0431 837 378 What we do · Our specialty
Why extensions are different
R&Q Interiors is a licensed Sydney builder (NSW Builder Licence 378767C) that specialises in extensions and alterations — the work where new structure has to meet an existing house and read as if it was always there.
A new home on a clear site is a known quantity. An extension is not: you are building around existing footings, existing services and often a family still living in the house, and some of what you are dealing with only reveals itself once a wall is open. It takes a builder who has done it many times to price it honestly and sequence it properly.
We build extensions across Sydney. Our completed projects sit in Castle Hill, Silverwater, Strathfield, Rhodes, North Ryde and Willoughby, and we work across the Hills District, the Inner West and the corridor through Auburn, Lidcombe and Granville to Parramatta, and the Lower North Shore.
R&Q Interiors builds every form a Sydney extension takes — and because we also build whole-home renovations and new homes, we will tell you honestly when a different path suits your house better.
Working it out
These four decide whether an extension is the right project at all. R&Q Interiors answers them at the first site visit, before anyone spends money on design.
Often yes, and the answer is structural rather than architectural. Houses of that era across Sydney are typically brick veneer or full brick on strip footings, and the questions an engineer asks are the same each time: how deep and how sound are the existing footings, are the ground-floor walls load-bearing and continuous enough to carry a new floor, and can the roof be removed and rebuilt. Where the footings fall short the fix is usually underpinning or new load paths through the house below — real cost that is invisible in the finished room. R&Q Interiors gets an engineer onto the existing structure before design money is spent, because finding this out after the drawings are done is what turns a second storey into a bad project.
The block usually decides it before taste does. Going out needs land you are allowed to build on once setbacks, landscaped-area minimums and floor space ratio are applied — and on a generous block, as in much of the Hills District, going out is normally the cheaper and less disruptive path because the existing roof and structure stay untouched. Going up becomes the answer when the block is tight, when the yard is worth keeping, or when the view or northern light is upstairs. A second storey is also the more intrusive build to live through. R&Q Interiors works this out at the first site visit, from the block and the planning controls rather than from a preference.
Not always, and it is the single biggest cost swing in an extension. A new bathroom close to the existing sewer line and at a level that lets waste fall to it is straightforward work. A bathroom on the far side of the house, or upstairs above rooms with no wet areas below, means new waste runs threaded through the structure, possibly a new connection to the sewer, and sometimes a change to floor levels to get the falls right. Older Sydney homes add a second question: whether the existing switchboard and water pressure can carry another wet area at all. R&Q Interiors checks the drainage position and the switchboard early, because both are cheap to design around and expensive to discover mid-build.
The comparison people usually make — build cost versus the price difference between houses — leaves out the cost of moving. In NSW, buying costs stamp duty, and selling costs agent commission, marketing and legals, so a large part of the gap between your house and a bigger one is consumed before anyone gains a bedroom. Extending keeps you in your school catchment, your street and your neighbours, and it is the better answer when the house has good bones, the block has room, and the planning controls allow the floor area. Moving is the better answer when the block cannot take what you actually need, when the location no longer suits, or when the structure is poor enough that you would rebuild most of it anyway. R&Q Interiors builds extensions and new homes both, and will tell you honestly when a project does not stack up.
Before you enquire
R&Q Interiors quotes extensions per project after a site visit, because the same floor area can cost very different amounts depending on the house it is attached to. These are the variables that move the number most.
A second storey has to be carried by the existing footings and walls. That usually means an engineer’s inspection first, and sometimes underpinning or new load paths through the house below — work that is invisible in the finished room but real in the price.
Relocating a kitchen or bathroom means new waste and water runs, and often floor levels change to get the falls right. Switchboard capacity is the other common surprise: an older board frequently needs upgrading before new circuits can be added.
Whether a machine can reach the rear of the block, what the soil does when it is opened up, and how far material has to be carried all change the labour on the same drawing. Sloping sites and rock cost more than flat ones.
Matching brickwork, roof profile, window style and floor level so the addition does not read as bolted on is where most of the craft sits — and it is the part that separates a considered extension from a cheap one.
Not every house can, and the answer is structural rather than architectural. What decides it: the depth and condition of the existing footings; whether the ground-floor walls are load-bearing and continuous enough to carry a new floor; the roof framing and whether it can be removed and rebuilt; and the planning controls on your block — height limits, setbacks and floor space ratio. The sequence that saves money is an engineer looking at the existing structure before design money is spent, not after.
Good to know
There is no honest per-square-metre rate, because the same floor area can cost very different amounts depending on the house it is attached to. The variables that move the number most: whether the addition is ground-floor or second-storey (footings and load paths), whether a kitchen or bathroom relocates (new waste and water runs), site access and ground conditions, and how much matching of brick, roof and floor level the join demands. R&Q Interiors gives a preliminary estimate and outline scope at no charge before you invest in full design, so you know whether the project and the budget line up.
It depends on the design and the block, not on the builder. A CDC — a Complying Development Certificate, assessed by a private certifier and measured in weeks — is available when the extension meets the standard criteria in the NSW Codes SEPP. A council DA applies when it does not: a heritage or conservation-area overlay, flood-prone or bushfire-mapped land, or exceeding the height, setback or landscaped-area limits are the common triggers, and a DA is measured in months. R&Q Interiors confirms which pathway applies at the first site consult, before you spend money on design.
Two clocks run on an extension. Design and approvals come first — weeks for a CDC once documentation is complete, months for a council DA. Construction time then varies with the scope: a second-storey addition is a longer programme than a rear extension because the roof and structure of the existing house are involved. R&Q Interiors sets the programme in the contract before work starts and sends a written progress update every week, so you always know where the job stands.
Making the addition read as part of the original house is most of the craft in extension work, and it is the reason R&Q Interiors calls extensions its specialty. Matching means the brickwork, the roof profile, the window style and the floor levels — and inside, the flow between old rooms and new. An extension that is merely attached reads as bolted on from the street and from the hallway; one that is integrated does not.
Often, and the shape of the extension decides it. A ground-floor or rear extension can usually be built largely outside the existing envelope, with the break-through into the old house sealed and staged late in the programme. A second-storey addition is more intrusive because the existing roof and structure are involved. R&Q Interiors builds inside occupied Sydney homes regularly and tells you at the estimate stage which phases will be liveable — before you commit, not after the deposit.
R&Q Interiors (R & Q Pty Ltd) has been building in Sydney since 2017 — NSW Builder Licence 378767C, HIA member. Every residential project over $20,000 (including GST) is covered under the NSW Home Building Compensation Fund before work starts, and carries the statutory warranty: 6 years for major defects, 2 years for other work.