Can anyone advise re planning permission/likely cost of extension?

[BIWI]

I'd like to extend our kitchen. It would mean a 'footprint' of about 2.5m wide by 5 or 6m long. We've already had a loft conversion, with a mansard elevation, so I don't know if this means we've used up our cubic capacity or if we need planning permission.

Secondly, I have some money that I want to use for the extension, which will be for a new kitchen. My inheritance was £30K. Is this likely to be sufficient for said extension and for fitting a new kitchen? I have no idea how much of a budget to give to any building firm that we might employ!

I want to have fairly decent appliances - I came to realise after we had our last kitchen fitted that the cupboards are pretty low cost but that it's getting the appliances right and in the right place that's critical.

I'm really not quite sure where to start with this, but knowing what's realistic in terms of money will help!

TIA

Whereabouts in the country are you? That will make a significant difference to costs. You wouldn't get an extension that size in London for anywhere near that price, but I'm not sure about costs elsewhere.

Do you mean the extension bit is 2.5x5m? I thought permitted development was no more than an extra 15% of the existing footprint or something similar - so it might depend how big your house is. If you go near the boundary you also may need a party wall agreement even if you don't need planning permission.

I'd price up the appliances you think you might want on ao.com - I found they were pretty much the cheapest for most stuff so it will give you a good idea how much that bit will cost. Equally you can price up kitchen bits on Ikea using their planner - although obviously fitting will be on top.

Ah yes, sorry! We're in SW London.

We can extend along the party wall, because our neighbours have done the same, so don't think that will be an issue.

Thanks for the link for the appliances. I have a new IKEA catalogue that I've been salivating over today but I'm not quite sure what I can/can't have until I know what we can/can't do with the extension, IYSWIM.

I think I'm probably going to have to get an architect involved, as there's a bit of space that could be used that's currently sort of dead space, which might mean we could add a downstairs loo, which would be VERY useful.

I don't think £30k would get you an extension and kitchen in most places in the country to be honest. Most of the websites suggest £1.5k and upwards per square metre for the basic shell, plus VAT, then the rest depends on spec, how much you can spend on fit out and obviously then the kitchen on top.

Really?

I thought, given that it should be a fairly straightforward bit of extension, that it wouldn't be so expensive . What makes it expensive?

I don't think that's expensive (or at least I don't now having been through getting estimates etc). It's only my opinion but building costs are much more than you anticipate, always, and builders (good ones) are massively in demand now and charge accordingly.

If I were you I would look around the local area and see who is having work done, knock on the door and ask if they are happy with their builders and go from there.

For simple jobs you may not need an architect - some companies can do everything and can advise whether your project needs planning permission etc.

Get references and several quotes.

TBH - you might find that £30K is not enough though.

You can do it cheaper than that. We just had 40sqm added to our kitchen and it cost about £60k inc a large kitchen and all appliances. We have used separate contractors and project managed ourselves, did a fair bit ourselves and bought appliances in the sale and our kitchen from DIY kitchens. You are talking about 15 sq metres max. I am in Surrey but it is still seen as expensive here to build normally. Shop around :)

The most expensive bit is the foundations. That cost us £8k, the block building was £5.5k, the roof was £4.5k (all labour then the materials were about £10k but obviously ours was a lot bigger and had a couple of steels so needed structural engineer etc)

this article has a few cost guidelines.

I'd go with a ballpark £1500/ sqm plus 15% professional fees plus vat for the structure then £5k - 10k for your kitchen.

Thank you all!

We added a 3 x 6m extension out from the back of our house (we're in the South East).

It cost us about £30k but we added massive sliding doors and Velux windows etc so it kind of depends how you want it kitted out. Just the build was about £24k.

The extra also covered the cost of extra kitchen units etc but we didn't have to move plumbing or anything, that would add extra.

Hmm. Looks like my £30K budget isn't going to be quite enough.

That site is really helpful MisforMum, thanks.

No it won't be enough, might just be enough for the build cost but not your kitchen on top of it. Building is very expensive, ours cost over £300k and went 60k over budget but the end result was worth it. Can you raise another £15k?

Not without borrowing, which would tip DH over the edge!

Ah that's a shame. A well thought out extension can really add value to your home, especially in London. We increased our value by significantly more than we spent on it, although it is our forever home so doesn't really matter.

Yes, I know it will add value - our kitchen is pretty small at the moment, so an extension will really help. I don't want to do it 'on the cheap' as so much of what we've done over the years has been a bit of a compromise.

I think a chat with a local architect/builder is probably going to be a good idea, to find out what can/can't be achieved, and then what kind of budget I need to think about.

All of this has been really helpful - thanks very much.