Extension

Many extensions need some form of approval under current Building Regulations – but some don’t. We’ll take care of the entire process. We’ll send an experienced surveyor out to your home to go through, check and discuss any relevant details. We’ll also arrange for the Building Regulations by working with the local authority.

Recently due to advancements in construction and design, the clear differences between the three types of living spaces have blurred. Traditionally, a conservatory would predominantly be glass. We’re talking glass walls and a glass roof. However, it is possible to have a tiled roof conservatory or to introduce some dwarf walls to aid insulation.

Conservatories also have a reputation for being too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter. Thanks to glazing options improving, glass panes can feature coatings and coverings to ensure the room is at an ideal temperature all year round.

The main feature of a sunroom is its pillars. These can be either brick or aluminium and add a little extra privacy over a full-glass wall conservatory. Sunrooms also tend to feature a pelmet around the roof, which helps to insulate the room.

On the other hand, an extension is purposefully designed to mirror the look and feel of your home. It will largely be brick and generally (but not always) is finished off with a solid roof. Modern extensions can feature full-length glass panels and Velux windows to aid ventilation.

If you still need some guidance, speak to a Balhousie advisor and we’ll be happy to design something that’s uniquely yours.

We know that the weather in Scotland is a little more harsh than elsewhere in the UK and we’ve chosen our suppliers and products with that in mind. All our conservatory/sunroom products are designed and manufactured to be comfortable all year round.

Thankfully the days of polycarbonate roofing are gone. Solar-controlled glazing options have made a real difference and help to regulate the temperature of your conservatory/sunroom. If you’re still concerned, we would recommend going for a tiled roof.

An extension or addition to your house is considered to be permitted development, not requiring an application for planning permission, subject to certain conditions are met, typically these are:

• The ground area covered by the extension and any other buildings within the boundary of the property, excluding the original house, is not more than half the total area of the property.
• Any part of the extension is not higher than the highest part of the roof of the existing house.
• The eaves of the extension are not higher than the eaves of the existing house.
• Any part of the extension does not extend beyond any wall facing a road if it forms the principal or side elevation of the original house.
• The eaves are no more than 3 metres in height if any part of the extension is within 2 metres of the property boundary.
• The materials used in exterior work, except in the case of a conservatory, are of similar appearance to the existing house.
• An upper floor window on a side elevation within 15 metres of a boundary with another house is obscure glazed; and is non – opening unless the parts which can be opened are more than 1.7 metres above the floor of the room in which the window is installed.
• A side extension does not exceed 4 metres in height or be wider than half the width of the original house.

In a single storey extension:

• the extension does not extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by more than 4 metres for a detached house or 3 metres for any other type of house;
• the height of the extension does not exceed 4 metres;
• no part of the extension is within 3.5 metres of any property boundary with a road opposite the rear wall of the house.

In an extension with more than one storey:

• the extension does not extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by more than 3 metres;
• no part of the extension is within 7 metres of the property boundary opposite the rear wall of the house;
• the roof pitch of the enlargement is as far as practicable the same as that of the original house.

If you live in a house within a conservation area, World Heritage Site, area of outstanding natural beauty or National Park:

• no part of the exterior of the house is clad with stone, artificial stone, pebbledash, render, timber, plastic or tiles;
• the extension is not more than 1 storey or 4 metres in height;
• no part of the extension extends beyond a principal or side elevation of the original house