More Affordable Than You Think: Create the Extra Space Your Family Needs
Advice & Guidance
For more than 35 years, our Managing Director, Peter Wheeler, has been totally committed to searching out new and better ways for improving our customers’ homes.
Here, every month he shares his learning and insights, along with new ideas and top tips.
Could Extending Your Home Add More Value Than You Think?
When people think about adding a conservatory or extension to their home, they often assume it will be beyond their monthly budget.
However, when you compare the cost with many of the monthly payments that have become a normal part of everyday life, creating valuable new space in your home may be far more affordable than you think.
Many households now make monthly payments for mobile phones, cars, television packages, streaming services, gym memberships and other subscriptions. Individually, these payments may not seem significant, but together they can easily add up to hundreds of pounds every month.
The difference is that most of these payments are for services or items that depreciate. A leased or financed car will generally lose value, a mobile phone will eventually be replaced and subscriptions stop providing a benefit as soon as they are cancelled.
Investing in your home is different. You gain additional space that you and your family can enjoy every day, together with the potential for that space to increase the value and appeal of your property.
Extra space from as little as £177 per month
Our representative examples demonstrate how manageable the monthly cost of creating additional space could be:
| New living space | Prices from | Illustrative monthly payment |
| 3 × 3m conservatory | £22,661 | £177 per month |
| 3 × 4m conservatory | £27,438 | £214 per month |
| 6 × 4m conservatory | £44,700 | £349 per month |
| 3 × 3m tiled solid-roof room | £36,773 | £288 per month |
| 3 × 4m tiled solid-roof room | £44,156 | £345 per month |
For many families, that makes a new conservatory or tiled-roof room comparable with the monthly cost of a car agreement or a combination of everyday household subscriptions.
But instead of another monthly payment for something temporary, you could be investing in a lasting improvement to your home.
Finance is subject to status, terms and conditions. ( The appropriate representative APR, deposit, repayment period and total amount payable must be displayed alongside these examples.)
Space that changes with your family
The value of additional space is not measured only in pounds and pence. It is also about how it can improve everyday family life.
For a growing family, a conservatory or extension could provide the playroom, dining area or family room that is desperately needed. It can allow everyone to spread out without the cost and upheaval of moving home. Don’t Move, Improve!
As families grow older, that same space can take on a different role. It might become somewhere to enjoy Sunday lunch with the whole family, a comfortable room where the grandchildren can play, a home office or simply a peaceful place to relax while enjoying views of the garden.
Unlike many monthly purchases, this is something the whole family can use and enjoy for many years.
An improvement with the potential to add value
There is another important difference between investing in your home and paying monthly for a car, phone or subscription.
A well-designed new living space has the potential to add value to the property you already own.
Based on property sales recorded between July 2025 and June 2026, the average value of existing house space across our principal regions is approximately:
- Essex: £4,300 per square metre
- Suffolk: £3,200 per square metre
- Hertfordshire: £5,500 per square metre
- Kent: £4,000 per square metre
A conservatory is not normally valued in exactly the same way as a fully integrated extension. To provide a more realistic illustration, we estimate a glazed conservatory at around 50% of the local average value per square metre and a high-quality tiled solid-roof room at around 75%.
| Region | Glazed conservatory: indicative value per m² | Tiled solid-roof room: indicative value per m² |
| Essex | £2,150 | £3,225 |
| Suffolk | £1,600 | £2,400 |
| Hertfordshire | £2,750 | £4,125 |
| Kent | £2,000 | £3,000 |
These figures are illustrative rather than a guarantee. The actual value added will depend on the location, property, design, specification, quality of installation and demand within the local housing market.
Nevertheless, the important point is simple: while a car or phone generally depreciates, improving your home gives you the opportunity to enjoy the investment now while potentially retaining some of that expenditure through an increase in your property’s value.
If you are building, is it worth building bigger?
Having any extension built will involve a degree of disruption. There will be building work, noise and a temporary impact on how you use your home. This naturally raises an important question: if you are going through the building process, should you make the new room slightly bigger?
When homeowners compare the additional cost of increasing the size with the potential value created by each extra square metre, building bigger can make a great deal of sense.
The foundations, design work, project management and site preparation are already required for the original project. Increasing the dimensions may therefore be more cost-effective than deciding several years later that the room is not quite large enough and starting another building project.
Every additional square metre also gives your family greater flexibility. A slightly larger room could provide enough space for a dining table as well as a comfortable seating area, create a combined kitchen and family room, or allow the space to adapt as your family’s needs change.
The key is to create a room that is well proportioned to the house and garden. Subject to your available space, budget and any planning restrictions, if you are already committing to the project and going through the building process, building slightly bigger could deliver considerably more enjoyment, flexibility and property value for years to come.
Could you improve instead of move?
If your family is running out of space, moving home is not the only answer. Once estate agency fees, legal costs, removals and Stamp Duty are considered, moving can be extremely expensive—and you may still need to redecorate or improve the next property.
Creating additional space allows you to remain in the home, neighbourhood and community you already know while adapting the property around your changing needs.
With options starting from £177 per month and a build potentially completed in around one month, your ideal new living space could be more achievable than you think.
Speak to our team today to explore the possibilities for your home and receive a free, no-obligation quotation.
Your new room could be completed in around one month
A major concern for homeowners is often the disruption associated with building work. However, our carefully managed one-month build process means that many conservatories and single-storey living spaces can be completed in approximately four weeks.
From the base and structure through to the roof, glazing and finishing work, our team coordinates the project to make the process as straightforward as possible.
Timescales will always depend on the design, site conditions, planning requirements and final specification, but creating the space you need may be considerably quicker and less disruptive than you imagined.
Final Thoughts
Visit your nearest SEHBAC showroom today and design your perfect home extension with confidence.
We look forward to welcoming you into one of our showrooms soon.
Visit your nearest SEHBAC showroom and speak to our friendly team today.
