Did you know that on average people go £7,765 over budget when extending their home? For most people, this is a major inconvenience and can even lead to shortcomings with the project – not something you want when trying to improve your home.

There are a range of common reasons why home extensions can often run over budget, however that doesn’t have to be the case. In today’s post we’ll be running through the reasons as to why it happens and how we can help you to avoid it all!

1. Unclear Goals or Ideas Conveyed

Problem: When extending your home you’ll need to work with someone who has the expertise to create safe and beautiful extensions. Whilst it’s great – and essential – to have an experienced team to work with, there’s one problem that can sometimes arise: communication. It’s so important that you convey your ideas and goals fully and make sure that the team you’re working with truly understand what you want from the project.

Otherwise, they may underprepare and need to spend more than your orginially planned and quoted budget.

Fix: The best way to set out a clear vision so that both parties understand what the final outcome should look like is to create your own initial designs. Just head over to the hup! extension configurator and you can design your very own extension online, giving both you and us a clear representation of the final product so that quote can be accurate and stuck to!

2. Unexpected Material Costs

Problem: The combined effects of recovering from covid-19 and the supply chain disruption caused by Brexit has led to shortages and volatility in material prices. When undertaking a traditional home extension, this could cause unexpected increases in cost as materials originally planned for use may no longer be available or may suddenly become more expensive to source.

Fix: At Alpha Home Improvements, we can help you to minimise and even avoid the uncertainty around the build and materials for your extension project. Using the latest Ultrapanel technology, hup! extensions are pre-manufactured to the required specifications, so that it’s hassle free by the time it arrives onsite. No more sourcing materials or waiting for deliveries!

3. Delays

Problem: Home extensions are by nature complex projects that require a lot of planning, however sometimes there are unforeseen events that cause delays and there might not be anything you can do about it. Whether it’s delivery of materials as mentioned above, delays in the schedule of the company you’re working with, or poor weather conditions that prevent brick laying, there are many ways a home extension project can be delayed unexpectedly.

Fix: Choose the hup! system which is easily your fastest, most reliable option when it comes to a home extension. The pre-fabricated walls can be installed 5x faster than other extensions, with walls and roofs being connected in just minutes. Thanks to the innovative design, your hup! extension can also be installed in all weather conditions, avoiding the risk of delays from weather, unexpected delivery issues, or significant delays from your building company.

4. Untrustworthy Builders / Company

Problem: There’s virtually endless competition to choose from when selecting a company to work with for your project, and with that comes the risk of low quality work and unreliable prices. With such an array of offerings and prices, it’s easy to get muddled and choose one simply because they’re the cheapest, or the nearest, or responded to you first. However, an unreliable company that you haven’t researched effectively could mis-quote you just to get you in the door.

Fix: It’s essential that in this competitive market, you still carry out your research properly and verify that the company you choose are capable of completing high quality work consistently, at the prices they quote for. Read reviews and testimonials from other customers, check third-party websites, and carefully examine previous work to get a strong idea of what you can expect for your home extension.

Extending your home is a big project that requires a lot of serious consideration and should be undertaken carefully, otherwise you run the risk of going over budget – something which you may not be able to afford or may disrupt other plans you have.

By following the fixes suggested, we are absolutely confident that we can create a beautiful, sustainable, and accurately quoted home extension for you that minimises the risk of spending more than you had planned. Simply go to our hup! extensions section to learn more and configure your very own home extension online today!