Do I Need an Architect for an Extension?

Advice from a Residential Extension Architect in Manchester

If you’ve come to the conclusion that your house doesn’t have enough room to meet your growing needs, have you been thinking about extending your house?

Perhaps you’ve been having a chat with your partner about requiring extra space for your increasing family, or you want a larger kitchen to entertain your friends. Moving house is a hassle, and if you like your location, an extension can be the perfect answer.

You might even have gone to the extent of drawing up a few rough ideas on a napkin! But if you’re Googling such terms as “Do I need an architect for a house extension?” and feeling a little overwhelmed by budget, designs, and planning permissions, don’t worry, we’re here to help.

As Manchester-based architects, we’re here to guide you through why employing an architect isn’t about bringing stress in. It’s more about transforming your house to its full potential and doing it in the most efficient way possible.

Let’s have a look at why an extension might be the answer to your space dilemmas, what an architect does, and why it’s worth it to employ one, especially here in Manchester.

Extending Your Home to Balance Growing Families with Limited Space

Life changes fast. One day you’re settling into your house, making plans, the next you’ve got kids buzzing around and you’re tripping over toys in the living room, or your growing teenagers require their own space.

Maybe you’ve started to work from home and your office is squeezed into a corner, or your dining table has turned into a makeshift desk. Suddenly, your house can feel a little snug. For a lot of homeowners in Manchester, extending their home is a way to make room for those changes without uprooting their lives.

An extension can give you that bit of extra space your family needs. It could be a playroom for the children, a peaceful room to work from or a big kitchen for eating with the family. It could also be used to make your existing living space larger by turning it open plan. An extension is typically cheaper than moving up to a bigger home, especially when you factor in stamp duty, estate agent fees, and the emotional toll of leaving a home you love, and staying where you are keeps your roots in the community.

The Role of Mixed-Use Architects in Modern Planning/ Development

Mixed-use architects design developments that incorporate houses, shops, offices, and public spaces into functional, cohesive areas, creating communities where people can live, work, and socialise in one location. Unlike residential or commercial architects, mixed-use architects have to handle complex problems such as the integration of varied uses, managing pedestrian circulation, and ensuring sustainability. Their design is all about accessibility, shared spaces, and harmony with the context.

Adding Value vs. Moving House

Extending your home doesn’t just solve your space problems, but can add value to your property too. As Manchester house prices continue to rise steadily, a well-designed extension can increase your house’s value, sometimes by 20% or even higher.

Whether it’s a new single-storey extension or a two-storey extension with extra bedrooms, you’re investing in your home’s future. If one day you do decide to sell your property, the well-designed extra space will be a big selling point for the buyers, giving your home an edge in a busy market.

Moving, on the other hand, can be problematic. Packing, finding a new place, dealing with estate agents, finding the property you want in your area of choice in Manchester, and then actually having an offer accepted.

In short, an extension lets you stay put, keeping the kids in the same school and close to your favourite bar, coffee shop or park. It’s about making your home work for you, rather than having to start again elsewhere.

Navigating the Extension

The idea of starting the process of building an extension can also be stressful. There are planning permissions to navigate, building regulations, budgets, finding good builders and the like. Then there’s also the design itself, and how to make it look fantastic, feel exactly right, and be affordable, and you’re probably working full-time, balancing work and family and many other things.

It’s no wonder it can feel overwhelming. That’s where an experienced architect like Andrew Wallace Architects comes in. We’re here to take the stress off of you and guide you through the process. An architect will listen to what you have in mind, respond to your questions, and bring your vision to life in a real and functional crafted form. We deal with the nitty-gritty details so that you can relax with the fun stuff: dreaming about how your new home will transform your daily life.

What Does an Architect Actually Do for a House Extension?

If you’ve not worked with an architect before, you might be questioning what we actually do. Maybe you’re thinking of someone in a hard hat waving blueprints around? To put it in simple terms, here’s a list of some of the stages we would go through with you:

In all, Andrew Wallace Architects will be your guide, problem solver and creative partner, driving the project to make your dream home a reality.

