Two storey extension

[123rd]

Hi all
We are trying to get builders/quotes for a 4 m two storey extension. Not to fancy just a square on the back of the house type thing. We have had one quote back which was double what we were expecting. This was based on two other friends having similar sorts of work done. So, what would you expect to pay? We are south east-not london.
Also,as time is ticking on,would you put off having major work done until next spring/summer or would you mind doing that sort of thing in the autum/winter. Would we get it any cheaper in the winter ( clutching at straws!!)

I can't help with the quotes, but when our neighbours had their extension done, they were advised to have the work done in the summer, because longer daylight hours means the builders can work for longer each day and therefore the work gets done sooner!
Plus you don't have the enormous cost of heating a house while a wall is missing...

Watching with interest!

Sometimes a huge estimate is because they don't really want the job unless they can make silly money on it eg not big enough project. Have you asked the builders who did your friends'?

I'm in the Midlands. New kitchen and another bedroom, a new staircase and some work on an existing bathroom. 40k. We start in June, eeek!

We are having a two story 11 metre extension and expanding our kitchen, our builders who start in two weeks :) have quoted 96k and we have to supply the kitchen and bathroom and flooring, the fitting is included though. We are in North Yorkshire, our architect did say that we would get a range of quotes with those that want the work and those that don't, our quotes ranged from 90k to 135k.

We have another builder coming round tonight to give us his quote -think I will sit down to hear it.
The first quote was £131 k ( £20k I that was Vat) and that was without supplying the kitchen or bathroom. I am just a bit shocked. The builder did say he could shave off a bit here & there bit still-50%?? Don't think that going to happen.
I shall report back tonight after 2nd builder has been

That does seem quite high.

We paid 89K + VAT for our two-storey extension (also 4m). That included lots of exapensive 'extras' such as:

Wet UFH downstairs
Engineered wood floor
Block paved drive
Patio and landscaping
Electrical work to the rest of the house including new consumer unit and smoke detectors
Replastering about half the house
Lighting (extension, exterior and other rooms)
LVT flooring in hall/loo
All decorating
New fascias/soffits/gutters

We could probably have removed about 20k from the cost if we'd not had some of the extra work done or had it done cheaper.

We started the work in September and finished in March. Luckily, we were watertight before the weather got too grotty. It was quite cold in the house during the winter though. I'm glad we did it at that time of year, as now we can spend the summer doing garden reclamation relaxing in the garden without drilling/grinding/hammering disturbing us.

We're in South East too.

Wouldn't builders normally build the extension then knock through? That's what ours did - no heating the house with a wall missing or worrying about being watertight.

We're paying 29k for 500ft extension. (250 foot for each level, ones a garage)

The highest we were quoted was 50k plus vat. We're in the North though

stonecircle they didn't knock through until the extension was watertight. I just meant that we didn't have any delays due to periods where they couldn't build because of two weeks' solid rain or sub-zero temperatures.

The only room that was really cold during January was the living room, as we had to leave it open to the extension so that the floor dried out properly. The living room wasn't really habitable anyway.

Ironically, the heating bill for this winter was lower than for last (probably due to the new boiler).

Our two storey extension was 60 sqm and cost about 90k inc vat. It's a wrap around and involved a fair amount of knocking through and RSJs and demolishing a garage. We did it in winter. It was cold.

We did have a gaping hole in the back of our house as builders had to demolish existing extension before building new one. Gas meter also had to be moved and new boiler, so no gas/heating for a few weeks. Thankfully it was last April and not that chilly....

Oh jeez ...the second quote was worse

What was it?

£162k. F@ck

What did your architect/technician actually think this extension would cost? £162,000 is silly money for a small extension. An architect will have the current building costs per m2 for your type of extension. These are used by the industry to decide rebuilding costs on insurance jobs. It will cost more for hand made bricks, flashy windows, matching slates or hand made roof tiles for example. What internal finishes are included? I would see if your friends' builders will quote. What is the actual m2 size of the extension?

Wow. We're about to start getting quotes for a 2 storey extension. Now I'm scared!

The quotes don't include the kitchen or bathroom !! They have quoted for the installation of them though. The builders are local smallish firms.
We are rethinking the roof structure. We can't have a bog standard continuation as our roof ridge runs the opposite way.
The Vat is a killer too. We need to find someone earning under the threshold.

I couldn't believe how much our extension cost. We originally thought it would be about 50-60k including VAT.

We had difficulty even getting builders to quote. Our site is really ideal - no messing about with drains/sewers and easy access as the extension is at the front of the house. Friends and neighbours who are doing building work locally are in the same position; they are having difficulty just getting builders to return phone calls or come out and quote. In the end the cheapest quote came, unsurprisingly, from builders based outside the area.

Arya, that's us exactly. Same situation. Would you mind pm ing where abouts you are? May be a local issue?

We're in the south east. We've paid 78k for the shell only, that also included the demolition of existing extension and conservatory new windows and 2 sets of bi fold doors. We're doing the rest ourselves bathrooms, plumbing electrics etc. or getting the trades in (plastering). We're hoping to bring ours in for under 100k
Ours went through the winter which was ok, in fact I think better for us as we can use the garden now.

I never really trust people when they tell me how much they paid (especially as I never ask) you never know just how much the exact figure is. My neighbour at the back seems to forget we are in our garden, his dad was calling him silly for spending 125k and a week later he was telling a friend on what a bargain he got for 75k, they are very loud. I think online accounts of costs seem to be more realistic, friends always seem to get things very cheap but can never find the buildrers number.

London...just been quoted £100k for a loft. We had rejigged plans, and it is down to £80k....but that doesn't include architects plans, bathroom fittings etc.

Scary.

We're waiting for our 2 storey extension to start (end of March / April apparently...hmmm, no sign of the builders yet, but thats another thread!) and we've been quoted £65k plus vat. It'll be a 30sqm in total but no new kitchens or bathrooms required as we're keeping everything as is, just doubling kitchen size downstairs so we can have it as an eat-in room, and making large 4th bedroom upstairs.

We do need to move gas box / boiler etc though, so i'm not too worried if they start a little later than planned because we'll no doubt be without heating for a while.

A friend had a single story kitchen extension start October last year, usable by Christmas, completely finished by January this year, so its do-able!

ps we're wiltshire, if that helps!