Browse Forums Renovation + Home Improvement 1 Jun 04, 2014 3:41 pm Hello. We have an house that we built 4 years ago but we are now looking into the option of adding a second level. I'm not too sure where to start with this though. On the second level we would like to have the master bedroom with large walk through wardrobe and a large ensuite, an open plan study and a home theatre. The footprint of the second level would maybe half the size of the lower level. Does anyone know whether building a second level is cost effective? We don't want to buy or build a bigger house somewhere else as we love where we live. I know that a piece of string can be very long but if anyone is able to shed some light on this process I would really appreciate it. Thank you. Re: Building a second level 2Jun 04, 2014 4:56 pm I can only go on the advice I got from an architect the other day in regards to this not on experience. We were looking at the option of building another level but the architect asked who we built with and then told us that most of the big builders here in sa only build so the walls are strong enough to hold the roof up and if we wanted to pursue it there would be a lot of work needed to make the structure sturdy enough to be able to build another level and it would be expensive. We are now looking at the idea of extending out wards not upwards. Re: Building a second level 3Jun 04, 2014 5:32 pm Some of the second storey extensions that I have been involved with over the years have involved both cheap and then reasonably expensive structural work to support the upper level. A lot of it has to do with both the existing house as per hachys advice above and then the design that the designer comes up with to fit in with the budget of the client and then what the council will allow ( usually concerning side setbacks ). If you start with a base price of $30,000 for structural and then $2500 per sq m upstairs to build you would be in the ballpark cost wise. Spending wisely by adding extra rooms as you are intending can sometimes add more value than what you spend to build them. Stewie Re: Building a second level 4Jun 20, 2014 3:49 pm We are in the same process now. What I have learnt so far is to go the with a big building companies that has everything in one that will be able to give you a ball park figure of what you want to do and how to reduce the cost, as they are experience overall, or they have other dept that can give you an indication. What we have done was drawn up a rough plan of what we wanted. Gone to a recommended architect to draw up our designs and get there ideas. The key factor here, is before you finalise your drawings, take these drawings to a few builders to give you a ball park figure on how much that design will cost. This is a god send to us, because what we originally wanted to do, was well over our budget and I am glad that I had spoken to a few builders who gave me ideas on ways of reducing cost. For example, what we wanted done is major renovations which consist of a building up, 3 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 toilet, 1 master bedroom, ensuite and a walk in robe. This was ball parked at around 250-270k, which didn't leave us must to re-do the bottom. One of the bigger construction company advise that most extensions they do consist of 2-3 bedroom and a bathroom ranging at 160k mark. I hope this helps you. We are still at the stage of getting quotes from builders before we make an alterations. Hi team, Im looking for a second hand sd4b monitor preferably white. 0 8900 We were lucky in that our old house was so small (86 square metres) compared to the new house, they were able to take enough readings around the old backyard house before… 8 37076 Hi, We have a single story MacDonald Jones house, on a waffle pod slab with steel frame. Are we able to build a second story extension? Other info is we are 900mm from… 0 8373 |