Home Extensions Balwyn

Balwyn Extension Design & Drafting Services

Why do Balwyn locals love our home extensions?

Our services: RFT Solutions provides the sensible and affordable way to build a new home, renovate or extend in Balwyn. And beyond! We’ll take care of everything, from drafting services to builders quotes, permits, construction cost estimates, building surveyors, engineers energy assessors – and more!

Our expertise: We’ve been designing home extensions in Balwyn for over 20 years. We can also design your new home or development, no matter where you are in Melbourne.

Our relationship: Trusting RFT Solutions with your next home extension means there’s nothing left for you to do other than sit back and let us take care of everything. We’ll ensure that only the best consultants will work on your dream Melbourne home extension.

Our experience: You don’t become Balwyn’s preferred home extension specialists without having the most skilled building designers out there. We’ll ensure your home extension blends perfectly with your existing home, your lifestyle, your vision, and your budget.

Your savings: Home extensions are not cheap, which is why you need RFT Solutions. We can deliver a 10-20% saving on typical construction costs because of our sensible and proven process that is individually designed just for you.

Your home: Because your home is your most expensive asset, we know the cookie-cutter approach will just not do. Our home extensions are tailored precisely to your specifications, your vision, and your dreams.

History of Balwyn

Balwyn is a residential suburb 10 km east of central Melbourne. To its south are Canterbury and Surrey Hills and northwards there is Balwyn North. Belmore Road divides Balwyn from Balwyn North.

Balwyn was part of Henry Elgar’s Special Survey of eight square miles (1841), which was subdivided into small farms and grazing runs. One of the subdivisions was bought by a Scots editor and journalist, Andrew Murray (1813-80), in the late 1850s. He built a house which he named Balwyn, approximately on the site of the present Fintona Girls’ School in Balwyn Road. Murray planted a vineyard, and reputedly derived ‘Balwyn’ from the Gaelic ‘bal’ and the Saxon ‘wyn’. Other vineyards prospered until the 1890s and grape vine branches formed part of Camberwell city’s crest. Balwyn was in the north of Camberwell city.

Source: https://www.victorianplaces.com.au/balwyn

Renovation Trends Shaping Balwyn

Heritage & Period Home Renovations

The history of heritage and period homes in Balwyn reflects the area’s development from a rural township in the mid-19th century to a significant residential suburb after World War II, characterized by a mix of early mansions, interwar homes, and later Modernist houses. 

Early land speculation around the 1880s led to some residential estates, but large-scale development, including the construction of modest interwar homes, accelerated in the 1930s. The post-war era saw a boom in new housing, including significant Modernist homes designed by notable architects, which are now part of the area’s heritage.

Second Storey Extensions

Many Balwyn homes sit on blocks with strong architectural character. They range from modest interwar houses to post-war Modernist designs now recognised as part of the suburb’s heritage. 

A second storey addition allows families to gain much-needed space while keeping the original façade and period features intact. By extending upward rather than outward, homeowners can preserve the home’s heritage presence from the street while creating extra bedrooms, living zones, or workspaces that suit modern family life.