Anyone starting / in the midst of an extension?

[AalyaSecura]

I'm feeling in need of a support thread! We got planning permission for a big single storey extension 6 months ago, and are just finalising the builder's contracts after getting quotes (which were all at the top end of what we were expecting). So now we have lots of decisions to make before we start building proper - need to settle on kitchen, render, flooring, doors etc - as well as clear the madness that is our garage.

Anyone else out there?

MrsCB* I know there are some crackers but I think the important thing to spend money on are the worktops, taps etc, think they lift normal standard units..

Ours sounds like it will be a similar size to yours, around 7.5 by 4.6, or 10 by 4.6 if we go right across the house.

Thanks for the tips Mrs CB and Namechanged. I feel a subscription to H&G coming on. Our house is quite distinctive, most of the houses round here are Victorian terraces but ours is double-fronted. It's a nice problem, but I think it would be much easier to work out what to do if we had a terrace.

Have people found the £1,500/m2 is a reasonable guideline? Or is it way over in the SE?

Good evening posters. We're about to tender for a ground floor remodelling including conservatory. Finding a good building company seems to be a lottery as we are quite new to the area (North Surrey). Grateful for any recommendations.

Not everything of value can be measured in m², it's more like 3k+VAT for us in outer London, we are adding about 22sqm and quotes were between 75 and 100k +VAT and that was only to plastered walls with basic electrics and pipes hanging out of walls.
However the architect steered us strongly away from adding the maximum space and towards improving the space we already have (lots of steel beams), and we are sure he is right (TBC!)
We're even rebuilding the roof and knocking down two full chimney stacks which technically adds about 1sqm I suppose, but adds about 10k+ to the price.

My point is, have a consultation with an architect, and prepare to be surprised about prices!

We already have a single story extension which houses the kitchen so we are extending that again to add on a shower room and utility room. This means knocking down and relocating some sheds.
We're also taking out the wall between the kitchen extension and the dining room to give us a bigger kitchen. This is the former external wall and has the down pipe from the bathroom running through it so it means relocating the pipe to a new manhole which means remodelling the upstairs bathroom.
We are currently waiting on quotes from builders.

£3k & we're in London so could be even more.

I thought I was being very realistic budgeting at £1.8k. If we went smaller than around 35m2, it would look quite odd given the proportions of our house.

Looks like the 4th bedroom & ensuite may have to wait a few years then!

Hiya Stokey

I pretty much know what I want it's just finding some of it!!!

Stokey sorry I wasn't trying to say 3k is a normal price, I'm saying price per square metre is not a meaningful measure because it might as well be how long is a piece of string. Yes there's a rough correlation, but an architect can look at your house and ideas and let you know what you can do for your budget (and a few other budgets that are way bigger...)

Thanks johnd

It's just hard to know where to start in terms of budgeting. I'm trying to be realistic so need to prime myself for possibly doing the work in two stages if we can't afford to do it all now. I'm looking forward to the architect putting together some plans for us but she can't do it until after half term.

I seem to have killed the thread!

If anyone is still out there, can I ask how many architect quotes you got? We've just had one, which I'm quite happy with and really liked the architect, but Dh thinks we should get a couple more to compare.

We didn't even get a quote. We knew the builder. We knew the trades he uses. We trust the people he suggests. We went with his choice of architect. I know his hourly rate. I fear his final bill but he talked down an awkward window manufacturer this week so we are still (largely) on schedule. Gut feeling counts I think - we met once at his house and it felt like the kind of house we'd want. Don't think that helps you !

Sounds risky, our architect basically told us we'd be reckless to go ahead without the builder signing to say he'd build everything in the contract for a fixed price. The builder is taking a long time to finalise the quote, because once he does he knows he can't change it.
At least we know there won't be any surprises later!

We did the same John. We went to a preferred contractor who was recommended locally and who the architects had used on a similar job and got him to tender a fixed price for the work with a very detailed tender pack. No one else who was recommended could start before the middle of next year and the architects spoke to this builder early in the process and made him aware we were keen so he made sure he had a team free

I did get quotes from more than one architect and went with the one who had recently done a similar job which I liked the designs of.

The old extension has been demolished and our steels are in at the back. Next week is the dig out and new foundations. So exciting. And messy. But we aren't living there so no matter.

