Double Storey Extensions • Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire
Double Storey Extensions in Barrow upon Soar
Barrow upon Soar is an area we work in regularly — around 18 miles from Nottingham and inside our twenty-five mile working area — and double-storey extensions here follow the same pattern we see across Leicestershire: the house is worth investing in, but the layout was planned for a different way of living. A two-storey extension adding living space below and bedrooms or bathrooms above, tied into the existing roof and first floor. We handle design, structural engineering, approvals and construction as one contract, so the decisions that carry cost risk are made before you commit to a price rather than discovered once work has started.
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Double Storey Extensions in Barrow upon Soar: how we approach the work
Our double-storey extension service in Barrow upon Soar starts with a measured survey of your house rather than a generic quotation. A two-storey extension adding living space below and bedrooms or bathrooms above, tied into the existing roof and first floor.
The technical crux on most Barrow upon Soar projects is foundations for the greater load, the junction with the existing roof, first-floor structure and the escape and fire strategy for new bedrooms. We resolve these on paper first — with a structural engineer where the work needs one — and price the job on what is actually there.
Planning in Barrow upon Soar: Two-storey rear extensions can fall within permitted development only under tight limits; most need a householder planning application, and the design has to respect neighbours' light and privacy. We check the constraints for your specific address, including any planning history, and tell you plainly which route applies before drawings are commissioned.
Why Barrow upon Soar homeowners use a local design and build team
We are a local design and build contractor, not a national lead-generation site. Barrow upon Soar is around 18 miles from Nottingham and inside our twenty-five mile working area, which means the same team that surveys your house is the one that designs it, prices it and builds it.
Cost is driven by footprint over two floors, roof form and junction, number of bathrooms, glazing and extent of first-floor re-planning. We do not publish a rate per square metre because it misleads more often than it helps; you receive an itemised, written fixed-price quotation after the survey so you can see what each element costs and what changes it.
We do not invent projects, reviews or statistics to fill a page. What we can promise is a written programme, weekly updates, building control certification handed over at the end, and a twelve-month defects period during which we return to put right anything that fails.
Planning permission in Barrow upon Soar: Charnwood Borough Council
The local planning authority for Barrow upon Soar is Charnwood Borough Council. Any application for your double-storey extension — householder planning permission, a lawful development certificate or prior approval — is submitted to Charnwood and decided against its adopted local plan and national policy. The council's planning team can be reached by email at development.control@charnwood.gov.uk, and applications are made through its own planning pages or the national Planning Portal.
Two-storey rear extensions can fall within permitted development only under tight limits; most need a householder planning application, and the design has to respect neighbours' light and privacy.
Permitted development: Work that stays inside the size, height, position and materials limits set nationally in the General Permitted Development Order needs no planning application. The limits are tighter on flats, on houses whose rights have been removed by a condition or an Article 4 direction, and on land in a conservation area, National Park or World Heritage Site.
Party walls sit outside the council process entirely. Not a council process at all: the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is a private notice served on the neighbour when work affects a shared wall, cuts into it, or excavates near their foundations. It runs alongside planning and building control, and being told about it late is what usually delays a start on site.
Before anything is drawn we check your address for the things that change the route: whether permitted development rights have been removed by a condition or an Article 4 direction, whether the property is listed or in a conservation area, any earlier planning decisions on the site, and the position of boundaries and highways.
In practice the order is: constraints check → measured survey → design that fits the route we have identified → submission to Charnwood where an application is needed. Where the work is permitted development we recommend applying for a lawful development certificate, because it is the document that proves the position to a future buyer's solicitor.
Building regulations and building control in Barrow upon Soar
Planning and building control are separate approvals. Even where your double-storey extension in Barrow upon Soar needs no planning application, the building regulations still apply, and the work has to be notified. For Barrow upon Soar that means Charnwood Borough Council's own building control team, or a registered building control approver of your choice. That team can be contacted on 01509 634757 or at building.control@charnwood.gov.uk. We make the submission and manage it for you.
Full plans application: Drawings and structural calculations are checked before work starts and approved in writing. It is the safer route on structural work — steel beams, removed walls, new foundations — because the technical position is settled on paper rather than argued on site.
Foundations for the greater load, the junction with the existing roof, first-floor structure and the escape and fire strategy for new bedrooms. Those are the elements building control looks at, alongside insulation and airtightness, fire safety and escape, ventilation, drainage, glazing, and the safety of electrical and any gas work.
Inspections happen at set stages rather than all at the end — typically excavation and foundations before concrete, drainage before it is covered, the structural frame or beams once installed, insulation and damp proofing before they are hidden, and a final inspection on completion. We book these and meet the inspector on site so nothing is buried before it is signed off.
At the end you are handed the building control completion certificate, structural calculations, electrical certification, gas paperwork where relevant, and any planning or lawful development documents. Keep them together: this is the pack a buyer's solicitor asks for when you sell.
Council contacts for Barrow upon Soar
Charnwood Borough Council is the planning authority. Building control is handled by Charnwood Borough Council's own building control team.
Details as published by the council. Fees and processing times change, so check the council's own page for the current figures — or let us handle the submission for you.
The process, step by step
1. Site visit in Barrow upon Soar: we measure, look at the constraints — boundaries, drainage, structure, roof — and talk about what is not working in the house now.
