According to recent figures, home extensions are now outstripping the construction of new houses in Ireland.

Research carried out by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has revealed that more people are opting to extend their home rather than build a new one.

Damien McKay, self-build expert, architect and chartered engineer said planning application statistics for the first quarter show that over 1,630 people have been granted permission for an extension, compared to less than 1,280 permissions for a new home.

"For about 15 years and over the boom years, it was the other way round with applications for new homes often being twice as high.

"But the figures for the last 12 months from April 2010 show this trend has now completely reversed," added Mckay.

Perceived costs – particularly in these straitened times - of building or extending a home can be very off-putting, but if handled the right way, they can be done within a tight budget.

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According to McKay the average cost of building your new home can easily overrun by €25,000 to €75,000 or more if things go wrong along the way.

Likewise the cost of building an extension can overrun by €50,000 or more. But you can avoid this nightmare scenario, by getting it right from the start.

Mckay advised: "Changing the design or specification during the construction stage can increase costs by 30% alone.

"Problems can arise if you don't start with an overall budget and project plan to control the finances and the schedule as you go along".

Unexpected costs can also be incurred if you don't have a formal brief and agreement on fees with your architect or detailed drawings for the contractor.

Mckay is holding a two-day workshop on extending or building your own home at the Stillorgan Park Hotel in Dublin on 14th and 15th October.

He has also launched a mentoring programme which includes nine hours of face-to face meetings, 18 further hours of consultation, and free access to resources, such as his guide to an energy efficient home, creating a unique building contract, formal agreement for appointment of an architect, project planner, budget planner etc.

The idea behind the workshop and the mentoring programme is to provide independent assistance and support to guide people through the various stages of a self-build project.

For further details on the workshop see: www.dmk.ie.

(LB/BMcC)