To think £80k + VAT on an above garage extension is extortionate!

[Glitterlikeawinner]

Just that really, we bought our standard 1930s 3 bed semi 5 years ago for £220k in North West England. We've been considering an above garage extension which is adjoined to our house for a few years and finally go round to the plans. Now we have a quote for £80k plus VAT. The room isn't massive, about 4m x 4m with a small en suite 2m x 2m. We have the foundations already under the garage from a fairly recent garage build.
I was just a bit shocked and equally gutted as we had approval for £50k from the bank which we thought would be enough to cover this. Our architect/structural engineer who drew the plans never gave us an estimate of likely costs despite knowing our budget so I'm a bit peeved that we've gone through this process, paid him more than £4k and now can't afford the job itself!
Was I being totally naive to the cost of extensions, is our builder over pricing or is this the result of covid prices?

And whoever you use, I would suggest a JCT Homeowners contract. That protects you and the contractor. You also want a detailed programme, with start and finish dates for every element of the works. And be wary of those who ask for large deposits….we don’t take deposits at all, but, for example, £1k to secure your slot is fine, asking you to pay for materials up front rings alarm bells.

Can't quote your post for some reason but regarding the wasting people's time point.

What success rate do you think builders get as conversation % on quotes issued? Consider that most serious people would get 3, many people are asking speculatively, changes of circumstances mean people don't go ahead etc. It isn't wasting time - you are offering them the chance to quote / tender for your job (which could be making them 10s of thousands in profit). They can always decline to quote - I think you need to change your mindset here. Yes, if you have no intention to proceed and claim otherwise, wasting many hours, then yes that might not be reasonable, but here you are actually intending to do some work.

Consider a big part of being a builder is to quote for work and try to win the jobs - it's the basic management of the company. If you hold back on questions for fear of disappointing someone who can pull out of the conversation at any point, you are only going to cost yourself money.

Get your docs and spec in order, and then engage a few parties seriously and at a level of detail such you can make a decision to proceed or postpone with the facts at hand - and don't feel guilty for operating as a responsible client should.

Get several quotes but the price of wood is awful at the moment and any builder can pick and choose jobs and charge what they want

Brexit and and Covid. We've just paid a fucking fortune for repointing. We need loads more work done but think we'll wait for a bit and hope it settles down.

To add to @Buildingthefuture excellent posts, please don't ask for recommendations on FB.
Everyone just recommends their mates
Don't be scared to ask to see their work, you are spending a hell of a lot of money on your home
A good builder will happily ask previous clients if they mind a potential customer seeing their work and asking them questions, if they shy away from this or get defensive, walk away
I agree materials have rocketed,, it's eye-watering

Wow thank you so much @Buildingthefuture so much helpful advice and support! And to you all for extra advice too! Feeling much more confident about getting out there for some more proper quotes!

@londonrach we definitely cannot “charge what we want” because we are always pricing in a competitive market. But prices have just risen exponentially (I’ve been doing this more than 20 years and have never seen rises like it) and, for example, if a customer wants to delay a job for 6 months, currently, their price would definitely rise.
@thedarkling is also correct….I do think it will settle down and return to a more manageable level in the next 12-18 months….

My BIL has just paid £45k for the exact same extension

@IncompleteSenten

Holy fuck. That is a fortune!

We had an extra bedroom built on top of the side extension and it was around £30,000. It doesn't have an en suite but we did have a wetroom installed on the ground floor and that was £10,000.

£80,000 is eyewatering!

I can only assume they've quoted that because they don't actually want the job!

I'm having exàctly this. An extra bedroom over a flat roof. No bathroom. And my builder is charging £30k which I'm more than happy with and that's for eveyrhung apart from decoration. Defo get some more quotes.

@drpet49 no, he really hasn’t. Op hasn’t given anywhere near enough detail here to know what she’s had designed. Your BIL might have had an extension above a garage but there are literally hundreds of decisions that customers make that massively affect the price…for example, what is the external finish, drainage (can be a massive cost), roof treatment, windows, doors, heating type, geographical location, square meterage? These are just a fraction of the things that massively affect the price. No two jobs are ever the same!

My builder BIL does loads of extensions, and he'd quote about £80k for a g/f extension that size. I'd say it's on the high side for a first floor extension, unless it requires extra work.

Will the en suite require digging out a new sewer, or will it use the existing one? That could add quite a bit.

