Ask RiotACT: Small house extension advice

Hi there. Really interested to hear your experiences here as we are considering the same thing. How much can a box really cost! Did you integrate the roof as well, or just tack it onto the side? Hope it went well!

Give Luke from Fresh Renovation & Construction a call. They do big and small extensions although they do charge a nominal fee to prepare a tender.

There are definitely plenty of tradesman in Canberra that would not only be interested in smaller jobs like this but that specialise in doing this sort of work. The problem you might have is your asking new home builders rather than renovation/extension builders.
Paying a small fee to cover the tradesman’s time to come out to site plus there time to prepare a quote might be a way to know you are dealing with a proffeshonal that values there own time. They are more likely to take the time to accuretly quote the job and not just quickly knock up a quote and then add 30% at the end incase you missed something.

spades said :

K_c24 said :

As far as finding people to do smaller jobs, try Gumtree. There’s often young tradies just starting out, post apprenticeship, who are keen for this kind of work, either as their own boss or on top of their day to day. Lots of ads on there. It sounds simple enough to be done by a single tradesman overseeing the various trades (usually their other mate tradies)

What you’re suggesting is I become an owner builder (which requires me to be licensed) or get someone to oversee it (which requires them being a licensed builder). Apprentices in Gumtree aren’t normally licensed builders. Whilst this is a small job, it requires a licensed builder to oversee it.

That’s not what I said at all…I said POST apprenticeship…as in they are fully qualified and licensed. You seem very keen to rebuff all the suggestions people have given you, while not actually taking the time to properly read or engage with it.

Good luck to you.

spades said :

Maya123 said :

You have the chance to make sure the windows face north to bring in the sun for free heating; you have the chance to make sure you insulate this section of your house properly. Don’t waste this chance.

Understand what you’re saying but I’m not renovating the entire house, I’m just adding a room. I can’t change the position of the house. What you’re suggesting may mean knocking down several walls, reconfiguring rooms and relocating bathrooms. Sorry, but there’s no way I am doing that sort of renovation.

And I never suggested you do all that. My suggestion was to make sure it had good insulation, etc and yes, windows to the north. But if you don’t have a northern side to this, then it must be on the southern side of the house – the coldest side – so the insulation will be even more important. Double glazing would be worth considering too (especially being on the southern side of the house, which you didn’t mention), but with thermal breaks in the frames, or better with wooden frames (if you don’t mind that look and the maintenance). As it’s the southern side, windows should not be too large, as even double glazed windows (without sun advantage) are not as good as insulation as a well insulated wall.
Too few people consider these things. Energy prices are not about to go down, or stop rising.

spades said :

Thanks for the advice. After reading all the replies to my question, seems looking into being an owner builder is not too bad, but I’d need to invest time managing the work! I work full time during business hours. Cautious of how much time I need to get off work to oversee this project.

It should be pretty manageable, especially given the relatively small scale of the works you’re looking at. If you go owner builder, as you state, you’re pretty much just dealing with the licensing issues and the ongoing warranty period (if applicable).

Then try and get a lead tradie/carpenter to do the work and manage the other subbies etc. Conscious of not wanting to underplay the owner/builder angle, it’s pretty much a paper pushing exercise.

However, some banks won’t lend money on owner/builder projects, so best investigate that first if you’re not able to fund the improvements with cash.

K_c24 said :

As far as finding people to do smaller jobs, try Gumtree. There’s often young tradies just starting out, post apprenticeship, who are keen for this kind of work, either as their own boss or on top of their day to day. Lots of ads on there. It sounds simple enough to be done by a single tradesman overseeing the various trades (usually their other mate tradies)

What you’re suggesting is I become an owner builder (which requires me to be licensed) or get someone to oversee it (which requires them being a licensed builder). Apprentices in Gumtree aren’t normally licensed builders. Whilst this is a small job, it requires a licensed builder to oversee it.

Maya123 said :

You have the chance to make sure the windows face north to bring in the sun for free heating; you have the chance to make sure you insulate this section of your house properly. Don’t waste this chance.

Understand what you’re saying but I’m not renovating the entire house, I’m just adding a room. I can’t change the position of the house. What you’re suggesting may mean knocking down several walls, reconfiguring rooms and relocating bathrooms. Sorry, but there’s no way I am doing that sort of renovation.

There’s no reason why an addon room can’t be done properly. I’m very cautious about architects or builders upselling a renovation. I’ve had first hand experience from workmates who were sold into making unnecessary upgrades to renovations. The battle I seem to be facing is architects always want to be award winning and artistic (in place of practicality), and builders just simply want to sell you more services.

DeadlySchnauzer said :

However there are plenty of smaller builders around who would consider your extension a good job, they are the ones you want to talk to.

Another OptimisticPessimist said :

If you engage a builder you’ll be paying the Canberra tax!
Get plans drawn, approved, find a certifier, then Owner Build unless it is a complicated site. A single level 6×5 extension without plumbing isn’t difficult.

Thanks for the advice. After reading all the replies to my question, seems looking into being an owner builder is not too bad, but I’d need to invest time managing the work! I work full time during business hours. Cautious of how much time I need to get off work to oversee this project.

Maya123 said :

You have the chance to make sure the windows face north to bring in the sun for free heating; you have the chance to make sure you insulate this section of your house properly. Don’t waste this chance. Are you building this on a slab? Then insulate the edges. Other things can be done too, but those are the simple basics. Don’t just add a box without thinking of these things. At least it doesn’t sound like one of those add on ‘pimples’ on the roof people used to do. As well as visually very ugly (and a turn off to many buyers), I have been told cold in winter and hot in summer too, because good insulation was never considered. But hey, electricity used to be cheap and was never going to increase, so why care!

Plus one !

As option is to zone your new extension by providing an air lock door, use a double stud wall to allow for more insulation, timber floors are easy to insulate, concrete slab s can also have insulation underneath as well as around the perimeter, building wraps can provide airtightness!
If you can’t afford double or triple glazing make you sure you consider thick curtains.
Good luck and have fun!

If you engage a builder you’ll be paying the Canberra tax!
Get plans drawn, approved, find a certifier, then Owner Build unless it is a complicated site. A single level 6×5 extension without plumbing isn’t difficult.

You have the chance to make sure the windows face north to bring in the sun for free heating; you have the chance to make sure you insulate this section of your house properly. Don’t waste this chance. Are you building this on a slab? Then insulate the edges. Other things can be done too, but those are the simple basics. Don’t just add a box without thinking of these things. At least it doesn’t sound like one of those add on ‘pimples’ on the roof people used to do. As well as visually very ugly (and a turn off to many buyers), I have been told cold in winter and hot in summer too, because good insulation was never considered. But hey, electricity used to be cheap and was never going to increase, so why care!