Should I extend?

Pros

• If you love your house but need more space, this is a chance to stay and make it even better.

• An extension allows you to get stuck into a building project without the expense and work required for an entire house.

• House extensions offer a way to reconfigure existing living space. A well-planned addition can completely change the way you use a house.

• Extensions offer a chance to be creative and express personal design ideas.

• The use of glass when building an extension can vastly increase the amount of natural light that reaches the interior.

• When done well, an extension can add considerable value to your home.

Cons

• Beware of how your extension affects the relationship between you and your neighbours. You don’t want to impinge on each other’s privacy and they’ll be peeved if you block their natural light.

• Shoddy extensions can be a serious turn-off for future buyers, especially if it is structurally unsound.

• Very personalised designs, either on the exterior or in the way interior space is organised, may appeal to you but perhaps not to potential buyers.

• Building behind or to the side bites into your outdoor living space.

• Noise and general disruption while work is underway can be hard to live with.