We’re Your Specialists in Home Developments and Improvements, not Just Your “General Builder”!

In today’s economic climate, with property prices continuing on a downward slide, more and more home owners are choosing to make the most of their family home by extending and improving. This prevents the need to move, not only making your home a more pleasant place to live in but, if designed and built properly, adding value to the property even in a downturn.

Here are Marble Construction’s top 5 tips to help beat the need to move and still add value to your home:

Installing an en suite, Shower Room or Bathroom

If your house has three or more existing bedrooms, a good option is to install an en-suite shower room off the master bedroom. This can be done by building up a stud wall or, if the space allows, stealing some of the existing landing space on the first floor. You could look at using a quadrant shower tray to fit into a corner of the room or another option is to use small toilets and sinks to save valuable floor space. We would carry out a feasibility survey to come up with some creative design solutions, working around even the tightest of spaces.

The Cost: A new en-suite shower room will cost approximately £2,500 to £3,500 including VAT, depending on how involved you are willing to get. If you are a competent DIYer costs can be kept down by doing the flooring, tiling and/or painting yourself. 1st and 2nd fix plumbing and electrics in en-suites are better off left to Marble Construction. This way you are provided with the adequate paper work (Part P Certification) which you would need when selling the property in the future.

If you have a carefully planned budget, which Marble Construction will provide you with, an en-suite can add up to 5% to the value of your home.

Converting the loft Space

Loft Conversions are one of the most cost effective ways to add space to a home, especially if you can convert this space into a master bedroom and an en-suite shower room or bathroom. You will need to have at least 2.2 metres of headroom in your loft to make the space comply with building regulations. However, our surveyor at Marble Construction has the ability to make some of the tighter spaces evolve into bright new rooms, using clever designs and complex floor structures to maximise the finished floor head height.

Many big loft companies promote a minimum head height of 2.2 metres because of their factory run systems and plans. Most of the big companies’ contractors are restricted to building in one standard way so that hey can complete a job as quickly and as simply as possible . This often means customers lose more head height than necessary and do not get the unique and individualised design that Marble Construction can offer. Marble Construction will take care of all your plans and designs and will listen to your thoughts and ideas to deliver you a superb, high quality space that is built to a timeframe that suits you.

The Cost: A loft conversion which combines an additional bedroom with an en-suite shower room can add between £45,000* and £85,000* to the value of your property.
(*Dependent on the property’s location)

Extending the kitchen

Open plan Kitchen/Diners or Family Rooms remain in vogue and the more space to entertain friends, the better. Changes in Council regulations introduced in October 2008 mean building an extension is now much easier. The new regulations state that every property (with the exception of flats, conservation areas and 2nd grade listed buildings) is allowed to be extended,  although the extent of which depends on the type of property.

Without planning permission, terraced and semi detached properties are now allowed to be extended by the full width of the property and up to 3 metres outwards, with detached properties being allowed to be extended by up to 4 metres outwards. All properties are allowed to be built up to 3 metres high with a flat roof and up to 4 metres high with a vaulted roof or pitched roof.

This gives you a great opportunity to design and create a huge extended area that doesn’t lack space or height.

The Cost: Prices start at around £25,000 to £50,000 including VAT.

Marble Construction has completed double storey side extensions worth well over £100,000. The cost will depend on the design, usability and impression you are trying to achieve from your extension.

Social, spacious Kitchen and Dining areas are in big demand so converting a small kitchen space in to a large socialising area will be of benefit to you and your family.

To help with your extension decisions, you could ask for some advice from your local estate agent who should be able to help you; alternatively please contact us as we have local knowledge in the London and Surrey areas and can give you practical advice on what you could potentially be allowed by your local council.

Converting the Garage

Turning your unused Garage into a Playroom, Study, Utility Room, extra Bedroom or Games Room is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to improve your house.

For example, if you have a double garage you can convert half of it, the benefit being that the structure is already there. Then all that is needed is some heating, insulation, a window to match the property, some plastering and decoration.

The Cost: Marble Construction have completed many garage conversions and they usually cost between £3000 – £7000 including VAT depending on the specification and the design.

PLEASE NOTE: If you decide to take on such a project yourself to save some money, please be careful when commissioning a bricklayer to brick up the old garage entrance. If the new bricks and pointing do not match up with the original bricks and pointing, it will haunt you for the rest of your time living in the property. As garages are often on the front elevation, the blend with the bricks and the new window style that is chosen to match should be seamless. If it is done cheaply or incorrectly, it will stick out like a sore thumb and may even decrease the value of the property.

If done correctly, the garage conversion could easily add up to 10% to the value of your home.

Adding a Utility Room

Adding a Utility Room allows extra cupboard and work space in your kitchen. This is important as kitchens are now considered as the main entertaining space of the house.

Creating and designing a utility room is best done if you are considering having a kitchen extension. Another option without disrupting the current kitchen design is to utilise some space at the back of the garage if you have one. Another possible option is to turn a downstairs cloakroom space into a small utility space. Even if the old cloakroom is only big enough to fit one appliance inside, it is still an area where you can put your ironing board and iron, mops and cleaning products etc.

Adding a utility area will also allow you to reclaim your kitchen by removing all the laundry clutter and bulky and/or noisy appliances.

The Cost: To fit a utility room under the stairs would cost around £2,200 including VAT. To fit a utility room in the back of a garage with 5+ cupboards and working space would cost approximately £3,400 including