Plumbing & Heating

As many extensions are build in order to create large, airy, open-plan kitchens-cum-dining areas where people can cook and socialise or keep an eye on children as they play, plumbing and heating can play an important role. And if you’re pushing the boat out and doing a two-storey extension, then you may well be putting an en suite bathroom into a bedroom so plumbing will need careful attention there too.

Expanding Your Heating System With central heating, unless you’re unlucky, you may find that you can simply add radiators on to an existing system without changing the boiler. If not, then it’s worth investing in a decent modern boiler that will be more energy efficient and has a little extra capacity, if there are still options to extend the property further in the future. An electrical heating system with storage radiators is easy to expand as the new radiators simply need to be plugged into an appropriate electrical point. They are difficult to control though, as they heat up during the night then disperse the stored heat during the day, usually meaning that they’ve lost most of their heat by the evening, which is when most people need it. For a smaller extension though, you could consider electric panel or convectors heaters, which might be cheaper overall, especially if it’s going to be expensive to extend a water-based radiator system to reach that area.