Listening to your needs: We begin by sitting down with you to discover what you are seeking. More space for the kids? A light-filled kitchen in an enlarged open plan space? A home office that doesn’t resemble a cupboard and is actually pleasant to work in? We listen, we ask, and we interpret your vision and requirements as a design that is affordable and appropriate to your lifestyle.
Drawing creation: We design accurate plans that will be used throughout the entire process, from your initial review and development, through planning applications and building control submissions, to on-site use by the builder. These are the technical drawings that make sure everything gets constructed to precise specifications and regulations, down to the very last tile and tap.
Material and layout recommendations: From choosing eco-friendly materials to streamlining layouts to maximise light and space, we guide you through smart choices, and we’ve got options to suit your style and budget.
Getting around permissions: Planning permission and building regulations are a minefield. We know how to deal with the local authority, working on your behalf so you don’t have to worry about whether your extension will meet their current requirements.
Team working: We work in collaboration with builders, structural engineers, planning consultants and any other project-specific consultants required to ensure that we are all on the same page. This keeps your project on schedule, avoids costly mistakes and design clashes, and offers a smooth build from initial design to final construction.
Delivering the dream: Our goal is to create an extension that’s not just practical but beautiful and built to last. We’re there to make sure the end result is something you’re proud of, whether it’s a cosy family space or a breathtaking contemporary addition.

Why You Need an Architect in Manchester

If you’re located in Manchester, employing a local architect has its advantages.

We know this city and the surrounding suburbs, from its lively neighbourhoods to its characteristic challenges. Manchester’s property is stunningly varied, from the red-brick Chorlton terraces and large detached houses of Heaton Moor, to the modern commuter-belt estates in Sale or the fashionable townhouses of Didsbury or Hale. Each type of building has its own quirk and promise.

Andrew Wallace Architects knows the area and can design an extension that feels at home, keeping your house’s character and its history intact, as we work with a variety of buildings with differing styles, such as:

Knowing your house’s character is equally applicable to designing an in-keeping extension or a contrasting contemporary extension by understanding how the modern can work with and complement the traditional.

Then there’s planning. Manchester’s local authorities, like Manchester City Council or Trafford Council, have their own ways of doing things. Certain areas have conservation areas with specific rules for maintaining the historic nature of the neighbourhood, like parts of Bowdon, Altrincham or Wilmslow. A professional who has worked with these councils is already familiar with the planning officers, knowledgeable about the local policies and aware of problems beforehand.

For example, if you live near a listed building or are in a conservation area, we’ll know how to design an extension to make it more acceptable from the council’s point of view.

Manchester’s weather can be an important factor too. With our fair share of rain and grey skies, spaces can be designed to fully connect you to the outside while keeping you warm and cosy on the inside.

Andrew Wallace Architects can suggest innovative ideas, like bold use of skylights and glazed roofs, fully opening bi-fold doors or cleverly placed picture windows to produce an airy and light ambience all year round.

Our Manchester Extension Projects

At Andrew Wallace Architects, we have the experience of completing every kind of extension from across Manchester and beyond over the past twenty-five years. Each project is treated as being unique, reflecting the homeowners’ needs and the aesthetic of their dwelling. Below are some projects that illustrate what is possible when you have an architect who can see your vision.

House 135: Victorian Semi-Detached

The owners wanted to keep the charm of their 1890s semi and add a small contemporary extension to their kitchen to connect it to the garden, while at the same time developing the basement into living accommodation.

Our solution was simple yet radical. The kitchen floor area was maintained, but the house’s rear façade wall was removed, and the basement was converted and opened up to the rear garden area, with a small glassy extension enveloping both kitchen and basement while maintaining a double-height space that integrated both spaces together and dramatically connected them to the garden.

We achieved this amazing blend of old and new in a deceptively simple way that gave the family a stylish house for everyday living and hosting friends, while at the same time satisfying the strict requirements of the planners.

View House 135

House 141: Mixed History Detached

This detached residence had evolved as a collection of disparate elements over different periods of time, from the original eighteenth-century cottage through to the final late twentieth-century addition.

