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

Great news Gnome.

We have carpets, its amazing, I love it so much! Building inspector comes on Christmas Eve then moving up.

Genuinely going to miss the builders. Not long until we start on the next batch of work though, going to have a month off before starting up again.

Mad congratulations on the carpet!!! It's a wonderful feeling! I spent a few mins playing with the dog on it today. Just because I could!!

Mum it's iSense carpet in Light Ash Grey. One white dog, one black dog... Need a colour that will hide both hair
It's quite pricey in Carpet Right around £30 psqm, But I was on a course with someone and he had a mate who runs his own carpet company. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 sets of stairs and a landing including 12mm underlay and all the grips, strips and labour ..£2000. It's thick though. Needed 25mm off the bloody doors and the dyson won't go over it. Just get stuck! Oops!! If you're east London/Essex or anywhere surrounding London and you want his details let me know via PM.

Having shared a double bed for the last 6months, DP and I are FINALLY in a King Size bed. No more elbows and knees!

Glad all of you are happy with your progress ahead of the Christmas week, I hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Wombat I'm glad I'm not the only one who matches the carpet to the colour of the dog

We are officially done inside as soon as Mr Building Inspector signs it off. I was going to move some furniture up but I feel like that's tempting fate for him to find an issue

Well done for the carpets Wombat and Mad. That stage seems a million days away here.

I remember saying all I wanted for Xmas was a fully built and tiles roof. Tis done! Finished today so fully completed. We are very happy as this means we are exactly half way through and on track to have all completed end March.

January will be the hardest month. Knock through for downstairs kitchen and hammer drilling the old kitchen floor. It is going to be messy and cold but I am away for a week on a work trip in Jan which will give me a few days breather.

Good news though, we have the Velux fitted to bathroom! In January the other new windows and roof lantern will be in which means more progress and then not dependent on weather for rest of build as will all be inside.

Sooo looking forward to no noise until Jan 4th

Oh well done everyone!

Builder and subbie here today. We are now officially brick up to roof line so another payment has been made.

All building work has now stopped until 4th January when the roof will go on and the useless bit of conservatory (1m deep, part of the original house, neither use nor ornament) will be demolished.

Now that we have walls, the extension seems so big! I will be glad to actually see it in daylight. I have been at work, arriving in darkness, leaving in darkness so have only been able to view progress by torch light.

mad/wombat I'm thinking of getting mud coloured carpet or all wooden floors...

The wooden structure for our front bit is nearly there.
We've decided not to go back to planning about the roof height, so the work will continue.
They've broken up for christmas now too.

WE'RE IN! Furniture up there, last night slept there and it was amazing. Can't bring myself to get out of bed today. There are still some niggly bits to sort but no rush (and I've told the builder that, he's got kids and I'd like him to see them over Christmas). We're now waiting on the planning permission for the next extension so we can get on with the existing downstairs in the mean time. I'm trying to work out whether its acceptable to haggle the builder down on price, what do you think? Mr plumber has suggested I should.

Aesops pleased to hear they got where you wanted them to. Nice to have some time off the builders now I bet.

Gnome glad you are thinking the extension is huge, must make all the work feel worth it. I'm amazed how big our loft conversion is and its made the mess and disruption much more acceptable.

Karcheer mud coloured carpet sounds like a great idea! We were looking at bamboo flooring but I think given that we can take the dog straight to the kitchen after a walk we will just tile in there then not let him out until he is clean. I really want carpet in the living room so this is the only solution I can think of.

Madblondedog congratulations!

Possibly having a bit of a senior moment but I am starting to look at the possibility of getting a woodburning stove.

Am I mad?

If you get one I will be incredibly jealous. I'm weighing up whether we can afford one, they're amazing

Mad congratulations!!

Gnome I'll swap you my house for a wood burning stove. MIL has one. It's amazing!!

Seasons greetings all. I hope everyone is enjoying a few building free days letting the dust settle (literally!)

Well, I spent Christmas Day studying wood burning stoves (who says the festive spirit is gone!). In practical terms we could do it but I am concerned that even with the cheapest stove we would be looking at about £1000 installing it ourselves.

I really, really want one!

