Do I need council approval for an extension in Gladesville?

Usually yes. On the City of Ryde side of Gladesville many detached homes qualify for a Complying Development Certificate through a private certifier, provided the extension meets the setback, site coverage and landscaped area controls. On the Hunters Hill Council side, and on foreshore and heritage blocks, it is a Development Application. We confirm which council and which pathway applies to your property before quoting.

How long does a home extension take to build in Gladesville?

Most extensions run 12 to 20 weeks on site. Design and approvals happen before that: a CDC takes about 4 to 8 weeks, and a DA can take up to 6 months, depending on council. We give you a programme with the quote, not after you have signed.

Can I live at home during the extension?

Usually yes. Because the work is concentrated at the rear or side, most Gladesville families stay in the house for most of the build, with a shorter disruptive period when we break through and connect the new space to the old. We plan the breakthrough stage with you so you know exactly when it is coming.

Should I extend out or add a second storey in Gladesville?

On a typical Gladesville block, extending out is usually the simpler and cheaper path per square metre, and on the sloping blocks a stepped rear extension can capture the outlook without going up. Where the block is small or the view is only available from a higher level, going up can be the right call. We build both, so the advice is honest: we look at your block and tell you which one your home actually wants. A house extension and a second storey are different builds with different engineering, and we quote both honestly.

Will the extension match my existing brick house?

That is a design decision, and both answers can work. Matching 1950s and 60s face brick exactly is often impossible because the brick is no longer made, so we either source the closest match and blend it, render the junction, or design a deliberately contemporary addition that lets the original house be itself. What must always match is the standard of the junction between them, which is where our detailing does its work.

How will I know what is happening during my extension?

Two ways. You get a weekly update from the builder running your job, whether or not there is good news in it. And you get access to our client portal, where you can log in any time to see your documents, selections, variations and job status. No chasing, no phone tag, no wondering.

Are you licensed and insured?

Yes. Strava Group holds NSW Builder's Licence 487370C and carries public liability insurance and Home Building Compensation Fund cover on all residential work over the statutory threshold. You can verify the licence directly through Verify NSW at verify.licence.nsw.gov.au.

Timber roof and wall framing in a renovation

Home Extensions · Gladesville NSW 2111

Home extensions in Gladesville, done properly.

Rear and side house extensions for Gladesville homes by a licensed extension builder. Most extensions run $70,000 to $300,000 depending on size and how much of the existing house has to change, itemised quote, honest programme, one builder from concept to handover.

Get Your Extension Assessed Call 0450 605 080

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487370C

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City of Ryde Council areaNSW Builder’s Licence 487370CItemised quotesClear inclusions & exclusions0450 605 080

Extending out, not up

Opening a Gladesville home to the back and the light.

Strava Group builds home extensions in Gladesville: rear additions, side extensions and whole-of-back transformations that open the house to the yard. Gladesville sits between the river and Victoria Road on sandstone ridges, with Federation and interwar homes on the older streets and a big stock of 1950s and 60s brick houses on the slopes toward the water. The blocks are decent for how close the suburb is to the city, and the back of the house is usually where the room to grow is.

In Gladesville we regularly deliver:

Rear extensions and additions
Side extensions on wider blocks
Open plan kitchen, dining and living
Alfresco and indoor-outdoor connections
New master suites and family rooms
Laundries, mudrooms and storage done properly
Structural openings between old and new
Exterior upgrades to tie old and new together

Thinking about going up instead? That is a different build with different engineering, and we do that too: see second storey additions in Gladesville.

A Gladesville brick home with a small rear kitchen, a deep yard and a glimpse of the river or the city from the back is the brief we see most. Open the back, bring the living to the light, and make the most of the outlook.

White shaker-style kitchen with stone benchtops, induction cooktop and industrial pendant lights

Quick Answer

Most home extensions in Gladesville run $70,000 to $300,000 depending on size and how much of the existing structure has to change, at roughly $2,500 to $4,500 per square metre for ground floor work, with around $30,000 in preliminaries (design, engineering and council approvals, plus site set-up) on top. Sloping sites, sandstone excavation and the older full brick houses are the things that move the figure most here.

Local knowledge

What we know about extending in Gladesville.

Every suburb builds a little differently. This is what matters when you are extending a Gladesville home.

Council

Gladesville is split between two councils. Most of the suburb sits in the City of Ryde Council area under the Ryde Local Environmental Plan 2014, and the streets nearest the river toward Hunters Hill sit in the Hunters Hill Council area under the Hunters Hill Local Environmental Plan 2012, where heritage and foreshore controls are tighter. Many detached homes on the Ryde side can use Complying Development through a private certifier, while the Hunters Hill side usually goes to a DA. We confirm which council and which pathway applies to your property before quoting. Current planning controls are published by City of Ryde Council and on the NSW Planning Portal.

