When should I get a quote?

[GnocchiNineDoors]

We have a LOT of work planned on our KItchen and Bathroom (or it feels like a lot) and are going to need to save save save over the next year, or two.

However, I have no idea how much this work is going to cost. I can estimate the cost of the kitchen units / appliances, and bathroom suite by shopping around but the building works, fitting etc I wouldnt know where to start.

Should I get a quote soon so I at least have a ballpark or should I wait til I have a good chunk saved so as not to waste time? Obviously any quotes I get now, I know will be a little higher by the time we have saved enough....Id just like to know how much roughly we will need so I know how much we will need to save each month and how many.months we need to save for.

[Rhubarbgarden]

I'd get some quotes in, definitely. Then you know where you are.

[GnocchiNineDoors]

Thats what I thought - dont want to save X and the think 'yaaay' only to be told it'll cost 5 times X

[annalouiseh]

get a quote now as wont upset anyone, but if planning to have work done a few yrs down the line just add 3/4% as everything is going up on materials and 90% of it is imported and the £ is going down
then youll always be in the ball park

[tricot39]

If it were me i would be budgetting min 5k for the bathroom and min 10k on the kitchen for a middle of the road scheme with me sourcing products, some builder help and some diy. Obviously you can do it for a lot less or a lot more depending on what kit you choose and how much time you put in. How fancy are you thinking?

[GnocchiNineDoors]

15k!!

Wall inbetween lounge and kichen removed
Tiles stripped from.bathroom
Re plaster kitchen and bath (and the bit where the wall.was to the lounge)
Basic white bathroom suite, plain painted walls, tiles on the bath wall
Possibly IKEA or Homebase white kitchen units, happy to ebay for sink etc. Breakfast bar
Tiles along kitchen walls (in between base and wall units)
Paint walls and ceiling
Fit carpet in lounge
Fit lino in kitchen amd bathroom
(bathroom.off kitchen)
Move radiator in kitchen to lounge

god....looks even more work.when written down.

[PigletJohn]

if you're not ready to start work yet, tell the tradesmen you want an idea, and will they talk it over with you please.

They always get annoyed at doing lots of work for a formal quote for people who then end up not giving them any work, and using all their ideas.

[fussychica]

Doing as much preparation work yourselves always helps the budget. Make sure you don't overdevelop your property ie spend 20k on kitchen in a low cost home, especially in the current climate where your property might be worth less by the time you've got around to doing the work.

[oscarwilde]

Wall inbetween lounge and kichen removed - you will need a steel joist (building regs). I've just had a quote (London) of £1750 +vat 20% to do the same thing and make good. Bear in mind that if your property is old, that you might have to do more replastering as old ceilings might come down with the trauma.

Tiles stripped from.bathroom (you can do this yourself if you are careful)

Re plaster kitchen and bath (and the bit where the wall.was to the lounge) - get this included in those quotes.

Basic white bathroom suite, plain painted walls, tiles on the bath wall (£2-5K depending on choice of suites/tiles and size of room (replastering).

Possibly IKEA or Homebase white kitchen units, happy to ebay for sink etc. Breakfast bar. (We costed an ikea kitchen with appliances at circa £3k. Fitting was an extra £2k).

Tiles along kitchen walls (in between base and wall units) A tiler is circa £100/150 a day - bear in mind a cheap one may be inexperienced and waste lots of tiles

Paint walls and ceiling (Do yourself, otherwise circa £100 per day)
Fit carpet in lounge (anything from £10 to £50 per sqm. You can easily get costs for this at carpetright or equivalent now.
Fit lino in kitchen amd bathroom (see carpetright or equiv for estimates)
(bathroom.off kitchen)
Move radiator in kitchen to lounge (what's going to heat your kitchen :) ? )

Definitely cultivate a friendly chat with a builder on the basis that you need to get a rough estimate "to talk to the bank". They are generally happy to help. Make sure you understand what they are excluding and if VAT at 20% is excluded. Ouch.

[tricot39]

Based on your later description £15k is probably an overestimate.
Oscarwilde's list of costs are good but remember to add a decent contingency (at least 50%). we spent twice what we expected to by the time we confirmed the scope of works and added in things we hadn't thought of/expected.