Having said all that, the cost of materials is rising almost daily. Builder BIL now quotes high, knowing that when work starts (he's booked solid until March), the materials will cost a lot more than they do now. And he's had to bump up the rates he pays his tradesmen, too.

I had new windows and doors at the start of the year, done by the company he uses. They cost somewhere north of £9k. If I was doing it this year, it would cost £12k. That's a massive increase in a year.

You live in One of the areas that strongly voted Leave, and are now dismayed there are less cheap Eastern European builders.

Think of it as Getting Brexit done.

@Bootikin

You live in One of the areas that strongly voted Leave, and are now dismayed there are less cheap Eastern European builders.

Think of it as Getting Brexit done.

It's great news for builders in though!!

Many trades that have had their wages suppressed for many years, are starting to return to what were normal levels.

I think that’s a lot. 5yrs ago We paid £90k +vat for a double extension which gave us a 2nd lounge, dining room, utility and wc. Upstairs 2 x extra kingsized bedrooms one with en-suite. We are in the midlands.

RE: the conversation, personally I would get some more quotes.

But to be honest, if you plan to stay in the house long term, I would just suck it up and get the work done, I doubt if it will be getting cheaper in the future.

My husband is a builder in the North West, he said 65,000 - 70,000. He always undercharges though. At a minimum for the basic structure you would be looking at £1500 per square metre. Then add on bathroom etc

did you pay him 4k already?

That does sound really expensive.

We are getting 2 story extension, 10 x 3, including an ensuite. Moving back door, new kitchen (not in extension), 2 x bathrooms rejigged to create hallways, and some of the existing house plastered. We are 107k (that’s including vat) that is in Scotland though.

I’m in the south east, I had a loft conversion with a roof raise, so whole new roof, it needed steels in various places, had a small dormer and 2 bedrooms with En suite for £79000 3 years ago. £80000 for yours is eye watering!!

I had a loft conversion finished in May. Victorian terraced house. £55+ vat (plus fittings and fixtures etc) and that’s in zone 3 London. 80+vat seems too much.

@Glitterlikeawinner

Just that really, we bought our standard 1930s 3 bed semi 5 years ago for £220k in North West England. We've been considering an above garage extension which is adjoined to our house for a few years and finally go round to the plans. Now we have a quote for £80k plus VAT. The room isn't massive, about 4m x 4m with a small en suite 2m x 2m. We have the foundations already under the garage from a fairly recent garage build. I was just a bit shocked and equally gutted as we had approval for £50k from the bank which we thought would be enough to cover this. Our architect/structural engineer who drew the plans never gave us an estimate of likely costs despite knowing our budget so I'm a bit peeved that we've gone through this process, paid him more than £4k and now can't afford the job itself! Was I being totally naive to the cost of extensions, is our builder over pricing or is this the result of covid prices?

How many quotes did you get? For such a big job you should get 4 or 5 to see what the midline is. I had a quote for my garden; a small job, ranging from 2k - 8.5k for the same job. So many piss takers through the Pandemic are just trying their luck. I would never agree to a job without a complete breakdown of costs and a few quotes. I would join local FB groups and ask for builders to quote your job but then thoroughly research the company and ask for non-family reviews. Something like 'Has anyone used such and such a company for a house extension'. See what response you get back. Ask for pics too. 80K seems a crazy price, even in the south where I live.

Jesus, where in the North West are you? We had a double storey extension done last year - started October 2020, finished March 2021 and cost £47k. This wasn't for any bathrooms etc.

Downstairs, we got one large living room with French doors, one knock through required for single door. Upstairs, we had two bedrooms, with a walkway created from a pre-existing bedroom, so lights and heating moved.

The price included electrics, plumbing, plastering etc.

All we had to do was paint and put carpets down.

I'm in Manchester.

@TokenGinger Near Chester, Cheshire

@bootikin I most definitely was a remainer! Never wanted Brexit at all!

80k is on the high side, but as others have said, the price of everything has sky rocketed so £50k is unrealistic, sadly.

@drpet49

My BIL has just paid £45k for the exact same extension

😂 🤣😂🤣 The exact same? I don't even know where to start with this statement @LakieLady your BIL has had to 'bump up the rates he pays his tradesmen too' Erm no, he's paying them their going rate. Skilled tradesmen and women are worth their weight in gold. He is not doing them a favour, he is paying for their expertise