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Service in the media

Extensions & Renovations

Home renovations and extensions offer significant opportunities to improve your everyday experience, both functionally and aesthetically. They allow you to express your personal style by creating your ideal environment while adding additional space or efficiency to your routine.

Discover below how to ensure the most successful and impactful result when planning your next reno or house extension.

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Overview

  • Why renovate or extend your house?
  • Common types of house renovations
  • Common types of house extensions
  • Are renovations and extensions worth it?
  • What adds the most value to a home renovation?
  • Who should I hire for a renovation or extension?
  • How much does a renovation cost?
  • Is renovating cheaper than building?
  • Renovation vs extension
  • How to choose the right tradesperson for my extension or renovation
  • Does my renovator need to be licensed?
  • Questions to ask your builder or tradie

modern kitchen dining

Why renovate or extend your house?

There are an almost endless number of benefits to completing home extensions and renovations, depending on your individual goals, lifestyle, and circumstances.

The reasons you may renovate your home include:

  • Enhancing the appearance of an outdated design
  • Saving on long-term maintenance/repair costs of faulty aspects of your house
  • Changing the layout to better suit your lifestyle or increase storage space
  • Making environmentally-friendly upgrades
  • Fixing safety issues

The advantages of a home extension include:

  • Accommodating the needs of your family as it grows
  • Creating more spaces for privacy for teenagers or guests
  • Avoiding the stress, time, and cost of moving house to upsize

Home renovations and extensions can also both be profitable ways to increase the value of your home when it comes time to sell. But keep in mind, making these changes purely based on current trends and the desire to boost the sale price can result in a house that doesn’t actually feel like your personal space. So, make sure these upgrades still create an atmosphere that brings you joy and comfort.

internal renovations

Common Types of House Renovations

House renovations can be as simple or extensive as you like, depending on how significant you’re aiming the end result to be.

Some tasks are easy enough to DIY if you consider yourself handy, for example a fresh coat of paint or replacing cabinet doors.

Other house renovation ideas will need professional help, such as:

  • Plastering
  • Tiling
  • Replacing flooring
  • Changing the structural layout
  • Installing new appliances (e.g. dishwasher, air conditioner, toilet)
  • Adding insulation or solar panels
  • Glazing windows
  • Moving or adding windows, skylights, or doors
  • Moving or installing new plumbing outlets and taps
  • Moving or installing new electrical outlets, light switches, and lighting fixtures
  • Complete bathroom renovations
  • Complete kitchen renovations
  • Complete laundry renovations
  • Demolition work

scaffolding outside house extension

Common Types of House Extensions

House extensions are another type of home upgrade that can elevate your property’s potential. While renovations involve improving your existing space, extensions offer a way to increase the total amount of usable area in or around your home.

Popular ideas for house extensions include:

  • Single-storey rear extensions
  • Double-storey rear extensions
  • Side return extensions
  • Wrap-around extensions
  • Conservatory/orangery extensions
  • Garden room
  • Front porch extensions
  • Loft conversion
  • Bay window extensions
  • Mudroom extensions
  • Carport/garage
  • Granny flat

construction worker

Are renovations and extensions worth it?

If you’re wondering “Is a renovation or house extension really worth it?”, you’ll need to consider your individual living situation. 

These types of home improvements are normally a very worthwhile investment for homeowners, especially if you love your current location and just wish to accommodate the needs of a growing family or improve the appearance and function of your space, which can increase its overall value.

It can be a better economic choice than having to cover the costs and time to relocate, but this will depend on the current market. So, take this into consideration when deciding if a renovation or extension is the best option for you, or if you may be better off buying a new home to meet your needs if they extend far beyond what your current home can offer.

two people in hardhats with timber

What adds the most value to a home renovation?

While there are endless ways to renovate your house, there are a handful of tasks that will have the greatest impact on improving your living experience and increasing the selling price of your property.

These include:

  • Kitchen renovation: Add an island bench, plus new fixtures and appliances.
  • Bathroom renovation: Create a retreat-style space with premium fixtures and finishes.
  • Enhancing your home’s curb appeal: Paint or replace your front/garage door and fence, and invest in garden maintenance or landscaping.
  • Outdoor area: Add or upgrade your patio or deck to be an inviting space to entertain.
  • Paint and style your home in a neutral colour scheme to appeal to a wider variety of people and make the space appear larger.
  • Replace worn-out flooring.
  • Upgrade your lighting fixtures throughout the home and use warm LED bulbs to enhance the ambience.
  • Replace outdated curtains with affordable and appealing roller blinds.

people laying concrete

Who should I hire for a renovation or extension?

