Renovation Costs – How Much does a Renovation or House Extension Cost?

By Nexus inspirations • News • Renovations 0 Comments

At Nexus Homes Group, we’re constantly helping Perth homeowners with their project enquiries. One of the most common questions we receive is ‘how much does a house extension cost?’.

This question is impossible to answer without any context. As a result, we’ve created this article to clear a few things up and help you more accurately budget for a home project.

However, whether you’re budgeting for a home renovation or extension – or both, it’s always better to seek help from an expert.

Why undertake a house renovation or extension?

All too often Perth homeowners find themselves living within a home that isn’t designed for their needs. Your home may be too small or just designed poorly, leaving you frustrated at its lack of functionality.

A house renovation or extension is often the best solution to fix all these problems. Renovations and extensions allow you to reinvent your lifestyle and to pick and choose exactly what you need. You may like rooms moved, rooms added, spaces opened up, or just a house that looks amazing.

The only alternatives to a full home renovation and extension are to demolish the house and rebuild or to move out and buy elsewhere. When buying an existing home, you’ll realise no house is exactly as you’d like it. Moving is more expensive too. With costs including real estate agent fees, marketing your home, preparing your home for viewing, conveyancing, and moving costs.

Demolishing and rebuilding gives you the most control, but the cost will be massive as will the time required. For these reasons, if you’re happy with your suburb and property, a renovation and extension is the ideal project.

 

How much does a home renovation cost?

According to data from the Housing Industry Association, around 50% of renovations in Australia cost between $40,000 and $300,000. If you’re looking at minor cosmetic renovations for a room or two, then you can expect a low cost. If you require structural renovations, an extension to the home, or a full house makeover, the costs are likely to be between $250,000 and $350,000.

The exact cost of a home renovation is impossible to ascertain, even with a detailed plan for each room. Closely estimating just the structural home renovation cost requires knowing a number of things:

  • The size of the rooms and any layout changes required.
  • The ideal materials wanted for everything. Floors, walls, roof, doors, fixtures, furniture, and more.
  • Furnishings required for every room and the replacement of any appliances.
  • Electrical needs – lighting, power points, fans, etc.
  • Plumbing and gas needs.
  • Any external needs.

The overall complexity of the project will play a huge role in the home renovation cost. For example, renovating a kitchen alone usually starts around $50,000-$60,000.

Additional home renovation costs to consider

The cost of a home renovation may also be influenced by the following:

  • Hiring tradespeople – for example an engineer, designer, electrician, plumber, builder. At Nexus, we have access to most contractors in-house.
  • Potential council fees depending on the changes.
  • Costs for deliveries, storage, and skip bins if needed.
  • Heating and air conditioning needs.
  • Unforeseen site issues.

You can’t predict the cost of everything on your own, so we encourage you to get in touch with our renovation and extension experts. We help by understanding your needs and devising the best plan going forward.

 

 

How much does a house extension cost?

Determining a price estimate when looking exclusively at home extension costs is equally hard to finalise. Major contributing factors to the price of a home extension are:

  • The required number of rooms.
  • The room shapes and sizes.
  • Type of extension – extending the ground floor or adding another storey.
  • Quality of building materials and fixtures.

If you’re undertaking a house extension, it’s important to think ahead for the future. It’s far less efficient and more costly to extend your house by one room and then again the following year. Plan for growth and try to imagine your family’s needs in the years to come.

All things considered; a house extension usually costs between $250,000 and $350,000, but can be much more depending on the scope.

Additional house extension costs to consider

The house extension cost may also be influenced by the following:

  • Extension process – modular extension or on-site construction.
  • Any structural insufficiencies or foundational work required.
  • Additional renovations to existing rooms.
  • Potential council fees and approvals required.
  • Costs for deliveries, storage, and skip bins if needed.
  • Unforeseen site issues.

Again, it’s near impossible to estimate a house extension on your own merit. The best first step is to contact our home extension specialists and share your project plans. We can assist with budgeting to meet the needs of your family.

Determining if a house extension is worth the cost

If your small, ill-equipped home can be entirely transformed to solve issues with limited space, the result is lifechanging. In many cases, the decision to change your living environment is a given. Then the question is whether to renovate and extend, move out, or demolish and rebuild.

As mentioned above, renovating, and extending is almost always more affordable and gives you more control. What’s more, any beneficial changes made to your property will increase its resale value, so you’ll recoup some of the costs.

If you’re sold on the idea of a house extension, what type of extension and which process is right for you? Check out our comparison of second storey additions and ground floor extensions for more information.

Modular home extensions

Modular home extensions are a popular project type to reduce the house extension cost. Given the bulk of construction work is completed off-site, there are far less time delays and disruptions for your family. These benefits coupled with seamless design and construction methods mean modular house extensions are often more affordable.

For a detailed breakdown of the modular construction process and a summary of benefits, see this article.

Obtaining a house extension cost estimate in Perth

We’ve provided first-class home renovations and extensions for over a decade and have an outstanding reputation in Perth’s western suburbs. If you’re planning renovations or seeking a house extension cost, get in touch with Nexus Homes today to discuss your project. We’ll do our best to provide a realistic cost estimate based on your requirements.