A home extension is one of the best ways to expand your living space, boost natural light, and increase property value.
Benefits of a Home Extension
- Add 10–25% to your home’s market value
- Create a custom space to suit your lifestyle
- Stay in your current home and area
- Improve energy efficiency and modernise layouts
Types of Extensions
1. Rear Extensions
Ideal for kitchens, dining or open-plan living. A Rear Extension is one of the most popular type of extensions in UK. It expands your home at ground level at the rear giving you valuable extra space in the most effective ways of creating that seamless open indoor-to-outdoor living that we enjoy so much. From modern glazed designs to traditional brick-built additions, the options are endless.
2. Side Return Extensions
Make use of narrow alleyways in period homes. Make use of underused space beside your home, often in Victorian, Edwardian, and 1930s terraced or semi-detached houses — especially where a side alley or passage exists.
A side return extension is built along the side and rear of a property without extending too far into the garden, often occupying the narrow space between two neighbouring houses. Many period properties feature an alleyway here, which is frequently underused or used for storing rubbish. A side return extension makes the most of this overlooked space by expanding the ground floor, providing extra room without requiring a large footprint. This makes it a popular choice for homeowners with smaller gardens who want additional space and improved functionality.
3. Wrap-Around Extensions
Combine rear and side for maximum space. A wrap-around extension combines a side return and a rear extension into one larger, L-shaped structure. This design maximises space on both the side and rear of your home, creating a significantly bigger and more flexible open-plan living area.
Wrap-around extensions are ideal if you want to create a spacious kitchen-diner, living area or add utility rooms; essentially a full reconfiguration of your ground floor.
Both side return and wrap-around extensions offer flexibility in roof design, allowing you to choose from various styles to suit your home’s character and your preferences.
4. Double Storey Extensions
Expand upwards and outwards. A double-storey extension adds extra space to your home by building upwards and outwards, typically adding a full additional floor above the ground floor. This type of extension is perfect for growing families who need more bedrooms, bathrooms or living areas without sacrificing garden space.
Double-storey extensions blend seamlessly with your existing property, enhancing both functionality and value. They offer the flexibility to create spacious new rooms, such as larger master bedrooms, ensuite bathrooms, or home offices, while maintaining the footprint of your original home.
By extending both the ground and first floors, you can significantly increase your living space and enhance your home’s functionality; all within the existing footprint.
5. Porch Extensions
Boost kerb appeal and create useful entrance space. A porch extension is a simple yet effective way to enhance your home’s entrance, boost kerb appeal, and add practical space for everyday use. The majority of porch extensions in the UK fall under Permitted Development Rights, making the process straightforward and hassle-free.
Roof Options
1. Pitched Roofs
Classic, adds height and character. The pitched roof is a classic design for many reasons. It allows rainwater to flow easily off the structure, preventing leaks and dampness and it usually blends in well with the structure of the existing building too. This can be improved by using the same or similar materials as the original structure and keeping the pitch of the roof similar too. It adds a lot of indoor height, creating an architectural feature for your extension that can be enhanced with glazing, wooden beams, and rafters, or even left to create a sense of exceptional spaciousness.
These pitched roof extensions can be easily improved with skylights to help angle more light into your extension and can even be set against a flat roof to create interesting angled interiors. Because they tend to fit in so well with existing structures, pitched roof extensions are usually easier to get building permissions for, if required. These roof options do have their downside, however, as they tend to take longer to build, they require more labour and expertise and are more expensive as a result.
2. Gabled Roofs
Stylish triangular frontage. The gabled roof extension option is a popular type of pitched roof design with a triangular frontage, offering all the same benefits with a slightly different architectural feel. Gabled roofing is a great choice for homes that have classic or contemporary architecture, where gables are already in the original design, or for larger homes where you want an impressive frontage.
Like other pitched roofs, gabled roof extensions allow rain or snow to drain freely, are easier in terms of planning permission, and carry a higher cost because of the labour and expertise involved in the project. You can fully glaze the gabled end to let in even more light and create a striking architectural element, leave it open and vaulted for interior drama and spaciousness, or fill it with beams and rafters for rustic appeal.
3. Flat Roofs
Modern, cost-effective, great for skylights. Flat roof extensions have become very popular in UK because they are more economical and faster to build, add a contemporary twist to a property, and allow you to bring a lot of natural light into the space.
They look elegant and striking against modern and classic architectural styles, blending old and new to add function and open living space to every type of home. They are especially popular on terrace homes, as they are low profile and don’t intrude on the view. You can get creative with a flat roof extension, such as using large-scale glazing for a view of the stars, and more.
4. Crown Roofs
Blend period aesthetics with modern function. A crown roof (also called a crown flat roof or raised flat roof) is a design where a flat or near-flat central section is surrounded by sloping pitched roof sections on all sides. From above, it looks a bit like a crown: the outer slopes frame the flat centre.
For example, if you want some of the volume of a pitched roof but cannot extend above a certain height, your roof can combine pitched sides with a flat centre roof to create a crown roof to achieve this. Another good reason to use a crown roof is to get that internal height but prevent your pitched roof from blocking second storey windows or views.
Well suited to period properties, such as Victorian, Edwardian, and 1930s houses, where you want the extension to blend with existing rooflines but avoid overshadowing windows or garden space.
Popular questions
Do I need full planning permission for a house extension?
Many single-storey extensions fall under Permitted Development Rights. Larger projects often need planning approval.
How long does it take to build a house extension?
Anywhere from 8 to 20+ weeks depending on design and size.
Will an extension add value to my property?
Yes, a well-designed extension can increase value by 10–25%.