panic setting in our housebuild is actually going to start at last

[zippitippitoes]

groundworks man is coming a t luchtime {panic emoticon}

HURRAH ! Is that to put the foundations in ?

it is really great when it actually starts (ours started in October and is now at the roof stage).

What are you having built ?

Ooooh good luck - I love a meaty building project, are you building from scratch? We're planning a kitchen extension in the summer, just got planning permission last week and now trying to find builders for it. Hope it all goes well for you - it will be hugely time-consuming and scary at times, but so worth it when you're done. Just imagine yourself buying nice things to put in all that space.....

oooh how exciting.. we are trying to get someone to quote to build us a new place.. how did you find a reliable builder?

it is a little house in our backyard, which we hope (everything crossed ) will be our springboard to moving somewhere nice in future..

it has taken ages to get this far and i know it'sd going to be a struggle managing it..

it will be odd because I work from a rom looking straight out onto it so there will be no escape

reliable builders were way too expensive so we are subcontracting, so the proof will be in the building whether they are any good...

we are doing the same thing.. building a small house on land at in laws house and they are moving into it.. we are paying for it to be built.. just handy so we can look after SIL who is mentally handicapped. Did you have many probs with planning?

we were not exactly encouraged by the planning office, but we put in an application which was difficult to refuse and properties either side had both eventually got permission they took about 5 years!

ours went in at the end of nov 2004 and came through march 2005, neighbours and town council objected and it went to the committee and i had to make a brief speech counteracting the objections of the neighbour (who had just built two houses on the boundary of ours as aninvestment)and the committee made a site visit and passed it

i hope it won't take too long! anothe house further up has done a similar thing but sold to a developer.. we will just be living there like the waltons! they usually say about £1000 per sq m i think..?

we were lucky though as last summer the council stopped taking any new applications until 2011 because they have already exceeded their quota!

Oh lucky you! Hope it goes smoothly - it'll be really exciting. We've been trying to get planning approval for around 5 years now and I'm really browned off with our architect at the moment cos 4 wks ago he promised drawings in 2-3 wks and I still haven't got them .

oh no a digger has just appeared at the end of the garden!!!!

why oh no ?

not really o no just collywobbles