Adding room(s) on top of the garage.

In terms of builders to try, give Ray from Invision a call on 0409 916 804. We’ve not used him (yet) but have spoken to him regarding some work at our place. He has very good references, seems likeable enough and doesn’t come across as being overly difficult to work with.

He has a good mix of experience in building extension work, as well as building new homes.

He will also be able to recommend architects/draftees, depending on your requirements.

As we discovered, though, your planned budget probably won’t get you very far.

Building costs for extensions are being quoted anywhere from $2000/sqm at an absolute minimum to a more realistic $3000/sqm and beyond, depending on level of finish.

Make sure the garage is an approved building, prior to spending money on architects, building quotes etc.

$100K … good luck with that. 😛

You’ll need someone to do up plans first, and if you get someone good, they should be able to go through the various options for creating more space wtih you. I suspect there’ll be some kind of suggestion to kill the garage, use that space to build an extension, and incorporate the garage some other way.

Doing it as a 2 story structure might well be the best solution, too. I don’t know much about brick construction, but when going up, in general building, you have to build the base strong enough to take another level, so they might have to re-do the whole thing.

Your first step though would be to get someone who can look at your options and when you’ve opted for something, do up your plans. They might project-manage it too, taking the plans to builders, piloting it through the actpla approval process etc.

Also when comparing to the cost of moving, not only consider the extra dollars to get a larger house, but the cost of stamp duty on the new place and agents fees for selling the current one

Rule of thumb on extending…..never, ever go up if you can go out. It will cost you WAY less and give you less drama with ACTPLA.

Good luck.