Home extension information is an independent website giving free advice on extending houses, bungalows, and flats etc. covering aspects including design, legislation and building construction. It is particularly aimed at householders considering or in the process of building an extension although it will, we hope, be of interest to people within the industry. It has been prepared by design professionals with over 30 years experience and in conjunction with others such as builders.

Home extension information is regularly updated to take account of changes in legislation, new products and processes and feedback from web users. In addition the range of topics are to be expanded with much more information on increasingly important subjects such as alternative energy, insulation and sustainability which you might consider when planning your house extension.

Temporary increase to Permitted Development for rear extensions from 30th May 2013 - see our section on Town Planning and Permitted Development more detailed information

We start at the beginning with subjects such as:

• Why extend your home?
• Is it worth extending your home?
• Need some ideas to extend your home - our short video may help!
• Take a look at our video diary of the ongoing construction of a two storey home extension. 

You may have answered these already by being on this site but it could be worth seeing if there are aspects you have not considered.

We have a wide definition of home extensions and include in the section under Types of extensions topics such as:

• Internal alterations
• Detached buildings

Also covered are extensions to the living space that may not result in any external building, for example some types of:

• Loft conversions to houses, bungalows and flats
• Basements

There are also the more conventional house extensions

• Single storey
• Multi storey (two, or sometimes more) extensions
• Conservatories a popular home extension

We look at common problems in designing an extension to your home such as whether:

• To Match or not to match the materials
• Boundary spacing,
• Effects on neighbours when extending your home
• Different types of Building Construction

Perhaps the most important thing -  home extension costs - Take a look in this NEW section

• How much will a home extension cost?

• How can I reduce costs?

Confused over what everyone means by plans? Take a look at this section which deals with:

• What are plans?
• Who draws plans?
• Other requirements that may apply in some situations.

Home extensions are covered by a host of legislation and this section looks at:

• Town Planning
• Building Regulations
• The Party Wall Act
• Covenants

And so to engaging the builder and building the extension. Here we look at contracts, guarantees, and choosing a builder.

• Engaging the Builder

The legislation referred to in this free home extensions guide at present relates to England although we will in due course expand this section to cover other parts of the United Kingdom. As this is a general guide to the requirements and aspects of legislation are rather open to interpretation, always seek advice from your local council or building professionals in your area as to a particular situation.

We hope you will find the free information on www.home-extension.info useful but if you have any comments or suggestions for future topics please contact us.

Visit our new dedicated website for loft conversions www.loft-conversion.info