Hi Scott,

In a bit of a pickle at the moment we purchased our house in Camira Brisbane 16years ago. It is a brick two bedroom one bathroom, study and outside laundry but on a half acre of land. Over the years we have added on a 6m by 5 m living area knocked out walls and extended kitchen and replaced with new. Added double carport landscaped paved etc. Put in spa area outdoors. We have currently cleared the land at the back of the property opening up approx. ¼ acre of land which we are putting a three bay garage onto as we have access from back of property via an easement. Great area great neighbours do not want to move but my question for you is we need to add on a Master bed with wi robe ensuite and a third bedroom and of course inside laundry. The original house is approx 12 metres in old terms the extension would be at least 8 metres. I am thinking it would differently be worth while as that would then give us a four bed with study on a beautiful block of land. My question to you is who do I get for design advice and have you any draftsman/architect that you could recommend. Is it better to go owner builder or get quotes from various builders. The bricks are no longer available so the whole house would have to be rendered to bring up to date. What do you think.

Cheers Tara

Answer:

It sounds like you have done a lot over time and it would be good to use this next phase to tie it all in together. If you personally know what you want I would recommend just getting a draftsperson to do the plans under your instruction, they will be able to offer you minor advice only on design. For superior design and layout advice you would need to speak to an architect and this will generally be the more expensive option. I would recommend calling Archicentre 1300 13 45 13 telling them what you want to do and they should be able to point you in the right direction. Rendering the house will also give it a modern look and appeal.

Kind Regards,
Scott.