Building upwards
 

As we can not afford the kind of house we would like and stay in the area we of Sydney we want, compromises will have to be made or alternatives considered.

One alternative is to buy a single level house with view to adding another level.

I've seen many posts on people who are building from scratch, but that is too big a project to do. Have anybody got experience of building upwards? What to watch out for?

Thoughts so far: cost of rearranging house layout so it still flows well (versus buying a house built to be 2 levels) , keeping day rooms ground floor/bedrooms upstairs, avoiding stuck on box look, plannning consent considerations.

Any thoughts???

Re: Building upwards
 

We jacked up a few homes (built a level under them).

You need to consult qualified expert and review costs and council approval.

Re: Building upwards
 

There's barely a semi near me (Coogee, Clovelly) that hasn't had a second storey added to it. It would be the main type of extension around here and there wouldn't be many builders who haven't done one.

Some of them look fantastic but some are truly ghastly. What I would do is find one that looks good, knock on the door and ask who their architect was.

Re: Building upwards
 

Depending on what the view is like, maybe better going with the day rooms upstairs and bedrooms down. That is what we would do if we put a second level in. More likely to get breezes through during the day and nicer views.

Just a thought.

Re: Building upwards
 

Cheaper to build new than extend.

On the other hand, unfortunately new houses are usually away from the CBD.

WW