Extensions and structural alterations in Kuching

Extensions and structural alterations normally require drawings and a submission to the local authority. We arrange the drawings and the submission as part of the contract. Internal renovation that does not touch structure generally does not require one.

Only if the existing foundations and columns can carry it, which an engineer has to assess before anything is quoted. Sometimes they can as built, sometimes the ground floor needs strengthening first, and occasionally the answer is no.

Not by looking at it, and not by tapping it. In a terrace house the party walls and anything sitting under a beam line usually carry load, but the only reliable answer comes from the structural drawings or from an engineer on site. We check before quoting a wall removal, because a wall that turns out to be structural halfway through demolition stops being a renovation and starts being a repair.

The setback is fixed by the local authority and is shown on the approved building plan for your lot, not chosen at the design stage. We check the title and the approved plan before drawing anything — a setback breach is the fastest way to have a submission rejected, and the fastest way to have a finished extension become a problem when the house is sold.