Side return extensions - how bad does it get?

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We are thinking of extending into our side return. We live in a mid terraced house. I'm nervous about the amount of disruption having seen some pictures on the internet that show the whole of the ground floor gutted, floors up, ceilings down etc etc. I was hoping it would just be tacked on and knocked through!

I realise now from the plans we will need several steel bars inserted in the ceiling to support the structure so I guess there will be a certain level of disruption from this, just wasn't expecting it to be gutted entirely.

We were planning to move out while the worst of the build happened anyway, but I want to be mentally prepared for how much my house is going to be taken apart for this.

Any experiences you could share would be most appreciated.

There will be disruption esp when you need to run services so floors can be up in adjacent rooms to run off the central heating and if you need water etc. I think the disruption is worth it as this sort of extension really transorms terraced houses

Thanks. We have lovely wooden floors, we had sanded and varnished when we moved in. Can they be pulled up without damaging them so they can be replaced once the pipe work is finished?

Yes if they are careful and tbh they can be resanded at the end if there is any damage.The builders will try and come off the pipes etc nearest to teh extension in order to minimise disruption.

Great, I think they will need to be resanded as there will need to be some boards replaced where we have cupboards taken up and kitchen reconfigured. Was hoping I wouldn't lose all the existing flooring.

We had a rear extension done a few years ago. Your builders should do all the external work first and leave internal as it is, once walls and ceiling were up they then knocked through on ours. It was only then that the disruption bothered us. Ie dishes in the bath and cooking in a microwave. Hth

Depends how your building is slotted together - the steels are very disruptive and need to be slotted in as they build so make sure you start in warm weather. I'd chat to the builder about the orde of works and how long you can stay in your house.

Thanks for the feedback. I am resigned to quite a lot of disruption because of the beams but it doesn't sound quite as unmanageable as I thought (or else I am feeling a bit bolder now hearing other people's experiences!). We've seen another house that we like though so we may move instead, not that we are indecisive or anything....