Have I underestimated the costs of works?

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I'm in the process of buying a house and am concerned that I have underestimated the cost of the works required. I have budgeted £70k including VAT and contingency, cost of new kitchen, bathrooms, flooring and tiling - I'm in the North if that helps. Kitchen/bathrooms to be mid range quality.

I need to buy in the labour - I won't be doing any of the work myself.

The works are:

Single storey side extension of approx 20 ft x 10 ft to enlarge existing kitchen diner with Velux windows and French doors
Rip out existing kitchen and install a new one
Creation of utility room within extension
Creation of study in existing house (partition wall, door etc)
Rip out three bathrooms (one downstairs WC, one main bathroom, one ensuite) and install new bathrooms

What do you think?

Is that to build an entire extension of 20 by 10?

My friend had all that done plus a utility room and it cost her 120k (south east), she had underfloor heating and slate tiling too.

Also I'm a bit shocked how much people expect to get paid now

I got a quote recently to replace a window and make good and he said it would be 800 quid and when I asked how much the sealed unit was he said he got it at trade for about 100. So he expected to be paid 700 for half a days work!

I had all the windows in a house done 15 years ago for 3 grand and it included French doors. In general I think costs have gone up a lot.

Yes, I would have think this is what it would cost without the extension....

What quotes have you got in?
Have they all been in the region of 70k?

Hi, it's not just the extension - it's to replace the kitchen and existing bathrooms and to create a study and utility within the space of the extension/existing house.

I'm not after underfloor heating and slate tiles - probably Amtico flooring or similar

My friend has been quoted 16k for replacing her windows with double glazed ones. 3 storey victorian end of terrace.

I think that's a bit on the low side. I paid £20k to rip out one bathroom and one (very small) kitchen. No other building works. French doors are £3k +

I am in the North too. A few years ago we paid about £35k for an extension including new kitchen and utility room. Builder got a great price on the kitchen. I think based on that, your estimate is realistic.

Hi, I haven't got formal quotes because I don't own the house yet.

fitted kitchen inc removal of old one 10k, bathrooms average 6k each

it can be done for less than this or more depending on your expectations of quality and the ranges you choose to put in

can't help with the cost of the extension though -sorry

single story extension in london would probably cost £30-£50k but almost half that in Wales if you know the right people (ie a builder!) so if you can get an extension in the North at a similar discount that would probably cost around £30k

In London I bank on £10k all in to replace a kitchen and £5k per bathroom (but downstairs cloak would probably be significantly less) Lets say £22.5k in all.

Utility room I'm guessing would be £5k assuming it needs new plumbing and drainage and stud partition wall probably only £2k.

So £70 probably would cover it IF you can get the extension for £30k inc VAT.

Thats a big IF but builders in Wales are desperate for work maybe in teh north too?

But wouldn;t it be easier to just get a few quotes rather than guess?

Most builders will come around a house you're trying to buy and give you a quote.

Hi, we've rung a couple of builders but they say it depends upon the plans and of course, we haven't got plans as it isn't our property yet. Seems like a vicious circle!

I don't think you're necessarily too far off. The question will be what price bracket are your tiles/kitchen units/paints/etc? Amtico isn't entry level so you may be under budgeting.

I think it would be possible to do what you're aiming to do for £70K but it would be basic no-frills stuff.

What do you mean by mid-range?
I think 70k is realistic for what you want.

Hi, we are looking for 'mid level' furnishings and fittings.

WE did a back extension, ripped out kitchen from front of house and put new one in extension, replastered and put new carpets / flooring in whole of downstairs and turned a garage into a study for approx the same price. So not far off but no bathrooms included in ours so you might need a bit more for that part of it. We're in the South West / Midlands....

By mid-range, I mean top end B&Q, low to mid range John Lewis, if you get my drift!

We have just refurbished our kitchen/diner with completely mid-range kitchen units on a good trade discount. The kitchen units and worktop came to about £6,000, the job as a whole will cost us more than £15,000. And that is without any new doors or windows.

Yeah, you can do it but do lots of searching on internet for deals on appliances,sinks, taps etc.

May not be the kitchens you are looking for but a good builder will have trade accounts at places like Howdens (only trade), Selco, B&Q, Wickes etc so you may hopefully be surprised at the cost.

Have you got a floor plan of the house you are buying so you can at least start initial discussion with builders/architects? I am just starting down this route and have found a builder through ratedpeople.com who seems v knowledgable. He also told me to look on e-bay for new basic bathroom suites and I was amazed at the price on there - he says he has used several of the ebay shop sellers and they have been very efficient.

Have you included cost of planning permission/building control compliance (fire safety/electrics/plumbing requirements etc) for your area?

We're in the NW and have had an architect to come and visit us with a view to doing an extension, various layout changes to the house. He estimated £70-£80k for the works which were similar to what you want doing but only one bathroom (although it did include refurb of the downstairs cloaks).

I think as everyone says, it depends on the builders quote but I would say it is do-able although you may have to shop around / negotiate a better deal for fittings. I think you might struggle to get mid range fittings throughout and extras such as Amtico flooring, plus the extension for £70k inc VAT and contingency. I'd say £80k is more realistic.