Double Story House Extensions London

If you have a growing family or are outgrowing the space and you don’t want to move to a new house – a double story rear extension may be what you need to gain the extra square footage you crave. Whether you want to add an extra bedroom, build a large open plan kitchen-diner or create a much-needed study, a double story extension offers flexible space for you and your family. You don’t even need a whole house to be able to achieve extra space with a double story extension. Elliot and Laura from North London opted to add a double-storey rear extension to their one-bed duplex flat. In ten weeks, we transformed their modest one bed flat into a two-bed apartment. During the build, we added a new kitchen diner and bathroom as well as a new second bedroom that connected to the garden with bi-folding doors. To ensure that the new kitchen diner on the second floor was not dark and pokey we installed a skylight that let in plenty of natural light – giving this space a welcoming and airy feel. Double-storey extensions can, in some cases, be more cost effective that just adding to the ground floor and a new bathroom or bedroom can dramatically increase a house value, so it is always worth considering.

It is very straightforward to maximise a Victorian Terraced house, typical London stock, with a two storey extension. These are particularly ideal for a narrow plot. However, neighbours may, rightly, contest plans for a two storey extension on the grounds of right to light. However, there are ways around this by building the 2nd storey walls well clear of the boundry. Another type of double storey extension is a gable end extension. A gable end also creates a better looking roofline (opposed to a square box) but still offers lots of interior space. Overall a double storey extension generally needs to contrast sharply to the existing building (such as a glazed extension or one clad in a material such as zinc or wood) or it needs to blend seamlessly with your existing house. Using a contempory material to clad your extension can make a beautiful statement. Cladding materials such as timber or zinc or even tiles can give a contempory edge to your new addition.