how disruptive will building extension be???

[toomuchtooyoung]

had planned to wait until autumn for kitchen/diner extension, 3m x 7m, but builder just called to say another client has delayed their works and that he could potentially start in may with an 8 week schedule (I'm erring on the side of 12 weeks to be safe). I have first dibs on new slot so need to decide asap. plans within permitted development but not heard back from council yet, although not expecting any issues

we use the garden a lot and had planned an autumn start to minimise impact on dcs, 3.5 and 18 mths.

there will be side access for the builders but obviously garden will be out of bounds, at least for a large chunk of that time. there'll be a temporary kitchen of sorts, and can still use part of the kitchen for dcs to eat as ds is still in the throwing stage

would you jump in now or wait? how horrible will it be? I keep telling myself to get a grip and just get on with it, but ds especially is at a perfect age for exploring the garden, and still napping during the day which will go out of the window if there's too much noise.....

any wise thoughts?

It will be horrible no matter what. In the summer, the advantage is it will be more easy to get away from, hanging out in the park etc. I'd go for it now as you are also less likely to suffer from bad weather delaying things.

good point about being able to get out and about. although this winter I've found b&q kitchen section particularly useful for letting ds run off some energy in the kitchen section opening and closing doors. his most favourite thing to do ever

It will be hell whenever you do it (she said bitterly) but winter has been particularly unpleasant for us because of the freezing cold, constant delays due to bad weather and the MUD.

Oh no! Our builder is booked to start mid-April and we have nowhere to go! On the positive side he reckons he'll finish the job in 6 weeks! (not entirely convinced)

Good luck.

I had a 70's extension ripped off the back of my house and a new kitchen/bathroom extension built over the course of 7 months when my daughter was 18 months old.

The advantage of getting it done when kids are small is they can't go on and on and on about how dreadful it is!

I think most children are heavy sleepers; I remember many a meeting traipsing about in wellies with a baby monitor in my pocket.

The advantage of getting something done in the summer is you won't have to won't be held up too much by the weather (it took us several attempts before it was warm enough to our 1m concrete slab, for example). It also won't be too chilly if you builders are forever in and out of the house.

Worst case scenario, you could always zip away for mini-breaks if the building site gets too much for you.

thanks all, good advise as always. I'm more inclined to go for it now, but dh has just said he wants to wait.......

Oh yeah, we went to Centre Parcs for a week in January and it really helped me calm down and not kill the builder. Getting away (so long as you can be called) is a very good coping strategy.

I'd get it over with. We're in the middle of ours and the lovely weather has really helped speed it along. Planning to move out for a bit when they break through the wall though.

A word of advice: don't get the rest of the house rewired and try to redecorate at the same time as the build. It may get it all over with but it'll drive you nuts bitter experience