The Art of the Extension

The last couple of years have been financially tight in New Zealand, and there is the ever present need to build more houses fast. As builders, it is tempting to fall into a mindset of maximum efficiency - as much is built, as quickly as possible at a minimum square meter rate. This is happening everywhere in the form of new housing developments. 

Thing is though, for most New Zealanders, their house isn’t just a number in a spreadsheet. It may be an investment, but it is primarily a home, where they painstakingly removed the old wallpaper, and their kids took their first steps. People love their houses and their histories, and the communities and schools in their areas. The problem is, families outgrow homes, and the need arises to move somewhere more practical. Or build an extension. 
The truth, if life was only ever about the path of least resistance and the bottom dollar, no-one would ever consider a major extension project. They’d buy a bigger home down the road for a fraction of the hassle. Where’s the fun in that though?
At SGB we love extending and renovating. It’s challenging but rewarding, a test of management and craft, which when done correctly, creates the eclectic character homes that make Wellington unique. 
This article is a case study into our recently completed project in Island Bay, which serves as a blueprint in how to run the extension renovation right. 

Planning

All the credit here goes to Hark Architects, and our great clients who set the project up for success. Extensions and renovations require pragmatism in the design phase. Antoni Gaudí was in his element when drafting genre-bending concepts for the Sagrada Família church, but I’m not sure we would want him to be providing the plans for the average extension in Wellington. When planning an extension with an architect, the devil is in the details. What is the existing building envelope and how will the new addition tie into it. How will the new roofline integrate at junctions with the existing. How much do we know about the structural integrity of the existing building or are we running off assumptions. If you are a homeowner who wants to be closely involved, go into your extension project with the knowledge that you’ll be getting into these nitty-gritty details at site meetings. 

Maximising Efficiency 

A new build goes up fast and is comparatively cheap because of efficiencies of scale. All the frames arrive in one go. All carpenters work as one to stand frames, with all the requisite tools and stations set up, pumping out one thing and one thing alone. Everyone has a clear set of directions, there are no surprises and very little on-the -job problem solving required. 

Renovations, and integrating extensions into existing houses, are a different proposition. Multiple different things happen at once, with plenty of problem solving and discussion between builders, architects and homeowners. The goal of the builder is to try to organise the renovation as close to the first model as possible, and work in broad phases. All the demolition is done at once. All the framing follows. All the cladding comes in, then all the windows and finally all the linings. This is easier said than done in the renovation game, as the builder must also weigh up higher levels of site security and protection of the existing house, unusual scheduling of subtrades and maintaining weather tightness. 

SGB was able to run a tight succession of phases on this project, as the homeowners understood and trusted the process. It can be stressful to see all the demolition done in one go. No-one really wants to see their beloved family home gutted out and held up by acro-props. Additionally, the renovation work on this project was extensive enough that there was never any consideration of the homeowners living on-site while work was undertaken. It is a subject that warrants its own article, but in a sentence, it doesn’t work. Yes, additional accommodation costs for a family during a renovation are an addition nobody really wants, but any savings will be lost in the inefficiencies having a family onsite creates. It makes it very difficult to work efficiently across the full site. It’s invariably miserable for homeowners as well.   

Management

A new build deals in large quantities of materials and tradesmen. A renovation deals in problem solving. A sizable extension often combines the challenges of both. Therefore, management must be seamless. As mentioned previously, a good architect can be the bedrock for this, but the builder and homeowner are also key parts of the equation. It would be almost unheard of for the architectural plans to have every detail 100% correct from the outset. New information becomes revealed as walls and ceilings are opened. The builder needs to foresee issues before they arise, bring them to the architect, engineer or designer’s attention, who then agree on solutions with the homeowner. Experienced renovation builders can read between the lines and work pre-emptively. This could be anything from double checking that the stud spacings specified are correct for the wind zone, to recognising that the neighbours need to be prepared for a particularly noisy portion of upcoming work.   

The Payoff

Building a well-designed, well-costed, well-planned and well-executed extension on an existing home is no easy task. It is however extremely rewarding. We’ve seen homeowner’s reactions after they’ve seen the first coat of paint go onto their new build, and we’ve seen the reaction when the first coat goes on in a renovated and extended home. We’re not sure why, but the latter always seems to generate more excitement. Maybe it’s the completion of a vision that the homeowners have had for years, or the knowledge that for the next few years all their friends and family will be repeating ‘I love what you’ve done with the place’ each time they come through. There’s something very compelling about upcycling and improving rather than ditching and replacing. Christmas is only a few weeks away, which was the deadline for our Island Bay renovation, so that the homeowners could have a big barbeque on the new deck. It’s great to be part of a project where you can physically see a house expand to meet new requirements while still remaining the family home.