For extensions or larger and more complex renovations, it’s best to hire a licensed builder to organise construction and tradespeople. 

For more specific individual tasks, you can hire licensed specialists in each field, for example, a painter, tiler, cabinetmaker/carpenter, or landscaper.

timber planks and tools

How much does a renovation cost?

Determining how much a renovation or house extension costs will depend on the extent of the upgrades you’re choosing.

An average small house extension can cost $20,000, up to $300,000 for something much larger and more complex.

A basic bathroom renovation can be as little as $5,000, while an extensive kitchen renovation may be approximately $45,000.

Check out our extension and house renovation cost guides for more detailed price estimates.

pool and garden with two-storey house

Renovation vs Extension

When deciding whether a renovation or extension is best for you, consider the purpose and your living needs.

A renovation will be most beneficial if you already have enough space, but just want to improve your home’s aesthetics or functional layout.

On the other hand, an extension such as an additional bedroom or carport will increase the usable physical space of your property, avoiding the need to upgrade to a bigger house if your family or needs have grown.

two chairs on timber deck

How to choose the right tradesperson for my extension or renovation

Regardless of whether you need a licensed builder for a considerable home upgrade or just a single tradesperson for a quick job, the right person will be one that can reliably complete the work within your budget.

Here’s how to find the best tradie for your extension or renovation:

1. Get multiple quotes from Service.com.au

Enter your job requirements on Service.com.au, and we'll provide you with details of local tradespeople who can help complete your work.

2. Narrow down your search using our three-tier badge system

Service.com.au uses a unique three-tier badge system to help you make the right choice.

We recommend that you choose a tradesperson with the highest level (badge 3 – ‘recommended’) of our three-step verification process.

Badge levels are as follows:

  1. Verified
  2. Trusted
  3. Recommended

3. Check out their online presence

Once you’ve narrowed down your choices, take a look at businesses' online presence to get an idea of their reputation and service offering.

View their website and social media pages to read customer reviews and get a clear understanding of their skills and commitment to quality work.

man cutting timber

Does my renovator need to be licensed?

As mentioned previously, the extent of the renovation or extension work will determine which type of tradesperson you need for the job. 

For something as simple as a coat of paint over your existing cabinetry, a handyman will be able to do work under a certain dollar value without a licence.

In contrast, if you’re hiring a builder, they will need to be licensed according to your state or territory’s requirements.

Either way, it’s also important to do your due diligence when researching the right person for the job by making sure they have positive reviews and examples of their past work.

electric screwdriver

Questions to Ask Your Builder or Tradie

Any builder or tradesperson you hire for your house extension or renovation will offer different specialised skills, quality of service, costs, and final deliverables to their competitors. To choose the most suitable person for your tasks, you can ask the following questions:

1. Do you have a licence?

As stated above, some tradespeople will require a license for certain tasks while others won’t. Check the website of the relevant regulatory body in each state or territory.

2. Do you guarantee your work?

Ask about the tradesperson’s policy should they complete the work and it doesn't meet the initial specifications or if the outcome isn't as promised. If the business doesn't guarantee their work, you may find yourself having to pay more for repair or amendments down the track.

3. Do you have insurance?

If your tradesperson is uninsured and there's an incident at your property, you may not be covered for the damages. Always check if your tradie has adequate insurance and the value of their policy before they begin work at your home. As a customer, you're entitled to view insurance documents before going ahead.

4. Can you show references?

A reputable tradie will always be willing to provide testimonials, references, and examples of previous work. If they're unable to provide these, you may be better off hiring another business.

5. What is your clean-up policy?

Extensions and renovations can be quite messy. Be sure to find out the extent to which your tradesperson will clean up after the job is done.

6. What are your terms of payment?

Most businesses have access to portable EFTPOS devices, but it's always best to understand payment expectations from the beginning. You may need to pay a deposit upfront, have access to cash, or the tradie will simply provide an invoice.

This should provide a good starting point to find the right local tradesperson for your upcoming renovation or extension to maximise the full potential of your home.

Get free quotes in minutes.

Get quotes from our qualified and licensed tradies Australia-wide.

*All the costs quoted were sourced at the time this article was written. They are to be used as an AUD cost guide and may vary locally, and are subject to market changes.

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