Home Extensions · Leichhardt NSW 2040
Home extensions in Leichhardt, done properly.
Rear and side house extensions for Leichhardt 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.
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Extending out, not up
Rear extensions for Leichhardt terraces, semis and cottages.
Strava Group builds home extensions in Leichhardt: rear extensions, side returns and whole-of-back transformations that open the house to the yard. Leichhardt is terrace and semi country, with Victorian and Federation rows on the older streets, freestanding cottages and bungalows further out, and almost all of it inside heritage conservation areas. On a terrace or semi the extension is always a custom project: the party wall, the narrow frontage and the neighbour on the other side of it shape every decision. On the freestanding homes the brief is simpler, but the heritage controls still apply.
In Leichhardt 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 Leichhardt.
A Leichhardt terrace with two good front rooms, a long dark hallway and a lean-to kitchen at the back is the brief we see most. The fix is a rear extension that brings the kitchen and living into the yard and the light, built against a party wall that has stood for a century.
Quick Answer
Most home extensions in Leichhardt 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. Terrace and semi extensions are custom projects because of the party wall and the lack of side access, and they tend to sit in the middle of the band or above it for larger terraces.
Local knowledge
What we know about extending in Leichhardt.
Every suburb builds a little differently. This is what matters when you are extending a Leichhardt home.
Council
Leichhardt is in the Inner West Council area under the Inner West Local Environmental Plan 2022, and most of the suburb sits inside heritage conservation areas. That removes the Complying Development pathway for almost every extension, so projects go through a Development Application. A rear extension that sits behind the original roofline, respects the neighbouring terrace and is not visible from the street is well supported by the controls. We confirm the pathway for your property before quoting. Current planning controls are published by Inner West Council and on the NSW Planning Portal.
Housing stock
Victorian terraces and Federation semis on the older streets between Parramatta Road and Norton Street, freestanding Federation cottages and interwar bungalows toward Lilyfield and Haberfield, and a scatter of later brick. Most of the terraces and semis carry a lean-to kitchen and bathroom at the rear that was added long ago and was never built to last. Those come off and are replaced with something engineered.
Structure
Terraces and semis share a party wall, and everything about the extension is designed around it: the new structure is tied to the existing masonry without loading the shared wall beyond what it was built for, and the neighbour is kept informed throughout. Cutting openings into old double brick rear walls needs engineered lintels and careful propping. Freestanding cottages on timber floors extend more simply, but matching the new floor to the old suspended floor is a detail that has to be right.
Yard and block
Terrace blocks are narrow, often 4 to 6 metres wide and 150 to 300 square metres in total, with no side access at all. Materials and spoil come through the house or over the rear lane where one exists, which changes the programme and the protection we put in place. The freestanding homes sit on 300 to 500 square metre blocks with side access on at least one side. In both cases the extension runs the full width of the block and the yard is kept beyond it.
Services and ground
Leichhardt sits on shale derived clay soils that move with moisture, and the footings under a Victorian terrace were laid by hand and never engineered. New footings are designed for the site and detailed against the old ones so the extension does not settle away from the house or pull on the party wall. Old sewer and stormwater lines frequently run under the rear of terrace blocks and along the lanes, and they are located before design starts.
Value
Leichhardt is a tightly held inner west suburb where Norton Street, the light rail and the short run to the city keep demand strong. Buyers pay a premium for a terrace or semi with a properly built modern rear, and a well engineered extension that keeps the original front and opens the back is the single most valuable improvement you can make to one.
Start here
Tell us about your Leichhardt 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.
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 Leichhardt 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 a terrace it matters twice over because the party wall has to be protected as well.
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 Leichhardt.
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 Leichhardt the narrow blocks keep the footprint modest, but party walls, no side access, heritage controls and old double brick structure tend to put projects in the middle of the band and sometimes above it for larger terraces. Terrace and semi extensions are custom builds quoted on their own terms. How much of the existing structure has to change is usually the largest single factor, followed by access and wet areas.
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
Leichhardt extension questions.
Rated 5.0 on Google.
We had Strava Group complete major renovation works on our property and were blown away with the quality. The attention to detail and overall finish were amazing.
Great communication, honest work, easy to work with, highly recommend to work with for any new build/renovations. If you are looking to get work done without worrying about shortcuts Strava Group is builder to use.
I highly recommend Strava Group to everyone great workmanship, reliable service, and I couldn’t be happier with the result.
I couldn't be happier with the work from Strava Group. From the beginning, Stav and the team was friendly, honest, and super easy to deal with.
We engaged Strava Group for a home extension and renovation. We are incredibly happy with the service and the results we achieved. From day one Stav and team where always willing to help with any issues we had and we loved that the main focus was as quality and longevity. Highly recommended
Had a great experience with Strava Group. The team was easy to deal with, super professional, and kept me in the loop the whole way through. They really listened to what I wanted and made the whole process feel smooth and stress-free.
Aloona T.
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Nearby
Home extensions near Leichhardt.
We build extensions across the inner west. Select a suburb for local council information and what extensions there typically cost.
Inner West
The Hills District
Hornsby and the Northern Suburbs
Ryde, Hunters Hill and the North Shore
Inner West
Parramatta
Western Sydney
Southern Sydney and St George
Looking for a different service in Leichhardt? We also build second storey additions in Leichhardt and home renovations in Leichhardt.
Extend your Leichhardt home properly.
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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.
More in Leichhardt
Other Strava Group services in Leichhardt
Each page covers the local council, the homes we see in Leichhardt and what that kind of project typically costs.