Home Extensions
Ground-floor and second-storey additions.
We cover 10 regions and 398 suburbs across Victoria. Pick your area below. Each page covers the councils, site conditions and permit considerations specific to that part of the state.
What home extensions actually involves
An extension is the point where a renovation becomes a building project. It brings in planning, structural engineering, footing design and the connection between new and existing construction. And for most projects the approvals take longer than the build.
The connection is the part that is consistently underestimated. Joining a new structure to an existing house means matching levels, tying in the roof, making the junction weathertight, and dealing with whatever the original building turns out to be made of once it is opened up. Houses from different eras behave very differently here.
Technical requirements
- Planning versus building permit pathways
- Setback, site coverage and overshadowing controls
- Footing design for the site soil classification
- Structural connection and weatherproofing to the existing dwelling
How the job runs
- Check the planning controls and overlays on the property
- Concept design tested against setback, site coverage and overshadowing requirements
- Planning permit if required, then documentation and engineering
- Building permit
- Construction: footings, frame, lock-up, fit-out
- Connection to the existing dwelling and weatherproofing
- Final inspection and occupancy
What goes wrong
The failures we get called out to fix are consistent. These are the ones worth asking any builder about before you engage them.
- Designing before checking the overlays, then redesigning
- Budgeting for construction and not for design, engineering and permits
- Assuming the existing structure is what the plans say it is
- Underestimating how long approvals take and committing to a move-out date
Tell us the address, we will tell you what applies
Tell us the address and what you are planning.
We reply the same business day.
Home Extensions by area
10 regions, 398 suburbs. Each page is specific to that area.
Geelong & the Bellarine
68 suburbs around Geelong
Home Extensions in Geelong & the Bellarine →Whittlesea & Plenty Valley
52 suburbs around Mernda
Home Extensions in Whittlesea & Plenty Valley →Inner East Melbourne
57 suburbs around Camberwell
Home Extensions in Inner East Melbourne →Wyndham & Werribee
30 suburbs around Werribee
Home Extensions in Wyndham & Werribee →Inner West Melbourne
33 suburbs around Footscray
Home Extensions in Inner West Melbourne →Hume & Craigieburn
29 suburbs around Craigieburn
Home Extensions in Hume & Craigieburn →Bayside & South East
41 suburbs around Bentleigh
Home Extensions in Bayside & South East →Casey & Cardinia
29 suburbs around Berwick
Home Extensions in Casey & Cardinia →Outer East Melbourne
38 suburbs around Glen Waverley
Home Extensions in Outer East Melbourne →Inner North Melbourne
21 suburbs around Brunswick
Home Extensions in Inner North Melbourne →Common questions
These answers apply wherever the job is. Anything specific to your area is on the relevant area page above, and anything specific to your property is a conversation.
Do I need a planning permit or just a building permit?
Every extension needs a building permit. Whether you also need a planning permit depends on your zone, any overlays on the title such as heritage or bushfire, and whether the design meets the deemed-to-comply standards for setbacks, site coverage and overshadowing. A heritage overlay or a bushfire management overlay will almost always add a planning permit and extra design requirements. The property report is the first thing to check.
How close to the boundary can I build?
Setbacks are controlled by your planning scheme and vary with zone, wall height and orientation. There are standard setback provisions, but overlays and neighbourhood character controls can tighten them. Building on or very close to a boundary also brings in protection-work obligations to the neighbouring property.
How long does an extension take?
For a single-storey extension, design and approvals commonly take longer than the construction. Expect the permit stage to be measured in months rather than weeks, particularly if a planning permit is required, and then a construction period that depends on scale and access. Sites with difficult access, narrow inner-suburban blocks or steep sites in the ranges, extend the build.
Can I stay in the house during construction?
Often yes for a ground-floor extension where the new work can be kept separate from the existing house until the connection stage. Second-storey additions and anything involving the roof usually mean moving out for part of the job. This should be agreed and scheduled before work starts, not decided partway through.