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Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming

999 replies

Believeitornot · 06/12/2017 18:12

New thread

old thread

OP posts:
DustandRubble · 06/12/2017 18:13

Hurrah, a new thread. Hopefully the one where we all finish and live happily ever after in our gorgeous houses.

Baxdream · 06/12/2017 18:20

Ah lovely! Can't believe I've been around a whole thread!
We won't be using a decorator. We just can't justify it!

Titsywoo · 06/12/2017 18:35

Spoke too soon. Builder just called up to say he thinks we owe him £7k more than we say we do! We're definitely right and I think he has done his VAT figure wrong but it's stressing me out thinking he is going to argue his (incorrect) corner. I'm tired of stress Sad. Hopefully he'll see his mistake and be decent - they've been great so far.

We're very near London (East Surrey) so I assume they'll do work there. Here's the details www.checkatrade.com/CdingleBuildersAndDecorators/.

Whatthefoxgoingon · 06/12/2017 18:53

Thanks titsywoo, really hope your Builder is wrong!

4yearsnosleep · 06/12/2017 19:34

Wow! By the end of this one I might have some actual quotes and maybe a start date. Why are tradesmen so slow? We have a fab new front door and I was chasing the guy for weeks! 10weeks from when I agreed to order it's here & made such a difference to the house. It's set the tone for the extension:)

Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
glorious · 06/12/2017 19:41

Oh titsywoo I was so pleased for you and then I read your latest post. Hope it gets sorted out quickly.

The main part of our front roof is tiled, yay. Our loft room is looking pretty good and we're hoping all the windows and stairs will be in by Christmas and everything will be plastered. Then Jan is basically flooring, second fix, joinery and kitchen and we move in early Feb. In theory. I can't wait!

Baxdream · 06/12/2017 19:57

4years you're very brave putting a new front door in before an extension! It's gorgeous!
We're just picking ours now

Tatlerer · 06/12/2017 20:01

Hello all! Lovely to hear about everyone's progress!

TeamRick · 06/12/2017 20:20

Well I'm still here for Thread 3 but thank god Twatchops is not! Well not physically! 😬

Whattodowithaminute · 06/12/2017 21:22

Fingers crossed this is the thread where we actually start building...Hmm

4yearsnosleep · 06/12/2017 22:20

Not brave Bex, just desperately needed as our door was falling apart. You could lift the glass out and get in so we needed it. It has however made me ridiculously happy. All of the work is at the back of the house, so I'm hoping it'll be safe! I recommend Solidor, it's great quality and there's loads of choice.

Baxdream · 07/12/2017 08:15

That makes complete sense! It really is nice. I can't remember what make ours is but to be honest we're all decisioned out. I'm so tired of picking things now so I'm becoming more and more laidback!
Our builders have finished their other jobs so it's all go go go at ours!

Threesocks · 07/12/2017 08:34

We are currently waiting for quotes to come back in (deadline mid Jan). Our architect is managing the bid process for us. We are doing a demolition of a rubbish extension at the back and then rebuilding across the back and round the side. To make a kitchen diner and adding a downstairs bedroom/office with ensuite. Along with a complete renovation of the downstairs of the house.

I am very impatient to get started - living vicariously through watching all your progress at the moment !!

whiskyowl · 07/12/2017 09:12

That blue door is lovely!

4years - LOVE that blue!

rick - definitely ignore, ignore, ignore. What a bully that man is. He has no sense of decency!

titsy - So very, very well done! Do send us some pictures - I think your tolerance of the turquoise shows your real love for your DS!! I feel like you should receive some kind of trophy to mark this milestone.

And I am soooo jealous of Christmas in NYC. I have only ever been there in spring/summer, but I bet it is absolutely amazing in the winter. Talk about glamorous! I am sure you will sort out the difference with your builder - it sounds like it is a simple error he's made, so hopefully you won't even have to put on your assertive pants to sort it!

whatthefox - Thank you so much for your advice! I have had a very gentle word this morning about it, and they are going to sweep up at the end of the day. They are taking the largest wall in the hall back to brick so it is extremely messy. But it's in such an unbelievably awful state at the moment, drastic steps are necessary.

