Do I need council approval for an extension in Lane Cove?

Usually yes. In the Lane Cove heritage conservation precincts and on bushfire or riparian affected blocks it is a Development Application through Lane Cove Council, and a rear extension that sits behind the main roofline is well supported. Elsewhere many detached homes qualify for a Complying Development Certificate through a private certifier, which is significantly faster. Tree removal needs its own approval. We confirm which pathway applies to your property before quoting.

How long does a home extension take to build in Lane Cove?

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 Lane Cove 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 Lane Cove?

On a typical Lane Cove block the answer often comes from the slope: a stepped rear extension can capture the outlook into the trees without going up, and the space under the step becomes useful. Where the block is flat and small, or the view is only available higher, 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 house?

That is a design decision, and both answers can work. In the conservation precincts council generally prefers a rear extension that reads as clearly new, as long as it sits behind the main roof and respects the scale of the house. Elsewhere a matched brick and roofline is possible where the original brick can still be sourced. What must always match is the standard of the junction between old and new, 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 · Lane Cove NSW 2066

Home extensions in Lane Cove, done properly.

Rear and side house extensions for Lane Cove 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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Lane Cove Council areaNSW Builder’s Licence 487370CItemised quotesClear inclusions & exclusions0450 605 080

Extending out, not up

Opening a Lane Cove home to the bush and the light.

Strava Group builds home extensions in Lane Cove: rear additions, side extensions and whole-of-back transformations that open the house to the garden. Lane Cove is a suburb of ridges and gullies, with Federation and interwar homes on the older streets near the village, mid-century brick on the slopes, and bush reserves running through the valleys. The blocks are decent, the land is valuable, and the brief is nearly always the rear: living that opens to the garden, the trees and the north light the original plan ignored.

In Lane Cove 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.

Lane Cove houses often sit on blocks that fall away to trees. The best extensions step down the site with the land, and the space underneath becomes the laundry, the storage or the rumpus the house never had.

Kitchen with tall timber-look cabinetry, white cabinets and a new timber-framed window

Quick Answer

Most home extensions in Lane Cove 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. The value of the land here tends to justify extensions toward the upper end of the band, with sloping sites and sandstone adding to it.

Local knowledge

What we know about extending in Lane Cove.

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

Council

Lane Cove is its own local government area under the Lane Cove Local Environmental Plan 2009 and the Lane Cove Development Control Plan. Several residential precincts carry heritage conservation controls where extensions go through a Development Application, and bushfire and riparian controls apply on the blocks backing the reserves. Elsewhere many detached homes can use Complying Development through a private certifier. We confirm the pathway for your property before quoting. Current planning controls are published by Lane Cove Council and on the NSW Planning Portal.

Housing stock

Federation and interwar homes near the village and Longueville Road, a broad stock of 1950s and 60s full brick and brick veneer houses on the slopes, and later architect designed homes on the bush blocks. Many carry a sunroom or family room added decades ago that was never built to last. Those earlier additions usually come off and are replaced with something engineered.

Structure

Mid-century brick homes extend well once the load path is engineered, and 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 steel subfloor stepping down the site, which is a detail that has to be engineered and built right.

Yard and block

Blocks are typically 550 to 850 square metres, many of them sloping toward the Lane Cove River valley and the gullies, and most of them treed. The trees are protected under council controls and usually shape where the extension can go. On the steeper blocks the extension steps down the site, and the outlook into the trees becomes the best feature of the new rooms.

Services and ground

Lane Cove 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. Bushfire construction requirements apply on the blocks backing the reserves.

Value

Lane Cove is a high value lower North Shore suburb where the village, the schools and the bush setting keep demand strong. A properly built extension that turns a dated rear into open plan living reaching into the garden 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 Lane Cove 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 Lane Cove 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 Lane Cove 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 Lane Cove.

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 Lane Cove the value of the land tends to justify extensions in the middle and upper part of the band, with sloping sites, sandstone excavation and bushfire requirements on some blocks 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

Lane Cove extension questions.

From our clients

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Nearby

Home extensions near Lane Cove.

We build extensions across Lower North Shore and the surrounding suburbs. Select a suburb for local council information and what extensions there typically cost.

Lower North Shore

Home Extensions Chatswood Home Extensions Hunters Hill Home Extensions Gladesville Home Extensions North Ryde Home Extensions Ryde

All Sydney extension areas

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

Extend your Lane Cove 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