But it may need to be in phase 573

Meanwhile I spent today revisiting the kitchen plan. Looking at Ikea kitchens. I like their range so DH and I are going to take a trip out and have a look at them in the flesh.

Gnome! Seasons greetings! I'm still not dressed (washed though but into fresh pjs). IKEA are nice, but don't you have to buy all their bits to go in it?

Wombat87 do you mean essential fittings or things like salt and pepper pots called Sven & Eric?

Seasons greetings all

Wood burners are amazing but they're so costly and they do take time to set up.

Ikea kitchens have a fantastic reputation gnome

I don't know! I suggested an ikea kitchen and that's what DP said. I'm guessing it was lies to avoid ikea!!! what a git.

Now I think about it, I'm not too sure what he'd mean by that. Clearly I dropped the ball there.

Wombat87, sorry that made me chuckle, denying the viability of a whole kitchen range just to avoid visiting the shop!

We have a strange affection for ikea. We lived in the Netherlands for some years and at the time we lived there ikea was the only store which opened on a Sunday. Sunday shopping! Yey!

I think I saw on a thread on here there are issues with integrated appliances if they are not ikeas own ones (think it was just the dishwasher though)

Yes mad that's probably what it was. He has a penchant for Bosch so if it meant he couldn't have those then I suppose he would have vetoed it!!

Hi all!

How lovely is this builder free period! But I want them back NOW as want it finished

I am in heavy negotiation with DH as he thinks I am mad to be trawling sites for January sale items when kitchen not being fitted till April, how/when did you source your appliances?

He dragged me out of shop other day when I started to show buying signals for the perfect pair of lamps that would sit in the not yet finished room, on the not yet bought table behind the not yet chosen sofa

Keeps mumbling that we cannot invest in frivolity Scrooge until we have final costs of build. However he agrees appliances need to be ordered by end month but he is sceptical of all 'Sales' and thinks we should waltz into John Lewis with our wish list and grind them down on negotiation - his negotiation skills solely consists of the phrase "ahem, that is great thanks but could you now give me your best price? We are genuine buyers" if they say that is best price he looks over to me helplessly

Still keep popping into new bathroom and bedroom when he is not home for unveiling to friends practise

Hope you all had a wonderful Xmas

AesopsMables our conclusion is that the offers simply move round the range. This week it is one brand, next week another.

I know what you mean about looking at the frivolities. I was looking at standard lamps yesterday. Our extension doesnt have a roof!

We went and looked at Ikea kitchens yesterday. I was a bit disappointed by the quality TBH (carcasses looked a bit old fashioned compared to others). We have fitted 5 kitchens in about the same number of years so do have a bit of experience.

We will be fitting our new kitchen ourselves so are looking at DIY kitchens. We want a gloss handle free design. Wickes, B&Q IT, Cooke & Lewis, Ikea all have near identical ranges. We get a good trade discount with B&Q so will probably go with them.

I want the builders back! We have family over tomorrow and I would happily sacrificed Christmas to have had the extension ready in time.

aesops I want to buy some things for the bathrooms we've so much to buy.
I'm really stuck on showers, what did everyone go with?

I want an overhead head and a hand held head. I think probably hansgrohe or crosswater but I'd really like a traditional look, but I'd like to be able to turn the shower on from outside and I prefer the pipe work to all be hidden...

Karcher this is what we did. Comes down from the ceiling and we have a hand held thing at my request for the cleaner to use to wash the dogs with.

It is bloody handy. Everything that needs cleaning gets rinsed in that shower now.

Also, in NY, there was a hotel I stayed in, that had a semi circle cut out of the glass against the wall...So you can turn the shower on from the outside without running in and getting wet. If I could do it again. I'd do that.

Yes that's what I want, which make did you get?

My parents have an over complicated remote controlled shower but it does mean you can turn it on from outside, I was thinking I could just get the knobs put by the doorway...

We have gone for a digital shower, Aqualisa Rise. You can turn the shower on from outside. Having a Merlin tray and glass hinged panel. Bath and loo is Duravit Starck range with Grohe taps.

Pushing the boat out with the kitchen as ordered a Higham Handless kitchen very pricey but this is our forever house so feel it is worth the investment.