Help extension looming......

[swissrole]

We are planning a big extension and a friend is helping with the drawings for planning app which is going to save us alot of time. We have been advised that winter is not a good time to start work because of weather but we want the work done asap. Does anyone have any insight or experience of such matters? Also does anyone have any ideas/advice about short term lets while work is being done?

Right, the reason you can't build in winter is not just that it rains, but that concrete doesn't set properly in extreme temperatures and plaster put on when it's very cold will shrink and crack and need snagging. Also builders and tradespeople tend to bugger off abroad after the season so they start work on your house and then bog of to Cyprus for two months

Short term lets - you have several options: (1) Buy a caravan and park it in the driveway if you have one; (2) Rent using a letting agency; (3) Stay with friends/family.

It's harder to get short term lets for families than single people. It can be possible to plan with your builder for those bits when the house becomes uninhabitable to be together so you can bugger off to a hotel/holiday for a week. But leave someone behind who can keep an eye on them.

Do NOT try to build in winter. For the reasons wmmc stated but also because the days are just too short to get a decent day's work in so the build will take MUCH longer.

There are loads of jobs that just need decent daylight and you just cannot get them done properly in winter.