2. Options and cost range: sketch options with an honest range, before detailed drawings.
3. Approvals: permitted development check, lawful development certificate or planning application as your address requires, plus building control submission.
4. Engineering and fixed price: structural calculations completed, then a written fixed-price quotation with a stage programme.
5. Build: roughly sixteen to twenty-six weeks on site. Usually, though the phase where the roof and first floor are opened into the house is the most disruptive and is planned with you.
6. Completion: snagging closed out, building control completion certificate issued, defects period begins.
Types of double storey extensions we take on in Barrow upon Soar
In Barrow upon Soar and the surrounding area we take on two-storey rear extensions, two-storey side extensions, wrap-around double-storey extensions, master suite extensions, extensions adding a bedroom and family room and extensions replacing a single-storey lean-to. Housing stock varies street by street across Leicestershire, so each project is designed for the actual house rather than adapted from a standard drawing.
Read the full Double Storey Extensions guide for design options, planning rules and what drives cost.
Areas we cover near Barrow upon Soar
From Barrow upon Soar we also cover Quorn, Sileby and Loughborough, and the wider Leicestershire area within roughly twenty-five miles of Nottingham. If you are just outside Barrow upon Soar, tell us the postcode and we will confirm.
Talk to us about your Barrow upon Soar project
The useful next step is a conversation about your actual house. Call us or send a WhatsApp message and we will arrange a visit to Barrow upon Soar, look at the constraints properly, talk through the planning route for your address and follow up in writing with options and a realistic cost range.
Double Storey Extensions in Barrow upon Soar: questions homeowners ask
Do I need planning permission for a double-storey extension in Barrow upon Soar?
Two-storey rear extensions can fall within permitted development only under tight limits; most need a householder planning application, and the design has to respect neighbours' light and privacy. We check the planning history and constraints for your specific Barrow upon Soar address before advising, and prepare the application or lawful development certificate where one is needed.
Which council decides a planning application in Barrow upon Soar?
Charnwood Borough Council is the local planning authority for Barrow upon Soar. We prepare the drawings and supporting information to the standard Charnwood expects and submit the application on your behalf.
How long does a double-storey extension take in Barrow upon Soar?
On site, roughly sixteen to twenty-six weeks on site. Design, engineering and approvals before that usually add several weeks to a few months depending on the route, which is why we start the approvals process early.
How much does a double-storey extension cost in Barrow upon Soar?
It depends on footprint over two floors, roof form and junction, number of bathrooms and the finish level. We do not quote from a rate per square metre; after a survey of your Barrow upon Soar property you receive an itemised fixed-price quotation.
Can I stay in the house during a double-storey extension?
Usually, though the phase where the roof and first floor are opened into the house is the most disruptive and is planned with you.
Do you handle building control for work in Barrow upon Soar?
Yes. We notify building control — Charnwood or an approved inspector — provide structural calculations where required, meet the inspector at each stage and hand you the completion certificate at the end.
Which areas near Barrow upon Soar do you cover?
Quorn, Sileby and Loughborough and the rest of Leicestershire within roughly twenty-five miles of Nottingham. We are based in West Bridgford.
Will a two-storey extension affect my neighbours' planning position?
The 45-degree light test, overlooking and overshadowing are the usual planning considerations. We design to satisfy them from the first sketch rather than after an objection.
Can the upstairs be a bedroom with an en-suite?
Yes; drainage routes and the fire escape strategy are planned early so the layout works.
Is a party wall agreement needed for a double-storey extension?
It depends on the work rather than the address. Cutting into or building against a shared wall, or excavating close to a neighbour's foundations, brings the Party Wall etc. Act into play and notices have to be served before work starts. We flag it at design stage in Barrow upon Soar so it never becomes a mid-build delay.
What happens if there is a drain or manhole in the way?
It is common, and it is not a reason to abandon the scheme. Building over or close to a public sewer needs agreement with the water authority, and a manhole can often be relocated or fitted with a sealed double cover. We survey the drainage before pricing your Barrow upon Soar double-storey extension so the solution is designed in, not improvised.
How do trees and ground conditions affect the foundations?
Clay soils and nearby trees usually mean deeper foundations, and the depth is set by the ground conditions and root influence at your address rather than by a standard detail. Foundations for the greater load, the junction with the existing roof, first-floor structure and the escape and fire strategy for new bedrooms. We establish this before the fixed price so the foundation depth is not an open-ended extra.
What insulation and energy standards will apply?
Current building regulations set the standards for insulation, airtightness, glazing, ventilation and heating for the work, and they are checked by building control rather than left to the builder. The specification we quote for a double-storey extension in Barrow upon Soar is written to meet them, and the detail is in your quotation rather than assumed.
Who prepares the drawings and structural calculations?
We do, as part of the same contract — measured survey, design drawings, planning submission where needed, and structural calculations from a chartered engineer where the work is structural. You are not left coordinating an architect, an engineer and a builder who have never spoken to each other.
How is access and parking handled on a Barrow upon Soar street?
We agree access, skip position, material storage and working hours with you before we start, and let immediate neighbours know. Where the street is narrow or parking is restricted we plan deliveries around it, and any permits required for a skip or scaffold on the highway are arranged in advance.
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Planning double storey extensions in Barrow upon Soar?
Call or WhatsApp for a site visit. Written options and an honest cost range, no pressure.