How to enclose an alfresco area?

[newtodiys]

 hi All,

I am writing with hope that the knowledgeable member of this community will guide a first time diy'er.  This is my new home and as Ai have recently settled i do nit have the money to hire trades people to do a alfresco area extension project for me so I have decided to give it a go myself. I do not know where to start from so I thought using this forum for help. What you see in my picture is our alfresco area. I plan to extend this into the back yard and close it off and make an outdoor room.  So need help with adding deck extending the floor area and the  adding a roof and closing it off with sliding glass doors. I neither have tools nor any experience all I have is this wonderful community. I want to seek help on how to go about this. Also my home is of hebel so I need to know if I will be able to add a roof over the extended area by adding pillars so the weight of the roof is on the pillars and not the hebel blocks. Need guidance as I am a newbie and have never touched tools in my life so please guide me as if you're telling a baby how it's done. Thanks for your help and support. Kindest regards Omer. 

 

[JacobZ]

Hi @newtodiys,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

Unfortunately, this is not a project that I would call "beginner friendly".

The first thing you should do in planning for this project is contact your local council to confirm what your requirements are in terms of building approval. A fully enclosed extension will almost always require you to submit building plans for approval.

If you find that you are required to submit building plans, then you should start by contacting a draftsperson for their assistance in drawing up plans.

Once plans are in place, you can decide whether you feel you are capable of constructing it yourself or would need to contract it out to a builder.

Allow me to tag @Nailbag, who has a wealth of experience with similar projects, for his thoughts.

Jacob

[Nailbag]

Hi @newtodiys 

Nice choice for your username!. Have to say I am always impressed with anyone dead keen to have a crack at DIY no matter what the level. However I have to agree with @JacobZ that this project is probably up with the highest level of advanced for many reasons. What would be more achievable as an entry level would be to owner-build the project. In other words be the project manager to the various trades required. But as @JacobZ mentioned, your first step is to get working building plans drawn and permits approved with your local council. That in itself is a major stepping stone. I'm not across other states, but in Vic the value of the build at cost will require an owner-builder permit, which has a fee and several online courses to complete.

My best advice would be to not be in any hurry to make change. Live in the house for a season and enjoy what you have just built. Get a feeling for the spaces that exist and how you could utilise them better with additions inside and out. Visit display home to get ideas and inspiration from other established properties similar to yours. Then when you're really ready to put your ideas in to reality, get a draftsperson in to discuss the ideas and draw up plan you can get quotes on from registered builders. Then decide on whether it's something you can manage yourself or handball to a true key solution.

Nailbag

[newtodiys]

Thanks Jacobz. Much appreciated. 

[newtodiys]

Thanks mate,

Appreciate yes I think I should wait and see and check with council first as to what is achievable in this space and sort out plans first. However I have also changed plans of extending the alfresco area. At max I am just going to extend tye floor area by building a deck and just putting a sliding door to close of the existing alfresco area that I have. It's dimensions are 4m by 2.5 meters which is a reasonable area to sun bath for me and the misses. However I will be looking at extending the floor area by another meter and a half to host guests if need to. Is that something that I can do on my own? Regards Omer

[EricL]

Hello @newtodiys 

For simple low-level decks with no attachments or walls you can build it yourself. But once walls, doors and a roof are involved it becomes much more complex to build. For more complex constructions, it would be best to leave it to the professionals.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric