Anyone starting an extension imminently?

[Karcheer]

Ours has been a long time coming, planning permission was granted 18months ago, but our builders finally start on Tuesday.
Would be great to have some build buddies

The architect has sent the email, but I just asked his gut feeling and he reckons they'll want planning, so it'll stay as is.

We have concrete!

The sacrificial mouse must have done the trick.

Windows and patio door are due to arrive tomorrow and the builder is coming round to discuss footings.

The build has finally started.

gnome your cat will be sat feeling smug that the mouse sacrifice helped

Good luck with your plans Mad !!!
They do seem to get obsessed with it all don't they. Ours was fixated on turning the dining room window into a door as an another entrance to the garden. He eventually got the message...

Ours has two obsessions, one bifold doors off our living room (living room will be carpeted so we don't want people stepping in here from the garden) and taking the wall out between our living room and what will be the kitchen diner. I might be in the minority but I like my living room separate

I would have preferred my living room separate to my dining room. If we're busy/full or whatever, I dont feel like I can just leave it for half an hour or an hour as I can't relax with dirty things in my sight. So we have an open plan living room/dining room. In an ideal world I'd have extended the kitchen width ways and I'd have had a kitchen diner and left a chair untucked for the dogs to clean the plates when I wasn't looking but with all we're doing and limited garden space in London it wasn't justifiable

Our architect was obsessed with making everything open plan, despite U.S. giving several reasons why that wouldn't work for us in everyday life, and repeating those reasons every meeting! We still had to insist on walls being put back in the final p,and before submission to planning.

Party wall stuff having been temporarily resolved, excavation has started. Outbuilding (hideous 70s flat roofed eyesore) is gone, and there is a lovely open space at the back of the house now. I'm almost tempted to keep M&S i as open space, rather than rebuild an annexe. Hmm. Will ponder.

I am having a nightmare with bathroom floor tiles at the moment. I just want traditional, rather than massive hotel-look tiles, but am struggling to find anywhere to view said tiles (would rather see them, than just order blind off t'internet). I have made a punt on wood effect floor tiles for the utility room - it's quite a small floor, so if the unseen internet tiles are manky then it won't matter so much. I'm hoping for a good outcome, as would love to have them in my kitchen - much better solution than laminate.

Totally agree about separate living room which is what we are building.

Only down side is that to get to the sitting room people will have to go through kitchen/dining room. The alternative would have been to take the approach through the downstairs toilet which may have led to awkward conversations: "Hello, lovely to see you! Please dont get up"!!

Anyway, I must say boo hiss! Day two of the extremely modest big build and the builders arrived but the blocks which they were due to arrange into footings did not. Jewsons were phoned and said that they were a driver down. The blocks were due to arrive at 8am and finally turned up at 1pm. By this point the builder had given it up as a bad job. Customer service I dont think.

Patio doors and windows have arrived.

Lots of progress this week.

Roof fully lined now and tiling in progress. Flat roof starting tomorrow and roof lantern ordered and paid for

Have had a couple of days off work due to 3 back to back Xmas parties, felt shocking today and v hungover. Joiner went to shop at lunchtime and when I went into kitchen for another glass of water he had bought me some Resolve and Red Bull!! Said it is the best remedy and he was bloody right I feel fine now. God bless them DH is getting concerned as it seems when got into bed last night slightly worse for wear I claimed that I was going to divorce him to marry the brickie and adopt the labourer

Re separate living room, yes we too had debate with Architect on this point.

We are having a large kitchen/family room which will have a seating and entertainment centre next to bifolds overlooking the garden with dining room open onto it on the other side. He wanted us to take the front room wall down also to make total downstairs open plan but we want to retain the front as a separate den/cosy room for winter evenings and wood burner. If we had gone with his recommendation there would be zero character left in the house and further steels would have bumped up costs.

Wombat I'm the same, can't leave an untidy mess if I can see it

Panda I ordered some wood effect tiles blind off the internet and I really like them now they've arrived (good job as they go in tomorrow), although they are a little shorter than I would have thought. Tiles are a nightmare but a lot of the online places will send you samples in the post, worth trying that!

Gnome I think through the toilet is a great idea, at least people -DP-wouldn't loiter in there for ages if there was a risk of being interrupted

Aesops I love that your chaps are looking after you in your hungover state. I hope the brickie is at least a looker if you're going for it . I love bifolds, I am jealous of you. they would just look so wrong where our architect keeps suggesting we put them.

Thanks, madblonde. I did some wood effect tiles in our local (extortionately priced, boutique) tile shop, so I know they can look good, but the ones I've ordered (much more reasonable price) are a different make... They are arriving tomorrow apparently, so fingers crossed. If they look good, they can go in most of downstairs too.

I've just looked out of the kitchen window, and the builders seem to be marking out the boundary of our extension as half way across the garden . There has been a bit of confusion as to plans (2 different sets floating about) but I thought we had cleared that up. We can't build out that far - can't afford it, neighbours will (rightly) go mad, and we'll have bugger all garden left!

Evening all, I've ordered loads of sample tiles, they aren't very expensive and worth doing as you can live with them for a bit.
I think the fashion for totally open plan has to come to an end soon it's just not practical. We aren't touching much of downstairs but I like the fact our lounge is separate and our dining room can be shut off or part of the kitchen with its double doors.

So today the Genie arrived for lifting steels, the front of the garage was completed, ready for steels to be put on tmr.
Scaffolding tmr.
Dh is a bit jealous of my relationship with the builders, tea breaks, in jokes etc.
Today they brought in panettone for us to have with our afternoon tea ;)

Steel over garage door in place.
Scaffolding everywhere!!!

We have new stairs!

Sounds exciting all round!

We have a tiled bathroom now, needs grouting still but getting there

Carpets go in on the 19th

mad I literally can't imagine ever saying we are tiling bathrooms! I actually can't imagine it ever finishing haha!!!

It will finish karcheer I promise

If it helps we still have to do the downstairs - another extension, replace all floors, new kitchen, new bathroom, strip wallpaper, new front door, new electrics the works. I'll still be on this thread this time next year I think

We have actual building work. Block work has started. Next step is to have the floor which is due next week.

And joy of joys the builder said that he would 'bring it up bosh'. I thought that only television builders said 'bosh'.

Also, following from advice on this thread I am stocking up on Resolve and Red Bull in time for the works' Christmas party on Thursday!

A Berrocca in a pint if water when you get home and you will be much better the next day

Another long extension for us when the loft is finished we start on a 2 story side extension. So we won't be finished till some time next year

mcbaby we are aiming for next September to be done. Fingers crossed

They started taking the roof off of the front of the house today (the pitch is changing).
I went up the scaffolding today, it's so cool up there!

Karcheer it's a bit addictive going up the scaffolding. I kept finding excuses to go up there until they put our stairs in

A different bricklayer came today and started to builed up the front of the house. Looks really different!