Home Addition Design: Making Your Extension Feel Natural

By: James Mc Murtrie – Director – Northside Developments

Through my 16 years in construction and running Northside Developments, I’ve learned that successful home additions should feel like they’ve always been part of your house. Today, I’ll share insights about creating seamless additions, based on real project experiences.

Major Addition Success

Lisa Loaring’s comprehensive home addition project demonstrates our expertise in creating natural-feeling extensions:

“We did a large home renovation with NSD and they were flawless in all aspects of the job. We added on a bedroom, ensuite and walk in robe. We also renovated the old kitchen, laundry and bathroom including taking out walls to open it all up… It was all the little things that also impressed us – the job site was always left clean, all the aspects of the job were explained in detail with all our questions answered honestly and accurately, all the time frames we were given were met, the quality of workmanship was extremely high.”

This detailed feedback highlights crucial elements of successful additions:

  • Seamless integration
  • Quality workmanship
  • Timeline adherence
  • Site management
  • Clear communication

Outdoor Kitchen and Dining AreaDesign Innovation

Sailormikeful shares how we handle challenging spaces in additions:

“The alfresco that was designed and built is one of a kind and utilised the awkward space in the back yard perfectly. Nothing was too hard… came up with creative and amazing solutions to any problems that arose during the design and construction phases.”

Design Priorities:

  • Space optimization
  • Creative solutions
  • Practical functionality
  • Site constraints
  • Flow integration

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Why Storage Rental Is The Solution To Your Home Renovation Woes

Suppose you are planning a home renovation project but are worried about cluttered spaces, disorganisation, and potential damage to your belongings. In that case, there is a solution that will eradicate all of those worries, and it is renting a secure storage facility. Secure storage rental can provide a clutter-free space during your home renovations where you can store anything which you regard as valuable, whether that be in monetary terms or sentimental value.

In this blog post, Brilliance Storage lays out the benefits of renting storage units during home renovations and, more importantly, provides you with tips for the most effective ways of using storage rental during the period renovations take place in your home.

Advantages Of Storage Rental During Your Home Renovation

When planning a home renovation project, one of the biggest challenges is dealing with the clutter that arises. Furniture, appliances, and other items can easily get in the way, making it difficult to work efficiently. This can lead to frustration and stress and can even cause delays in the project timeline. This can be especially so if you have hired contractors who deem your home unsafe to work in due to the existing clutter.

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DIY Vs Professional Solar Panel Installation

Solar panels are a popular alternative energy source for homeowners as they harness light from the sun and convert it into usable, clean, and cheap electricity. With the popularity of DIY, some people are considering installing solar panels on their own instead of hiring a professional solar panel company to install them.

Before deciding which route to take if you are considering solar panels,  it is essential to understand the pros and cons of DIY and professional solar panel installation, respectively, and that is precisely what we will help you do as you read through this blog post.

DIY Solar Panel Installation

DIY solar panel installation involves purchasing a solar panel kit and installing it yourself. This option appeals most to people with electrical experience who want to save money. DIY solar panel kits typically come with instructions that guide you through the installation process; however, remember that installing solar panels is not a simple task and can take considerable time and effort.

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Your Electrical Appliances

Life has been made so easy for us these days. It all started with that guy Edison turning on the lights in New York city about 135 years ago. We suddenly had electricity and that was the beginning of the end of the dark ages – literally. That was also the beginning of the technicians that learnt and worked with electricity – electricians. It’s all very well having great technical advances but almost everything is run by electricity and when stuff goes wrong, we need expert help to get things fixed.

Vacuum Cleaner
It all started with the foot in the door salesman spilling a heap of trash on your carpet, then turning on the cleaner, which sounded like an old Boeing 707 starting its jets, and then sucking up all the spilled mess like magic. Now, we have Lux Living robot vacuums which not only clean your floors automatically but are a source of great enjoyment for cats to ride on and get filmed for YouTube. Regardless of the style and fancy attachments, when it stops, call an electrician.

Microwave
Gone are the days of cutting firewood, lighting the fire in the stove, and cooking your food. Keeping the home fires burning made sure you had hot water and a hot house, even in the midst of summer. Now, you open your microwave, adjust your settings and you can reheat leftovers, cook a whole chicken, and explode eggs, popcorn and small animals, if that’s your thing! When the microwaves stop waving – call an electrician.

Toaster
This appliance goes hand in hand with the best thing since sliced bread! We still use a forked stick poked into a piece of bread hung over a campfire when we are ‘roughing it’, but at home, we place the sliced bread into the slots, push the lever down and Voila! We get toast. When the bread gets stuck you put a knife in the openings and try to lever it out. Bang! Call an electrician –  if you’re still alive.

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How is Scaffolding Designed?

Scaffolding is a temporary structure that allows workers such as painters access to a building enabling them to work on parts that would be out of reach without it. According to common building advice, many different kinds of buildings need scaffolding and it can also be needed for maintenance and cleaning a structure such as a clock tower or large statue that would otherwise be impossible to get to.

There are six main components in most scaffolding: –

  • Standards or uprights – upright posts that support the rest of the structure and transfer the load to the ground or a lower level. The legs stand on base plates that help to spread the load and give stability.
  • Ledgers – connect the standards together. They are fixed in a horizontal position and are often hollow tubing.
  • Transoms – are vertical posts similar to the standards, but shorter. They rest on the ledgers rather than reaching to the ground. The main transoms are fitted close to the standards and hold them in place. They also support the boards that are the deck on each level. The intermediate transoms provide additional support for the boards. Toe boards are used at the outside edge of the deck to prevent tools or materials being accidentally kicked off the deck. This helps to prevent injury to people working below
  • Fittings are as most people know, things such as bolts, nuts, screws and anything else that is used to attach pieces to each other and to the uprights.

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Pros and Cons of Sliding Windows

There are many different styles of windows, but one of the latest is the sliding window. Not that it is exactly new, but many years ago it was not an option at all, as timber was the main building material for windows and was used for holding window glass in the various styles that were available.

Sliding windows depend on aluminium for the tracks to slide them along; if it was timber the material would wear quickly or warp in the weather and make sliding them open or shut impossible. If you are wondering what kind of windows are best for your new home, here are some pros and cons of sliding windows. Note, these are sliding windows with aluminium surrounds.

Pros

  • With sliding windows you can have a much larger window space. This allows more light into the house and more cool breezes when the day is hot. You can also enjoy a wider vista if you have a nice view to admire. This would not be possible with other kinds of windows due to the weight of the glass, but with sliding windows the weight is supported by the aluminium slot – and the building material underneath it.
  • Sliding windows are easy to open and shut as you don’t have to push them up, just slide them along.
  • You can get almost any size window in this style; large, small, wide, high.
  • The locks on the windows are simple to work and secure.
  • They are easy to clean.
  • No maintenance, such as painting, is required for the part surrounding the glass.
  • The aluminium does not warp, so they never stick.
  • They take up no more space than the wall, unlike awning or hopper windows that protrude on the outside.
  • They are cost effective, being cheaper than some other styles.

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