House Extensions| How to Keep Your Neighbours Happy
As a bona fide builder in Manchester, we know that planning your house extension is exciting for you. However, you’re worried that extending your home could upset the neighbours. With that in mind, here are some practical tips you can use to reassure other residents about your home renovation project.
Having worked on many house extensions in the North West, we know that it’s worth approaching your neighbours to inform them of any building work being carried out on your home. It eases anxiety and stress for both parties and enables your builder to crack on with the job, with the minimum of fuss.
1. Show & Tell the Neighbours Your Plans
Seems obvious, right? However, in the excitement of planning your house extension, it’s easy to forget about the neighbours. A great way to keep fellow residents on side is to invite them over for a drink, show them the drawings for your extension project and explain what’s happening and give them a timeline of when work is taking place. Don’t catch your fellow residents by surprise, work with them and they’ll work with you. For neighbours, there’s nothing worse than finding out about building work until the signs go up!
2. Keep Neighbours Informed
Based on our experiences, communication between homeowners and neighbours when it comes to house extensions, breaks down once a building project is given the green light by way of planning permission.
Most think, ‘stuff the neighbours, they can say what they like now.’ However, it’s important to remember that you still have to live next to them once your project is complete.
Plus, if your neighbours have not extended their home(s), how you treat them during your build will be how they treat you if ever they decide to extend. With that in mind, it pays to keep the communication channels open, even when you’ve got planning permission.
It might be that your builder needs to access your property via a neighbouring property. If you burn bridges with your neighbour, they could make your home extension project that little bit tougher.
3. Introduce them to the building project manager
It’s not common practice for homeowners having an extension to introduce their builder to neighbours, but it can help to put everyone at ease and ensure that the project runs smoothly. It’s a great way to maintain communication if you can’t be at home while your extension takes shape.
4. Invite Your Neighbours to the Unveiling
This is a win-win for both parties. You get to show off your magnificent extension, and let’s face it every neighbour would relish the opportunity to nosy around next door’s house.
Inviting them over for the grand unveiling is a great gesture and any memory of the build is forgotten as you, and your neighbours, enjoy your newly extended home.
But, if all else fails, and your neighbour is being completely unreasonable on all fronts, continue as planned. All you can do is keep your composure, remain polite and see your project through.
Are you a property owner in the North West looking to extend your home? View our portfolio to see what we can do and call us for a no obligation quote to have your dream home.
