EXTENSIONS: Floor levels and ceiling heights

It’s not unknown for extension designers to kick the can labelled ‘awkward details’ down the road, relying on the builders to figure things out later on site. But making lazy assumptions at the design stage means there’s a far greater chance that something important won’t get built the way you want it.

One area where it’s essential to get the detailing right from the outset is the floors. If these are constructed without much thought, your new space could end up being disfigured with clumsy steps or weird slopes. Properly designed, internal steps can of course make an interesting ‘split level’ feature and are particularly useful in helping to ‘zone’ open-plan spaces. But a sudden incongruous change of levels perpetrated as an afterthought can sabotage the flow of the newly enlarged space so it simply doesn’t feel right. Worse, unexpected steps can be a potential tripping hazard, like the ones you occasionally stumble upon in old pubs and rambling department stores.

Poorly designed extensions sometimes also suffer from implausibly low ceiling beams. Although estate agents may relish such curiosities as ‘characterful’, for anyone living with them day-to-day they’re an annoying obstacle. Fortunately there are a number of measures you can take to ensure that your new extension