I have been saving up for 10 years to do our work, which has basically involved living in a horribly down-at-heel ex-rental house with plastic carpets for more or less a decade. I suspect my house is worlds cheaper than most of yours, though: the cost of the extension is more than 50% the value of the house! This is the kind of financial decision everyone advises you not to take - we will not add the same amount in value as this is costing, probably by £20-30k. However, we just couldn't find a house that suited us in our budget (which is small, even with the extension costs)- we live in a city that isn't very architecturally distinguished, and where people don't really care for their houses, very unlike the south east. So we decided to create the space that we actually needed and to design everything in so that we could have a very minimal and clean interior.
Since we haven't spent much on the house in the last decade, I think some of the costs we won't recoup are just things we would have had to do anyway for maintenance (new kitchen, staircase).

I think I might be able to start decorating this weekend! The little study at the back of the house is being patch plastered today and the skim coat is quite thin so I think it might be dry by Sunday. If not, I can definitely do the walls that aren't being touched, anyway, and finish up next week if need be. I've gone for Dulux China White in there as it's still a small, north-facing room even if it has a really big window now. Smile

DustandRubble · 07/12/2017 10:27

whisky I think if you aren’t planning to sell immediately, it doesn’t really matter if you are spending more than you could recoup. You’re not trying to make a profit but build a home.

I’m not sure how much value our work would add to our house, but as all the houses here cost stupid money now we have the equity to do it. I get disgusted when I look in estate agents window these days and just rant about pricing everyone out.

Does anyone else get really excited when they have a new skip delivered? I love watching them swap the skips over. I have also lost count of what skip number we are on. Five or six I think.

HideHide · 07/12/2017 10:44

Aaarg, the kitchen fitters have just unpackaged the range and its got a scratch right across the grill door!
Been on hold to curry for 20mins Xmas Angry

DustandRubble · 07/12/2017 11:19

Oh no, I hope they can fix it quickly.

Tatlerer · 07/12/2017 14:30

HideHide grrr. Fingers crossed they sort it out speedily for you. X

whiskyowl · 07/12/2017 15:24

Oh no hide. Can they get you a new one pronto? Isn't it so frustrating when these things happen and you are soooooo close? I'm finding my tolerance for anything going wrong is greatly reduced.

My study is plastered!! And I have a beautiful run of steps down from my dining room to the floor of the garden room. And they are starting to brick up the final side wall. I have some hopes that by this time next week, I will be able to start cleaning up. Smile

devondream · 07/12/2017 16:48

Found you all.

Love that blue door 4 years.
We went for a similar style but in grey to match the new grey windows.

Not much to report here as my car has been in the garage all week so I have not been to see the house.

Hoping to do a major clean this weekend and move some furnitire back into the sitting room and DS 2's room. In preparing for moving in next Tuesday / Wednesday .

Only prob is I can't get hold of the project manager to know if the loos, sinks and bath is in.

I don't mind a bit of roughing it but draw the line at traipsing down the garden to use the builders port a loo!

Titsywoo · 07/12/2017 18:07

He was wrong! Not really his fault as DH asked if he could pay for materials on his credit card so we could get the airlines and everything got confused! Phew. Off to drink prosecco at a Xmas do now to calm myself back down Grin

Titsywoo · 07/12/2017 18:12

Here's some pics of the loft rooms. All still ongoing with decorating so a bit messy. Excuse the hell of DSs turquoise room! Awful colour.

Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming

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Titsywoo · 07/12/2017 18:13

And more...

Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
Titsywoo · 07/12/2017 18:20

Sorry just read back over what I've missed. Thanks whisky. To be honest you could have heard me 10 miles away shouting "No!" in B&Q when I saw what DS had chosen. But as DH gently reminded me we did promise them they could have whatever they wanted and DS is autistic so is even more likely to struggle if I were to change my mind! I figure they'll move out in a few years and we can redecorate (yeah right!) Grin.

Yours sounds like it is going so well - pics?

DustandRubble · 07/12/2017 18:47

I still really like that colour!

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