have. Instead, the ground must be cleared, and foundations will need to be laid. Fortunately, multiple demolition companies are on hand to assist you in this process, including DDS Demolition. The process of clearing the land might involve the cutting down of trees, removal of rocks, or levelling of slopes. Each of these will contribute to how much the demolition project costs. After this, the soil will need to be rough graded and excavated with heavy machinery. On top of this, drainage control and erosion prevention will need to be implemented.
Finding an Architect
Though an architect isn’t always completely necessary, it’ll relieve you of a lot of stress to bring one in. This is because they’ll effectively draw up your designs, allowing for a more professional finish. With this being said, they’ll typically charge around 15%, meaning that this will need to be considered when drawing up a budget. Despite this, when given a significant amount of detail, architects are able to provide you with what you want from your project. It’s important to select the right architect as they will typically have a specialty. Therefore, if your extension is set to be an office, you should select someone who is capable of executing an appropriate space for this.
Choosing a Builder
When selecting a builder, the greatest factor is that you must be able to trust them. The best way of figuring out whether they’re reliable is through the use of comparison sites. These will allow you to read about real peoples’ experiences with these traders, meaning that you’ll get a good idea about what they have to offer. Some builders may offer their services at a smaller fee than those who have multiple reviews. Despite this, you must be wary of such as a low price could equate to a low-quality service, which will result in additional costs anyway. Always be vigilant when allowing someone to have full access to your home.
Getting Quotes
For any service, it’s never a good idea to settle on the first thing you stumble across. Instead, you should always shop around at different firms to find the best service and price. As a rule of thumb, you should be looking to get in touch with at least five firms and attain a minimum of three quotes. This will acquaint you with what your project is likely to cost, allowing you to filter out incredibly expensive options, as well as suspiciously cheap options. When it comes to pricing, you should always go in with the mindset that if it seems too good to be true it probably is.
Setting a Budget
Setting a budget can be tricky, particularly when you’re excited about your new venture. Despite this, you can easily go so over budget that you struggle to afford the end result. To avoid this, you should make a list of everything you need, calculate the cost, and allow some wriggle room, just in case.