How to choose the right extension for your home

An extension is one of the best ways to add space and value without moving. The right type depends on your plot, your budget and how you want to use the room.

Start with how you want to live

Before thinking about shapes and sizes, think about what isn’t working. Is the kitchen too small to eat in? Do you need a downstairs bedroom, an office, or simply more light? The answer points you towards the right kind of extension.

The main types of extension

Rear extensions

The most common choice. A single-storey rear extension usually creates a larger open-plan kitchen, dining and living space that opens onto the garden.

Side-return extensions

Common on terraced and semi-detached homes, these fill the narrow strip beside the house to widen a kitchen or hallway.

Wraparound extensions

A combination of rear and side-return that wraps around the corner of the house, giving the biggest gain in ground-floor space.

Double-storey extensions

Building up as well as out adds bedrooms or bathrooms upstairs for not much more than the cost of the foundations and roof you’d need anyway.

Matching the existing house

The best extensions look like they’ve always been there. Here in West Yorkshire that usually means sourcing stone or brick that matches in colour and texture, and roof tiles that weather the same way.

The best extensions look like they’ve always been part of the house.

Planning permission and building regulations

Some extensions can be built under permitted development, while others need full planning permission. Almost all need building regulations approval. Rules vary by property, so check with your local planning authority or ask us during your site visit.