Extra space was not the main requirement, more the need to organise and bring the house together into a coherent whole. A distinct feature of this project was reconfiguring the way in which people circulate through the house, including relocating a new glass staircase and converting the run-down central area (previously a 1980s extension of dubious style and quality) into a double-height space with a contemporary glazed and timber louvred façade. We also brought the house into the present day with all mod cons, including underfloor heating, designer kitchen, luxury bathrooms and bespoke storage to make the space as practical as it is stunning.

The family now enjoys a home that is both spectacular and perfectly suited to their daily lives, including the addition of a self-contained flat for an elderly relative.

View House 141

House 172: 1930s Semi-Detached

This semi from the 1930s needed more room for a growing family, but the owners wanted nothing to do with the usual imitation of the original house style.

We built a contemporary, contrasting wraparound two-storey extension featuring large glazed apertures elegantly placed in the pure form. On the ground floor, a large kitchen connects through a retractable dividing wall to the living, dining open plan space, with an integrated workstation and clever storage to keep things tidy; while on the first floor, a large master bedroom with a Juliet balcony overlooks the rear garden.

View House 172

House 145: Victorian Detached

We extended this large Victorian detached house with a single-storey conceptual ‘timber box’, which, due to the elevated ground floor level, appears to float over the rear garden, further emphasised by the two stepped platforms.

Internally, the extended open plan space allows for a new large kitchen, dining and informal sitting area. The quality of the detailing elevates this extension; from the oak cladding externally that flows internally to form a feature wall, to the slit rooflight that follows the staggered shape of the rear façade. A full loft conversion of the large roof space created an additional bedroom, bathroom and office for working at home.

View House 145

Key Considerations in Mixed-Common Scenarios Where an Architect Makes a Big DifferenceDesign

An architect may not be needed on every extension, but with some, our expertise will truly make the difference. Here are some general situations where we can make a big impact, especially if you would like to achieve a personalised space that’s yours to call your own home:

You want more than a bolt-on box: If you’re after a space that’s unique to your home and garden, as well as your lifestyle—not just a standard extension—Andrew Wallace Architects can design something tailored just for you, with a style, layout and details that reflect your personality and needs.
Your property is located in a conservation area or close to a listed building: Manchester has numerous such locations, especially in places like Chorlton, Didsbury and South Manchester. We know how to navigate the tight regulations to make your project more likely to get approved without undermining the heritage of the area.
You need to strike a balance between planning, party wall issues and structural advice: Extensions can involve party wall arrangements or more in-depth structural work, like removing load-bearing walls or spanning large open plan spaces. An architect coordinates all of this so that you don’t need to seek out multiple specialists.
You require light, flow and space that works in the long term: A good extension is not just about extra square footage, it’s about space planning that is a pleasure to live in. We focus on natural light, clever planning and architecture that responds to your household needs over time, and that enhances your everyday living experience.

You’re investing in value, and you don’t want to cut corners: A well-planned and presented extension will add more value than a poorly thought-through one. And if it’s thoughtfully designed and constructed, you shouldn’t need to make changes in the future, saving money on costly alterations or repairs.

Ready to Explore Your Home’s Potential?

At Andrew Wallace Architects, our designers are experienced professionals passionate about creating beautiful, functional spaces in Manchester, Chester and further afield. Our commitment to client satisfaction is reflected in the glowing testimonials from our happy clients.

Choosing Andrew Wallace Architects means getting a team dedicated to turning your vision into reality with expertise and creativity.

Contact Andrew Wallace Architects

FAQs for Manchester Architects

What if I Already Have a Builder for My Extension?

No problem – we can collaborate with your builder, giving them comprehensive plans and instructions to make the project run smoothly (we can also recommend good builders if you need them). We can be the middlemen between you and the builder, translating your ideas and requirements into technical drawings that the builder can work with. This avoids misunderstandings and makes sure that your house is constructed exactly as intended. We can also oversee the construction process on site by acting as the architect and, if required, the Contract Administrator to keep the project on track, making sure the work is of the required quality and the project is brought in on budget.