If you’re considering building your own home or adding an extension to your existing property, you need to hire architectural designers.

Foundations are undoubtedly the most important part of a building, and there are strict regulations in place to ensure foundations are adequate for the type of building or extension being proposed. If you are having a two-storey extension added to your home, it is absolutely critical that the foundations are done correctly. There is no one-size-fits-all solution for this, so let's look at the factors that need to be considered.

If you're considering extending your living space, there are a number of different options, from cost-effective loft extensions to conservatories and orangeries. Two of the most popular kinds of extensions are single storey and two storey extensions; which of these is best for you will depend on your budget, your home, and your long-term plans.

A growing family can mean that your home is becoming cramped without a sufficient number of bedrooms and limited family space. If your property has a loft, you may be able to utilise that redundant space to solve your problem by having a loft conversion.

Building an extension is expensive. Even the design stage can cost you hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds. If your budget is tight and you're desperate to save cash, you may think: 'I'll just do it myself - how hard can it be to design an extension to my house?' Sadly, many people who've gone down this route quickly learn that, without having the knowledge and experience of a professional architectural company, it's very easy to get things wrong. Even seemingly minor mistakes can have a major impact on the entire building project.

If you do want to design your own house extension, be aware of these common pitfalls:

When looking for an architectural designer for your self-build project, how do you know which one to choose? Chances are this is the first time you’ve ever commissioned an architectural designer and we wouldn’t be surprised to hear it’s the first time you’ve planned to have a new home built or an extension added to your existing property.

Building your own home can be a satisfying and cost-effective way to get a foot on the property ladder in today's saturated market. However, it's not easy, and it's important to be thorough in everything from planning your home to building it. One such step will be creating working drawings for your new home; these are different from the original designs in that they contain much more information than a simple visual sketch. While traditionally working drawings were created by hand, today they are usually drawn using BIM (Building Information Modelling) software.

If you’ve made the exciting decision to build your own home, you will need to hire a contractor committed to delivering the results you desire. Indeed, once the working drawings and supporting plans have been completed and finalised, a contractor will need to be enlisted to carry out a high-quality construction job.

The environmental impact of housing development should always be at the forefront of your consideration when in the planning stages of a new-build property. The environmental design of houses changes, however, depending on the exact nature of the area the property is going to be built in. With that in mind, here are three key questions you need to ask yourself before you begin planning the build of your new home.

The concepts of 'extension' and 'budget' are inextricably linked, and no matter the size of your budget it's important to choose an extension that will be achievable. One important part of doing this is to get the best price on your extension, so that you can get the most from your money. There are many options for house extensions and a number of important factors to consider, such as having a survey done, hiring the right designer, sourcing the best materials and working with the right contractors. Here's an outline of how much to budget for house extensions.