Extension costs

[alterego]

We're trying to decide whether to add a large extension to our house or to move house. Could any of you who have had extensions let me know how much they cost? To give a bit of info, we would like a minimum of one large downstairs room, maybe 20' square, double the size of the kitchen (currently 15' x 10') and add two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs. We could use the loft for the bedrooms and add a single storey bit for the downstairs, or go for a 2-storey extension.
Would be grateful for any other advice too.

don't know much, but know that it is loads cheaper to do a 2 storey than a loft convert as the basic structure of an extension has to be good enough for 2 floors even if you only inted to have 1, this means that the only real difference between 1 floor and 2 is the bricks used to make up the height difference!

we just had 2 story extension done - doubled kitchen size and added on extra bedroom with ensuite and re sized old bathroom - total cost - 32K

our quotes to have loft done into 1 room no bathroom were £20 k-and they were cheap quotes from accquantences!!

I am having my kitchen extended by 2ft and then a complete extension of 15', the kitchen will be refitted too...total 30K. I am in Surrey so not sure if it makes a difference where you are located.

artyjoe - is that one storey or two?

Has anyone had anything bigger done? And how do we find a good architect/builder etc. I only have one recommendation so far.

2ft, artyjoe? Is it worth it? I mean while you've got all the upheaval, wouldn't it be worth going a few extra feet?

Single storey rear extension(kitchen/diner) - 27 x 10. double storey side extension, out by 7ft(utility & extended garage) 2 extra bedrooms on top (built partly over garage) of 16 x 12 & 11 x 12(ish), loft conversion. Convert 1 bedroom to ensuite bathroom, convert loft - spacesaver stairs, conversion to playroom (so not posh iyswim) - builders feed approx 75k, all in about 100k including very nice new kitchen (limestone floor, handmaded units & underfloor heating). First spoke to architects in Jan 2003, builders started Feb 2004 & finshed end july 2004. STILL decorating. Any more you want to know just shout.

should have been builders fees (although don't forget to budget for all that tea & biccies)

berries.......... ok.... 100k, I think we will put off our need for an extention for now......we are in surrey too.

thinsk htey say ! thousean per metre sq

Gosh, you had a lot done berries- it must have been a nightmare. Can I ask why you had a loft conversion and didn't go for two-storey on the kitchen/diner?

Sposed to be £800 - £1000 per squre metre on ground and half again for the upstairs.
Theres a good magazine out - called house and renovation or something.
We're currently looking at a 2 storey side extension 10 m x 5 m - but may just say to the builder - what can we have for £50k and see what we can get.

TraceyK - are you going to go straight to the builder (rther than use an architect)? Will have alook for the magazine. Would it be in WHSmith do you think? Is the 800/1,000 quote for everything or just the build cost?
Thanks everyone for your help.

do you have a fax? or cat me your address and I can photocopy the pages from my aug 04 copy. It has a table of criteria - eg architect, builder direct, diy, area of country, quality of build etc. But yes I think it includes everything as it suggests percentage add ons if you say for example want a bespoke kitchen.
I got my copy from WH Smith - the name of it is Homebuilding & Renovating. It has loads of good adverts for all sorts of things you never knew existed!

Have "Cat"ed you Tracey. Thanks. Will pop down to Smith's tomorrow.

Just realised you meant put in the post so have CAT'ed my address. Feeling embarrassed now that you're going to all this trouble for someone you don't even know. But thank you so much - the table sounds just what I need. And just noticed that you're Tracy with no 'e' so sorry about all the previous e's.

