Extension - what will this budget get us?

[BoyMeetsWorld]

We've just bought a house that is only really big enough for us if we add on an extra room to use as a playroom.

From keeping some equity back we have an absolute maximum budget of 17k but that has to include everything...

Plans, painting, floor, lights, door etc

Thinking 3m x 3m so don't need planning permission, with a laminate floor (with underlay I guess to be warm enough?), light & radiator. It's v important that it's warm enough in winter & cool enough in summer to be a year round playroom. There is an existing exterior grade door from the room it's built off so complies in that sense. In 2 minds whether to go for a 'garden room / sunroom' type conservatory ie not completely glass - part brick / plaster & with a tiled roof but still lots of double glazing. Or a full blown single storey extension.

What are your thoughts re what will make the most usable playroom & what can we expect for 17k? & any recommendations? (we 're in the Buckinghamshire area)

TIA

Just move North

Good God Laurie that is an expensive room!

My digger guy cost £180 per day, and my foundations were a big job. The guy with the grabber to remove the earth could take 17 tonnes at a time and came twice at £200 a time. I couldn't have trench foundations, so the whole area had to be dug out. 2.5m x 3m and a bit extra for wiggle room.

I paid the concrete guy, just what he poured, they mix what you need on site in their massive truck then it was barrowed in. Plus because I paid the builder's merchant direct for pallets of bricks, hardcore, sand, cement etc, I knew my builder was honest (he is also a special for the police) as I paid him day by day for his labour and he came in on budget.

Going back to my the OP and my first post, which perhaps was not written as clear as it can be.

If the max you can afford is £17k you need to get a quote for about £14k, leaving some for unexpected contingency.

It is a tiny budget to build a small box. Get quotes from builders first and they will be able to advice you of what options may be within your budget. I see no point in paying an architect to design the extension of your dreams first when you might not be able to afford to build it.

What you have described will not need an architects drawings but a builder may advise when he can see the site as there may be complex issues that we are not aware of.
The plans could be drawn up between you and the builder, or after finding out what you can afford you could then pay and architect if you want.

Your Doors. - if you keep the external doors to go through to the new room it could be classed as a "conservatory" or out building and will not need to be built to building regulation standards. This might save you a small amount of money BUT no one here recommends it - that is how you get a cold/hot unusable room, possibly with damp and not structurally sound - pay a little bit more and get it done right.

We have built a number of extensions with and without architects involved. If there is nothing out of the ordinary at your property I would have thought it is just about possible within your budget.

Hmmm I hope there's nothing out of the ordinary although I guess we won't know until they start digging?

The only complication I can see is that the area we want to extend onto is currently all patio - so presumably it's going to make a right royal mess of the patio which will need to be fixed....

Contentedsidewinder, I am in Leeds and looking for a good builder. Who did you use?

cathryn have PM'd you.

Here is my kitchen inside, it weirdly looks dark but it isn't!
photo of the detailing outside. It matches our current roof detail which I hadn't even noticed
And general outside shot.

It was a small extension because the rest of the house is in proportion but the kitchen was teeny!

ContentedSidewinder have also PM'd you as we're possibly looking for a builder in the next few months.

Aberchips PM'd you back

Conservatory salespeople/consultant designers are such jokers!!

Help! How much to remove and dig up foundation for 5.7 x 3 lean to with a slope of 20 to 30 degrees please, with dwarf wall and plumbing for washing machine, French doors? I also need the roofline gutters replaced. The existing lean-to is 5.4 x 2.2m. I have saved and skimmed and have about £15k for a lean to replacement. I contacted various companies and I am in total despair!

One 'consultant' never showed me any CAD design, but did say as my lean-to faced east, I did not have to go for top rate glass, activ blue for roof and ultra frame... He talked for 4 hours about various irrelevant things whilst I stood. That night I slept very well and I haven't heard a beep from him. He was, of course, late for the following appointment; just as he was for mine!

Another "consultant" came and said he could do everything for £16,000, but I was warned by a company down the road that this company always asked for more money AFTER the survey. In his drawings, he used polycarbonate instead of the glass as promised.

This new company down the road has had very bad comments including one: Don't fall for his charm! I asked to see a newly finished lean-to or conservatory and he never came back to me. Again, I was urged to join a flexischeme THAT VERY DAY, which could see the project done at £19,000 including repair to my roofline gutter instead of £26,000.(I live in a humble semi-detached) I must have the look of an idiot!

Yet another company sent a trainee and a trainer and she quoted £41,000 which was enough to have a decent extension and she then said if I joined the scheme of writing a recommendation letter and IF I ORDERED THAT SAME DAY, she could get it down to £26,000. I showed them the door.

Another local company had a comment in the local business directory, complaining that some 2 and a half year old gutters were leaking in various places and the company quoted change of ownership to absolve itself of its responsibility. The new owner said the previous owner had notified this company of the leakage, to no avail. Whilst I understood the legal technicality, I shuddered at their workmanship and callousness. The boss told me to check Which? trusted local companies as a leaflet bearing the Which? logo was sent to me. I checked Which? website, the leaflet was obviously outdated.

I was so desperate, I keyed in something online and was so scared by cold calls that I just put down the phone. But one company managed to get through. A "consultant" came and he asked me to email him drawings and he would design and do everything for me at a good price. He gave me a brochure which he said was about his company. The brochure had no company logo and was actually a brochure about s*s*l products in Nottingham, not Maidstone where this company is/was based. They are now trading under another TA! I keyed the post code and found that the computer screen came up with a message about how many companies have morphed or liquidated at this same address. After I entered my email address, a pop up message said that this company had been added to the watch-dog list. Sorry for being so long winded... I live in Romford, east London.. Anybody has just had a new lean-to or conservatory done? Please leave me a message. NO jokers please!