
Extension work can take many directions: above, below, beside, outside. Which solution is best? What are the consequences in terms of land, formalities, cost? Here’s a guide that takes into account everything that can help you think through and choose the best option for your home extension.
The formalities
If the formalities are both varied and restrictive, it is above all so that environmental, regional and aesthetic issues are respected, while protecting you from problems that could cost you much more than the application of these constraints.
Beyond the only building permits or prior declarations of work, you will therefore find the obligations in relation to your land, those in relation to your neighborhood, those in supporting your project or even thermal constraints. You have to choose the right home addition contractor Mountain View there.
If you are well supported in your project, which is still the best solution, whether by an architect, by a design office or by a builder, you can rely on the latter to provide you with the good advice and supports you in establishing your file.
In the event that you choose to carry out this work on your own, these tips will be invaluable. And, to make sure you don’t make a mistake and start immediately on a serious basis that will not be delayed by a refusal, you can start by contacting the town planning department on which your place of construction depends to find out about any obligations that you are responsible for, whether in terms of land use coefficient, soil study, tolerated construction height, plaster color, frame slope, roofing, distance from a road, a path, a neighbor, etc.
A well-prepared project is a faster project that costs you less
Work permits
Let’s start immediately with the simplest formula, the one which allows you to carry out your work without any action. The likelihood of such a case is very low, unless you only increase your current area by less than 5 m², and again, provided that the exterior appearance of your house is not altered in any way, either by creating an opening, a structural modification or a facelift.
But this will however be the case if the large children’s playroom becomes a parental suite or if you transform a bedroom into an office or vice versa, without acting on the exterior openings. Or, if you modify interior partitions to better distribute your rooms.
Prior declaration of work
- More certainly, you can expect, at a minimum, to have to submit a prior declaration of work.
- This declaration is necessary for a creation of a floor area between 5 and 20 m², and even up to 40 m² provided that the new total area is not more than 150 m².
- A declaration is also necessary if you create openings (doors or windows), that you change their appearance, if you modify the coverage or if you change the destination of a construction (business modified in housing, for example) without changing the load-bearing structure or facade.