Home Extensions 2017 - come along on the journey

[RedRobin1]

Hi just wondered if anyone has recently started or about to start a home extension. Haven’t seen a 2017 thread so starting one here.

Our two-storey extension is due to start on 1st March and we have just started packing boxes. The planning and research has been ongoing for 2-3 years. Had planning permission approved a few years back and completed all the research around what we would like in our new extended and how we would like to design it all - extending the kitchen / dining area downstairs to create an open plan living, dining and kitchen space and an extra bedroom upstairs.

Have two DCs under 4 and need help / advice / tips and general hand holding.

Is anyone else starting theirs soon?

A clear drive you say Monkey? Oh I am envious!
Wanders off muttering about a garden full of crap!

Well done on the decorating! 👍 looks great!

Decorating looks great Monkey - you can have a new career as a decorator to fed up mumsnetters

Hope you get more progress this week TeamRick

Ugh I drank the whole bottle of wine last night after my productive day and now I feel

He came Monday put the celotex down and plastic sheeting (on half of it) erm - that's it!

Plumber laying underfloor heating pipes - that will be my lot for this week! 😡😡😡

Plumber coming Thursday! Sorry!

Hi All, can I join?

We are just about to get planning permission approval for a kitchen/dining extension across the width of the back of our house. I'm excited and terrified in equal measure!

I've just been thinking, is there a "house renovations for dummies" type website or book that will help me understand all the useful things needed before we embark on this quite expensive and potentially very stressful journey? I literally have no idea how this all works... TIA

I'm watching this thread with interest, being scarred by what I read.... Our extension (2 storey back and new garage to side) supposedly started mid August. On day they turned up with some heras panels, realised it wasn't enough, went to get some more. Returned next day. A week later one of those panels fell on our precious car (I had asked them prior to the Bang whether I should move it... ) which has since then been sorted. I'm mostly annoyed by the guy who's supposed to project manage it all.
We discovered last weekend we had no heating when we tried turning it on. The cause: although plumber was here before he 'disconnected the gas'.... from a pipe that was disconnected before... and wasn't instructed to disconnect the radiators. The builder and I assumed rads were ready to be taken off... so when we put the heating on, the water was just leaking out of them.
I've got the feeling this might become my rant thread.
(the whole screed things is new information to me).
We're supposed to be finished before Christmas. Mwhahaaa

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

tika good luck. Buy alcohol. Take up smoking. Book therapy.

Oh dear - sorry some of you are having such a stressful time. We are just starting here. Scaffolding is halfway up today - finished tomorrow or Friday and hopefully work starts on Friday or Monday. Eeek!

Tentatively joining. Planning application x 2 (larger house extension and full planning application) were submitted early August. Gave plans to neighbours to be open about our plans, single storey full width extension 3m horizontal distance. They've objected and said we are stealing their light, they've had it for 40 years and want full party wall award, notice served on that but think it will be as drawn out as they can make it...

Monkey 😂😂😂

Me and you are like the voice of doom on here! 😬!

Good luck to all you new starters! I hope me & Monkey aren't still here when you've all finished!

Although I suspect I at least will be! I'm starting to feel like I'll never be shut of my builder I fucking hate him!

Which reminds me newcomers, you can add swearing to Monkey's list!

Good luck today rick Crossing everything that the plumber does a good days work for you.

so we have progress of sorts here, plastering is going great guns (still no floor screed) Our current issue is bathrooms, old bathroom all ripped out as new bathroom was supposed to be up and running yesterday. Only its not. We have a toilet, thats it. And OF COURSE last night was the night my 5yr old got a vomiting bug! that was fun with no sink/shower/bath

My next job is buying tiles - I've decided large grey metro tiles for the family bathroom - what colour grout? and how thick? I'm leaning towards white grout but have no idea about thickness of the grout spacers? 2-3-4-5?? any advice?

