Home Extensions, Blue Mountains and Penrith

When the house is not straight, the builder matters

An extension is new work that has to meet an old house. The plans show straight lines. The house you already own has settled, moved and been altered over the years, and it rarely agrees with the drawing. Barbuto Constructions builds extensions across the Lower Blue Mountains, Penrith and western Sydney, and making the new part fit the house that is actually standing there is the part of the job we are known for.

Where old meets new is the hard part

A good extension should feel like it was always there. Getting that result means dealing with floors that run out of level, walls that are not plumb, old framing, and previous alterations that only show themselves once the wall comes off.

One of our clients described their building as old, unplumb, not square and full of quirks. That is the kind of job we do well.

A drawing gives the direction. The builder still has to make the new work fit the house in front of him.

Ground floor extensions

Adding a room, a wing or a whole open living area to the back or side of the house. The junction with the existing floor, roof and drainage is where these jobs succeed or fail, and it is where we spend the most care.

Second storey additions

Building up when the block will not let you build out. This is structural work first. The existing frame, footings and roof have to carry what goes on top, and we check that before anyone talks about a staircase.

Opening up the back of the house

Taking out the wall between a cramped kitchen and the yard and replacing it with a room that opens to the outside. Usually the best value change an older home can make.

Sloping and bush blocks

Much of the Lower Mountains slopes, and council prefers a building that steps with the land over one cut into it. Suspended floors on piers usually suit these sites better than a slab, and they keep the earthworks down.

Built for the Blue Mountains and Penrith

The ground changes fast between Penrith and the Mountains, and so do the rules. If your block carries a bushfire rating, the extension has to be built to it, and that changes the windows, the cladding and the subfloor. That is priced in from the start, not discovered halfway. If the house was built before 1987 we assume the fibro contains asbestos and have it tested before anyone cuts it. And approvals in the Blue Mountains take longer than most people expect. Ask us early and we will tell you what your block is likely to need before you spend money on drawings.

Why Homeowners Choose Barbuto Constructions

Straight answers on budget.
We tell you early what your money will honestly buy, and where you would get more for the same spend.

The builder on site.
The person who quotes the job is the person building it.

A lived-in house respected.
If you are staying in the home while we build, we plan the job around that from day one. Dust, access and all. Seven year warranty. We back our construction work with a seven year warranty.

If you are planning an extension in the Lower Blue Mountains, Penrith or western Sydney, tell us what you want to change and what you already know about the house. That gives us something useful to talk about.