Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Apr 26, 2010 1:13 am hi there i am in the final sstages of making a decision on a renovation of my house. a 1950's red brick 3 bdrm on a 557sqm house set back 7.5 from the front i have had several quotes and am stuck on deciding between 2 that i am happy with with regard to price and design one is single story. rear extension (@ 66sq) with an open plan living / alresco. the end result will be a 3 bedroom / 2 bathroom but twice the curent size. the second is a double story, adding 60sqm to the top and opening the bottom (removing most walls). the end result is a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom both cost close to the same amount. the single story is 145 + 50 to finish and the second story is 155 and about 50. the big advantage i see of the second story is a save the back yard from a re-sale perspective is there a clear winner? if it was going to cost me similar amount to do a double story extension of 60sqm vs a single story rear extension of abit bigger, would i necessarily go with the double story? i like the idea of the extra bedroom and having 2 living areas of the double story, but i the downside is i dont have the undercover outdoor area (as i cant afford to do this as well at the moment). one of the big advantages of the double is i dont have to move the sewerage / storm water lines - whereas if i do the single this has to be moved as the house extension will build over the boundary trap one thing i am worried about wth the second story though is having to meet the energy rating requirements (the wall of the down stairs area is not insulated it is brick veneer). i am replacing the windows and i realise these may need to be double glazed but can council force you to install wall insulation (this would be a big unforeseen cost i think) thanks for your opinions Re: 2nd storey or rear extension for a 557sqm block 2Apr 26, 2010 8:44 am The back yard question is a good one and from your post you seem to prefer the upper storey but for the energy rating concerns? I think under the Building Code of Australia you can get a 'deemed to satisfy' energy rating report done as with extensions (so long as they are not more than half the area of the house added on) you dont need to lift the whole house to 5 star. Under Victorian Regulations: • Under Regulation 608 If the proposed alterations, together with any other alterations completed or permitted within the previous 3 years, represent more than half the original volume of the building the entire building must be brought into conformity with these Regulations. ...so if you sneak past this then the energy rater gives a rating only on the new bit and does a glazing report on the existing but my understanding is that you will not be forced to replace your windows. Reality is that you cannot make the decision about which extension to proceed with while you still have such an unknown cost factor so I recommend you pin this down first before moving forward. As far as the Alfresco - can that always be added later when you have more funds? If you are in Melbourne and need an energy rater that does these Deemed to Satisfy reports then let me know - they will cost $300 - $400. Builders are people too.... Re: 2nd storey or rear extension for a 557sqm block 3Apr 26, 2010 7:27 pm How much backyard will you have if you extend out the back. We're extending 10m to the back of our house on our 640sqm block. This will give is roughly 10m deep by 16m wide backyard once the extension goes in. It's got a slight slope but we'll level it with small retaining walls so its all level. To us, losing the massive backyard is not too much of a loss and especially because we'll have a 50sqm deck that leads out to the backyard. I guarantee that the kids play under the deck much more then they go and play out on the 160sqm lawn out the back. All depends on what you think is important really. Do you have dogs ? Re: 2nd storey or rear extension for a 557sqm block 4Apr 26, 2010 8:03 pm Wouldn't a 4 bedroom home give you better re-sale than a 3 bedroom home? I like the sound of keeping the backyard too .... Building on an acre in Macedon ......one day. Re: 2nd storey or rear extension for a 557sqm block 5Apr 26, 2010 9:47 pm thanks for your replies. if i extend into the back yard, i will be left with 11 (deep) x 15 (wide) = 165sqm. so still a sizeable yard. if i go up (second story) the existing yard is maintained (17 deep x 15 wide) = 255sqm. one of the other benefits of going up is a end up with 2 living areas downstairs (and another upstairs). if i go out i end up with only 1 living area in the house (but a large one which seem quite in demand these days) im leaning towards the second story at present (going to see if i can get the price down a bit more first though). and then do the outdoor area at a later date. just a thought, has anyone had 'unforeseen' costs when doing a second story? where would these likely arise? (sewerage is not a problem as i can tap into exsiting lines, the house is being rstumped and rewired). the only area i can see is potentially needing to install double glazed glass on the existing house to confirm with the energy ratings... (i have also been told that they can sometimes require you to insulate the floor too) Hi All, see above image. The required setback from the rear boundary in my case is 5m, as you can see the shape of the site and location of the boundary is slightly… 0 8678 1 4714 |