I think the way we have done it possibly will end up costing us an extra £5-10k on top of what we could have done if we tendered to 3 building companies but I think we make that back in time (therefore money), and convenience and quality so I'm not too bothered.

dynevoran that sounds exciting! If starting immediately is important to you then it's fine to pay extra. For us we will be staying here but there's only one habitable room that won't be touched, plus the bathroom and toilet. So we're going to be confined! Even the loft will be rebuilt.
For us cost is more important hence getting 5 quotes back. One was cheap, but possibly too cheap, two were about right, and two were very high (20-30k higher)
I think it depends how much they need the work.

Eek John that will be hard going but as every person I ever met says - it will be worth it. We are still in our previous house and our in laws are moving into this when the new one is ready. They sold earlier in the year and are renting to save us moving twice with small kids. So every month it doesn't happen we have rent and mortgage to pay so we are keen to finish ASAP.

The cost of things does terrify me but this is a once in a lifetime renovation. Have set up an instagram account to document it all for the future to look back on.

Ordered bathrooms and tiles and parquet floor already and it's sitting there looking all forlorn in an upstairs bedroom. Want to walk on my new floor and cook on my new hob already and it's going to be AGES!

dynevoran if it's going to cost you money if they're late, I'd recommend you write in the contract that "time is of the essence". That makes the completion date legally part of the contract and let's you claim damages (costs incurred as a result) if they're late. If you know how much they'll be in advance, write that also.
They'll charge more overall, as you're transferring the risk to them, but since they're in a better position to mitigate it, that is sensible.
You can get a riba contract for about 25 pounds that covers all that, you just fill it in yourself online and print.

Tomorrow is the break through on our second floor. Because I have now experienced the other floor breakthrough I know how horrible it will be! And this is with all techniques possible to minimise dust, so I am told.

Yep John we have drafted that into the contract. Albeit with an additional 4 weeks from their initial estimate of completion to give some leway on their part as we do want them to complete and we dont want to compromise quality.

This is all such a balancing act of time, money and quality! Aaargh.

Nemno good luck for tomorrow! We uncover precise drain depth tomorrow which allows us to set floor levels that we are very excited about.

Hello. Have enjoyed reading this thread. Mind if I join you?
We are very nearly at the tendering stage for our project. A project manager has been hired. Oh, and I've picked my kitchen - about a gazillion months too soon.
I say project, it feels like an opus. New roof, new windows, new plumbing, rewiring, three different extensions, new bathrooms, several knock-throughs, garage conversion, full refurb, full redecoration. Oh, and we're going to LIVE HERE THROUGHOUT. WITH OUR THREE YEAR OLD. Gah!

Tatlerer that sounds like a project of epic proportions! Wow. Almost like an entire new build. Exciting for you. Not so much with a three year old in tow.

That said, most people do live there throughout and so it can't be that unmanageable. I think I'm being a bit princessy to not want to really. Although we have to excavate 1.5m of soil from the new 6 x 5.5m extension and take most of this through the house to the front as it is a terraced house so probably a harder build than most to live in.

Choosing the kitchen is one of the only fun bits so def makes sense to do that in advance so you're relaxed and can enjoy it!

Just had PP for a new porch, loft conversion with rear dormer and 4m2 1st floor extension over existing roof plus knocking down an internal wall needing 2 steels. First quote has come in at over &160k which is way beyond our budget. We had planned on £100k. Waiting on some more quotes to see if we can get anything more realistic

So how's everybody's projects going? We had our builder round yesterday and talked through how we can change the plans a little to save money - we can just about afford the full plans but it would completely wipe us out financially and I'm too risk averse for that. I think we've managed to save around £12k with the changes discussed, which makes me feel a bit happier.

Next task on the list is talking to glass door people. Does anyone know about UV coating? We've got a south west open aspect, so lots of direct sunlight, and I'm worried about fading of wooden flooring and furniture, as well as glare when it's very sunny.

We're 4 weeks in and have all footings in and a massive scaffolding frame around the house. Slow but solid progress!!

We're eight weeks in. Went too fast at the beginning but much slower now.. want Ng for more steels and brick work so that the window company can measure up (3 abortive attempts), but hopefully this will happen next week, then we can board up to make the house water tight (we had hoped we could do this this weekend as its starting to get nippy at night). Windows taking 4 weeks to fabricate and the builder doesn't want to floor and plaster until that's done (which we understand but it's going to drag on). We've now missed the date for ordering bits of kitchen for Christmas (the kitchen was bought in April - exdisplay so we haven't had to waste weekends looking at kitchen showrooms - soul destroying places!) - we should have an oven but no sink or hob by then though. It's a modest extension (7mx2m) but all the internal rearrangements means it's costing a small fortune. And I realise I've not added on the quotes for internal doors to the running costs so far - doh !