Housing stock

Federation and interwar homes on the older streets near Victoria Road, a large stock of 1950s and 60s full brick and brick veneer houses on the slopes, and some later homes and apartments along the foreshore. Many of the older houses carry a lean-to or sunroom added decades ago. Those earlier additions usually come off and are replaced with something engineered.

Structure

Mid-century brick veneer homes are straightforward to extend once the load path is engineered. The older full brick and Federation houses need more care at the junction: we cut the openings cleanly, install engineered steel and tie the new frame into the existing brickwork properly. On the sloping blocks the new floor often sits on a suspended slab or bearers to meet the existing level, which is a detail that has to be right.

Yard and block

Blocks are typically 500 to 750 square metres, many of them falling toward the river or the creek lines. The slope is the thing that shapes the design: on the steeper blocks the extension steps down the site and the space underneath becomes useful. Side access varies, and where there is none materials come through the house and the programme changes.

Services and ground

Gladesville sits on Hawkesbury sandstone, often close to the surface, with shale clay on the higher ground. That makes footings predictable on some blocks and awkward on others where rock has to be cut, so the engineering is done for your site. New footings are detailed against the existing ones so the extension does not settle away from the house. Services along the rear boundary are located before design starts.

Value

Gladesville is a high value suburb where the river, the ferry and the proximity to the city keep demand strong. A properly built extension that turns a dated rear into open plan living with a yard or an outlook is worth a great deal here, and it is almost always cheaper than buying the bigger house down the street.

Start here

Tell us about your Gladesville home.

No sales pitch, no obligation. Here is exactly what happens when you enquire:

One at a time, takes about two minutes, so the first conversation is about your project rather than the basics.

Start Your Enquiry Call 0450 605 080

The Strava standard

How we build differently.

An extension lives or dies at the junction between old and new. We build for longevity, and on every Gladesville extension we run:

Every new-to-existing junction properly detailed

This is where most extensions crack, leak and part company with the house. It is almost always a detailing shortcut, not settlement. Ours get a proper structural tie, flashing and movement detail.

The existing structure gets rectified, not covered

Where the extension meets the house, we screw off and re-brace the adjoining structure, tying new and old together so the whole building moves as one and future cracking is designed out, not painted over.

Footings matched to the ground, not the minimum

New footings are engineered for your soil and detailed against the existing ones, because differential movement between old and new slabs is the classic extension failure, and on Gladesville sandstone the challenge is usually matching new rock-founded footings to old ones that were never engineered.

Furring channels for a dead flat finish

Where new ceilings and walls run through to existing rooms, furring channels give one level plane across both, so you cannot see where the house ends and the extension begins.

Waterproofing is a documented hold point

New wet areas are inspected and photographed before a single tile goes on, to AS 3740, and new roof-to-old-roof junctions get the same treatment.

Everything photographed before it is covered

You receive the record at handover, so in ten years you know exactly what is behind your walls and under your floor.

Before starting Strava Group, I spent seven years on the tools as a carpenter and five years running sites. The failures I kept seeing in extensions were always at the join: cracked cornices along the old wall line, roofs that leaked where new met old, floors that stepped as slabs settled differently. None of it was illegal. All of it was avoidable. None of this shows up in a finished-room photo. All of it shows up in year seven.

Honest numbers

What a house extension actually costs in Gladesville.

Most builders will not put numbers on a website. We will, because the alternative is wasting your time and ours across three meetings before anyone mentions a figure.

Item	Typical range
Home extension, depending on size and scope	$70k–$300k
Ground floor extension work	$2,500–$4,500 /m²
Preliminaries, on top of build cost	approx. $30,000

Preliminaries are the costs that exist before a single wall moves: design, engineering and council approvals, plus site set-up such as site fencing, temporary services, waste removal, insurances and supervision. They are real, they are unavoidable, and a quote that does not show them separately has either buried them or forgotten them.

In Gladesville the value of the land tends to justify extensions in the middle and upper part of the band, with sloping sites and sandstone excavation adding engineering work. How much of the existing structure has to change is usually the largest single factor, followed by wet areas, access and rock.

Every project is quoted properly after a site inspection. These ranges are here so you can decide whether it is worth a conversation.

Good to know

Gladesville extension questions.

From our clients

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Nearby

Home extensions near Gladesville.

We build extensions across the Ryde district, Hunters Hill and the lower North Shore. Select a suburb for local council information and what extensions there typically cost.

Ryde district and Hunters Hill

Home Extensions Hunters Hill Home Extensions Ryde Home Extensions Drummoyne Home Extensions West Ryde Home Extensions Chatswood

All Sydney extension areas

Looking for a different service in Gladesville? We also build second storey additions in Gladesville and home renovations in Gladesville.

Extend your Gladesville home properly.

Ready for more room?

Tell us about your property and what you want to add. We respond within 24 to 48 business hours with honest advice and real numbers, no cost, no obligation.

Get Your Extension Assessed Call 0450 605 080