House Extension Trends in Ireland for 2018

What is the work neighbours are actually getting done? Read on and we'll show you just some of the house extension types trending across Ireland.

House prices continue to soar, and rental yields are astronomical - so it makes sense that the volume of house extensions continues to grow as homeowners decide to bed in and make the most of what they have. At Onlinetradesmen we've seen continued double-digit growth in home extension projects across the country into 2018. But just what types of house extensions are trending in Ireland?

Here are some of the more common house extension types in 2018:

The single-storey kitchen extension

The bread and butter of extensions, this one accounts for the biggest percentage of all extensions across the country. Often called the 'square' extension, it usually involves an addition to the existing kitchen area and normally comes in below the planning permission threshold (less than 40 sq Meters see here for more details). Most builders will have a template design for this but variations will include the size, the type of roof chosen, and insulation among other variables. It's a relatively inexpensive addition and one that will add value to your home - not to mention reduce arguments at the dinner table!

Get quotes from qualified and rated builders here - It's free!

The sunroom extension

Who doesn't want to spend more time relaxing in the sun? Unfortunately, we're not exactly over-endowed in that area in Ireland, with whatever sunshine we get being somewhat diluted by the prevailing chill factor. Adding a sunroom to your home, however, can seriously remedy this - allowing you to get the benefit of whatever heat the Irish sun is emitting while sheltering from the cold Irish wind. In 2018 we see lots of homeowners planning for sunroom extensions, particularly those which overlook a nice garden setting. 

Things to consider for adding a sunroom include the size (think of the planning permission restrictions), and its aspect relative to the sun to determine how much sunlight it will actually receive, in addition to how it will connect to your existing house.

Remember that in cold weather, no matter how energy efficient the glass used in the sunroom may be, sunrooms will leak heat from the home. For that reason, consideration needs to be given to the type of connecting doors used to attach the sunroom to your home to ensure the rest of the house stays cosy. You should also consider adding a radiator or alternative heat source to the sunroom to maximise your enjoyment of it. You can get a free quote for your sunroom extension here.

Outdoor Rooms

Call it the man shed or something else, but at Onlinetradesmen HQ we've seen a slight increase in the number of outdoor rooms getting installed in people's homes through to 2018. And some of them are spectacular!

The trend here is for many of these rooms to be used as home offices or guest rooms. Again planning permission considerations apply here depending on the size of the structure and you will also need to consider hooking up services such as plumbing and electrics. It's worth getting a quote here if you have some sort of an idea of what you would like - Definitely one trend to watch in 2018!

The Over Garage Extension

If you can't go out, you can always go up! This one is hugely popular on houses of a certain age - typically 1960s to 1980s - where a garage was built to the side of a house structure. As such they are just crying out for an extra bedroom or similar to be added on top!

Considerations for this include the existing structure (whether it can be modified to take the additional weight of the new addition), the pitch of your existing roof and how the new extension could be incorporated sympathetically into it. Thought also needs to go into the planning permission element, as even if it is below 40 square meters in size, it may well affect your neighbours and as such will need permission.

For this one, it is always key to get the suitability of the site and structure checked by a suitable builder, architect or structural engineer before you plough in! You can get a free quote here.

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