Sorry, haven't been on for ages. Had a loft conversion done because Mrs Bodgit&Scarper who owned house before us has partially converted the loft - ie had velux & dormer windows, heating & lighting put in, but hadn't finished job completely, hadn't strengthened floor, just covered over ceiling joists, and hadn't put in proper access, just ladders than went down over bathroom door. We were having the roof cavity extended by about another 40% so made sense to 'finish' off the loft room as well, also meant that we now have a great place for the kids to take their friends to 'chill out' with a full floor of sound insulation between us & them. It also worked out much cheaper than having a 2nd storey built on top of kitchen, which would have changed the 'feel' as would have resulted in extra bedrooms rather than sep. type of space.
BTW - mags to buy are 'build-it' and 'homebuilders and renovators' mags. These go much more into the detail you want rather than the 'ideal home' - you won't want those for another 18 months (until you start decorating).
As regards price, although the mags give figures per m2, very difficult to get our costs to match those. Depends very much on who you choose to do the work & how big a backlog they have. We had to wait 6 months for our builder to start, but most things went pretty smoothly once started - we didn't want a 'one man band' to do the building work as we would still be waiting for them to finish (next door had an extra bedroom built over the garage which took almost as long!). Can give you loads more info if you want, CAT me if you like, rather than going through the boards.

ok, we are having a two storey extension and some external works and its costing around 90K - but we are using an architect and also have to have certain types of reclaimed/expensive materials. Some of the tenders came in at almost double that though .

The builders started last week and they are brilliant and so far its not been too bad.

We had a Mrs&Mrsbodgitandscarper at a previous place - absolute nightmare. I've got Homebuilding and Renovating magazine (thanks for the tip TracyK) - very useful section at back with lots of tables for working out prices. Really need to work out how big we want this to be in order to work out the price. Probably time to call the specialists in the see if our ideas are workable and would get planning permission etc. Any views on whether to go for architects or builders for plans?

Have just had a loft conversion - not exactly the same but raises some of the same points. You have to consider if the amount you spend on the work will increase the value of the house by the same amount. Sounds daft, but this is not always the case. For example, if you live in a crappy area, do an extension / loft conversion costing £20,000 on a house valued originally at £100,000, you might find that people who have £120,000 to spend on a house simply won't be interested in that area. This may well not be a consideration for you if you plan to stay where you are with your extension for a significant length of time. But it may be a factor if you plan to move int he near future or intend to raise the cash by extending your mortgage. HTH

Spoke to my brother recently about this as we are considering an extension.
Points he made were:
Costs can vary considerably according to:

• which part of the country you are in.
• how good the builder is.

Your local council building control dept may be able to tell you which local builders are worth using. There are quality awards which are given out to good ones apparently. Speak to your local council planning dept before going too far to find out if what you're planning might be allowed in principle. If not, what can they suggest might be allowed. Architect's drawings are not necessary for planning permission but IMO I would use one over a builder - usually builders have little design know-how. Cost will also depend on the quality of finish you are after. My brother (architect and council buildings contractor type person) also reckons a two storey extension works out cheaper than a very large single storey. Too much to think about .... MAybe it would be easier just to move...

If you have an idea of what you want, you could always ask builders round for a 'rough estimate' if you explain what needs doing. You can then get the architect to draw up plans and get proper quotes from the builders(which will be at least 15% more than est.). Would definately get good plans drawn up rather than buiders doing them. Our architect drew up full planning and building regs plans, & submitted them at the same time - the BR were a lot more detailed & he included 4 pages of additional specifications where he laid down types of brickwork, types of insulation etc. We also had structural engineers plans for the new steelworks. These all became part of the contract with the builder, so he knew when he quoted what quality of work we were expecting.
BTW architect plans don't have to be that expensive. Ours was a self-employed chap recommended by a friend & was significantly cheaper than most arch. firms. He was also local & very up on planning office - that helps.
When you pick your builder, try to get someone who mainly works in your area - they will know the building regs people & can spot (& stop) any problems before they get big. Sorry for droning on, but have spent last 2 years managing all this so is a subject very close to my heart.

I posted about this a few weeks ago. I still can't work out whether we should approach a builder or an arctitect first. Some builders' ads in the Yellow Pages say they do extensions from the planning to the completed project, so that would mean no need for an architect, right?

Alterego, we have the same problem as you re recommendations. We only have one. I have decided we will have to bite the bullet and pick poeple out of the Yellow Pages but you could still ask them to provide you with references from previous clients.

re:recommendations - don't be afraid to knock on the doors of people having building work done & ask them if they would recommend their builder! Most people will only be too happy to tell you if they've got a good one - and definately warn you if they're not. Don't do it during the day though - you've no way of knowing if the 'householder' you're speaking to is the builder himself