How Much Does a House Extension Cost? 2024 Savings Guide

When seeking out a contractor for your work, you should look to get three to five quotes for any extension to your home. That way you can get a feel for what the market rate is, as well as see who you get on with the most or feel is most capable of the job.

It's important you don't confuse an estimate with a quote. It's fairly common for tradespeople, surveyors, and architects to offer an estimate the first time they visit your property. This estimate is a good starting point, but if you think they might be a good fit for the job, be sure to ask for a detailed quote so you can get a more precise idea of the costs.

It's also worth making sure you have someone else with you when you get quotes. It can be helpful to have another opinion on price, timeframes, and personalities. What's more, asking a family member or trusted friend to join you might help you feel less pressured to make a commitment on the spot.

When looking for contractors, you can ask your friends and relatives – even neighbours – if they'd had work done recently of a similar type and whether or not they'd recommend their professional to you.

This can help you in your search by speeding up the process if someone you trust has used someone who can do exactly what you need doing in your home.

Depending on the type of work you're having done, you may need different types of tradespeople involved in your project. Builders, plumbers, electricians, heating engineers, painters and decorators - they all come with their own skill sets and their own pricing strategies.

It's good to note that small vs large contractors will offer very different prices. Where possible, opt for the smaller companies as they won't have large overheads to recoup with their pricing, and will generally cost you less than the bigger national companies.

First things first, a written quote is an essential part of any job. You should never accept a verbal agreement as your binding terms when undertaking any work, let alone an expensive home renovation.

With a written quote, you have something firm to refer to if needs be, simply stating what is and isn't included in your quote, as well as for what fee and under what time frames.

Just like with a job interview, it's good to find out your contractor's experience, and whether or not they've built something like the structure you're wanting for your home extension. Even if you have a brilliant verbatim recommendation from a friend or neighbour, if the contractor isn't familiar with what you want, they mightn't be the best fit for you.

Similarly, anyone can write something that sounds good on a website - but the proof is in the finished project. Asking for photos or videos of the contractor's past work can further help to ensure you're getting exactly what you want from your trader.

You should finally always double-check your professional has insurance to cover both themselves and you in the event of any trouble while constructing. This will also help you sidestep any cowboy traders, as they likely won't bother with insurance and will get tetchy if you ask to see proof of it.

If the answer to your lack of space at home lies in an extension, here's our final checklist to make sure you've considered everything before embarking on your project.

Use HouseholdQuotes to find local builders and potentially save money on your home extension.