Well we're already off to a great start here. Scaffolders came yesterday and put half of it up, left at 2 saying see you at 8 tomorrow then guess what? Yep didn't bother turning up today. Builder not best pleased as he was meant to be starting tomorrow. So now they are sending 6 people to finish the job so hopefully he can start on Monday. Although that makes me a bit nervous as DH deal with the tradesmen as he knows his stuff but he is away on business next week so I hope they don't start asking me questions!

We're doing ok-ish so far - no major catastrophes yet, and at least one of them has turned up every day. Our PM assures us we're still on track to finish by mid-November, despite a couple of small hiccups (mostly caused by an incompetent/uninterested architect - can't decide which). We should have glazing in by end of next week, and I'm just about to confirm my kitchen order, after months of dithering over the minutiae.

It's a shame I'm never doing this again - I've learnt so much about what NOT to do next time!

Well we've hit an all time low today! And my god we've had done lows already!

Just as we were leaving work he turned up in a truck & assured us he was taking the rubbish! Hooray!

Got home from work & it was all still there! He obviously turned up to pick up the stuff he needed for another job! Everything else is still there!

He's also filled in the hole round the main drain, we're not convinced he connected the waste first!
We're going to email him & get him to confirm he has connected it, then dig down & check!

We're ready to just tell him to go one, just trying to gather as much evidence as we can first! 😡😡😡😡

God the spelling! Grrrrrr!
Leaving for work! 😡

Rick - you must be sooo frustrated. I hope it gets sorted soon and you can relax with a nice glass of wine in your finished space.

We are still early on in the process, just doing all the detailed wiring and plumbing specs etc with the architect before we go out for quotes ..... which basically means I am using Pinterest A LOT and dreaming of the beautiful things I will put in our finished house .... whilst secretly knowing I will no doubt be able to afford any of it by the time we have done all the building work!

rick 😭
I genuinely feel for you. Probably more than I've ever felt for anyone on a MN thread ever. I totally get what you're going through.

We are at standstill as we have no contractors anymore. Waiting on quotes to level and lay our flooring, and I finally ordered my new kitchen last night. 4 pints of beer and I ordered a solid oak kitchen with oak worktops. We have no money left, no exaggeration, we are onto our 3rd credit card, but I've filed it all into the 'fuck it bucket' and will sort finances another time. It all sounded like such a good plan last night.

Hopefully I should be joining you all soon - planning permission has just been granted for our ground floor extension of two rooms, an ensuite and a garage (plus a new dining room if we still have any money left). I'm not sure if our architect does things in the same way to others but we now have to have building regs drawings to allow us to go to tender.

I've been writing up detailed requirements for him of where we want sockets etc. We will be getting a new boiler as part of this process and need to decide whether to go for underfloor heating or radiators. How have you decided what to go for?

I'm not doing any renovation work (at the moment) but have been following the trials and tribulations of some of you here. I have managed lots of home improvements in the past mostly on rental properties but also our own home.

Just popped in to say: I have been there. As God is my witness, I have never had a building project go 100% smoothly and I've been doing this for more than a decade. You are not alone. It is really rather difficult to find good builders. Hardly any of them turn up when they tell you. A lot of them will lie through their teeth (not all mind). I've had to completely throw out my schedules for some builds, we were months over the deadline.

9greenbottles: underfloor heating (wet, not electric which is very expensive to run). It costs more to install but provides a very nice even heat and costs less to run than radiators. Plus you'll have lovely clear walls.

You have some recourse if you have a good contract, but going to adjudication is a long winded process and builders may not comply with the order, meaning you have to take them to court anyway. And that is very expensive.

Hang in there everyone (esp monkeygrace and teamrick who have been unlucky but sadly not uncommonly so!). I will try to provide bits of advice (and sympathy!) on this thread if anyone needs it.

Hi all,

we are about to move into a house that had an extension done over 20yrs ago .. we are hoping to extend the kitchen across the back of the house out by 2 metres and want to get started as soon as we move in - does anyone know if we will need planning permission or we can just involve building reg dept and apply under permitted development ie the 20yr old extension doesn't count?!

You should be ok but I'd double check with the planning department. The last thing you want is for them to retrospectively deny permission, in which case they could order you to take it down.

whatthefox that is really nice of you, and reassuring!