North End2025
Double-Height Rear Addition
A dark, closed-in clapboard century home opened up with a double-height rear addition, a new kitchen and a 20-foot run of glazing to the back yard.
- Duration
- 16 weeks
Additions
Additions & Extensions
More house, without moving house.
Ground-floor additions, second storeys and rear extensions that read as though they were always part of the home. We handle the structural engineering, the HRM permits and the tie-in detailing that makes old and new meet cleanly.
An extension is the most common way to get the home you actually want out of the home you already own, and it is also the easiest place for a build to go wrong. The difficulty is almost never the new box at the back — it is the junction where new work meets a structure built decades ago to a different standard, often with no drawings and a few surprises hidden in the walls.
We plan for that from the start. Before we price anything we get under the floor and into the roof space to see what we are actually tying into. That is where we find the undersized floor joists, the previous owner's unpermitted patio slab, or the sewer line running exactly where you wanted your new footings. Finding those things during the estimate is cheap. Finding them in week six is not.
The result is a fixed price you can rely on and a finished extension where the ceiling lines, floor levels and window heads line up with the original house instead of announcing themselves as an addition.
How it runs
Our additions process
The same sequence on every job, so you always know what happens next.
- 01
Site visit and feasibility
We walk the site, check the existing structure, and tell you honestly what is and is not possible within your budget.
- 02
Design and engineering
We coordinate the draftsperson and structural engineer so the drawings are buildable, not just pretty.
- 03
Approvals
We prepare and submit the HRM development and building permit applications, and manage the inspections through to approval.
- 04
Build
One site supervisor, one schedule, weekly photo updates, and a locked-in fixed price.
- 05
Handover
Deficiency walkthrough, certificates, warranties and a maintenance guide.
Proof
Recent additions projects
Client feedback
What it is actually like to build with us
Averaging 5.0 out of 5 across 1 reviews. These are unedited, and we have not cherry-picked the short ones.
We had two other builders quote and both were vague about what happened if they found problems. Complex gave us a line-by-line quote and a written contingency. When they did find rot in the old sill plate, we got a change order with a price the same day. No drama, no arguments.
5 out of 5 starsSarah & Tom Whitfield
Homeowners · North End
Questions
Additions FAQs
The questions we get asked most often on this type of project.
Most single-storey rear additions can be handled with a building permit alone. Second storeys and anything affecting heritage or setbacks usually need a development permit as well. We assess which applies at the first site visit and manage the application either way.
Usually yes for a rear or side extension — we hoard off the work zone and keep your kitchen and bathroom live as long as possible. For a second storey you will typically need to move out for the roof-off stage.
A single-room rear extension is typically 10-14 weeks on site. A full second storey is 20-30 weeks. Approvals add 6-16 weeks before that, depending on the pathway.
Tell us what you want to build
A site visit, a proper measure and a fixed-price quote, at no cost and with no obligation. If your budget will not stretch to your brief, we will tell you at the first meeting.
Replies within one business day. We build across Halifax and the HRM, with weekend crews for urgent works.