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?

Drawings will be here by Monday. Builders lined up ready to quote. Getting quotes for some other things (kitchen). Absolutely peeing myself at the potential cost.

I've drawn up an estimate budget and am £12k into what I hoped would be contingency. A friend's coming down tomorrow to talk through it with me. Such a lot of money.

We're half way through a biggish kitchen extension - living in it and doing quite a bit of it ourselves. I'm fed up 😣 everything us scruffy and piled everywhere... loads of let downs by tradespeople mean we're way behind. The kitchen was delivered in December and has been in storage since then!

I think Kitchens are very hard going. We're fine as ours isn't being touched and we've squeezed in 2 small sofas down one end so it has become the living room. The build then doesn't effect every day life really.

Huge sympathies to those with wrecked kitchen plus toddlers, I remember that well

Hi all..

A little late to the party but love to join you..

We're starting a double storey extension on March 6th. Adding a bedroom and ensuite upstairs and extending the kitchen-diner downstairs and reconfiguring office/utility/playroom.

Excited but so apprehensive too! Have a 3 year old and a new born baby. We will be moving out to a flat for the duration ( builder says 14 weeks).

We had planned to have this all done before baby number two came along ( it's the bedroom for her we need!) but took two attempts and a whole year to get planning permission..

Look forward to sharing the journey and hopefully tips and mistakes with each other.

.. and redrobin love to talk grey kitchens- am planning this too. Had a long moon around in Fired Earth this week as rather fancy some of their lovely tiles as a splash back.

Can I join too?

We are doing an extension this year. Got the plans all approved last year and started on getting quotes. That took months to get some and then the one we picked had to be revised due to the increase in building materials. We did go back to him several months after we got the quote.Extra mortgage all been agreed and hope to start the build in May.

We are knocking down an old conservatory, knocking down most of the outside wall and extending the lounge/diner to make a room about double the size. Just having to sort out the calculations for the steels needed and going through starting the building regs process.

Not looking forward to the mess but they tell us it should only take about 4 weeks. Hopefully the lounge will only be out of action for a couple of weeks but we will see.

Grrr we were supposed to hear about our pp today however its een delayed another week possibly longer as a local councillor is getting involved! Probably due to our 'lovely' neighbours...

Oh no jojo! That's the sort of thing that makes my anxiety rocket. I so hope you get it sorted soon and I mean that with all my heart. It's a horrid wait.

Popping on to wish you all good luck.

I was on the 2015/16 thread and my fellow MN extenders really helped me get through the tough times.

Whatever hardships you go through - it will be worth it. We are so happy with ours.

Oh shit.

Builder was due to start next week.

He came round today to have a final chat. I've been waiting for a revised quote all week, as the last one I had was 6 months ago.

It's gone up by 7 grand. £7000. 7!!!

I don't have the money. At all. That's it. He says materials have gone up that much.

Whhhhaaaaat?!

How annoying that there aren't other builders available RIGHT NOW this very moment to quote too

Monkey you poor thing. I think he's probably taking the piss to be honest . Just had a read through of what you're having done. Are the existing foundations ok to build over the garage ie. they aren't knocking it down and starting again?

I'd go back and say you don't have the extra so need to work out how to make the work fit into your existing budget. If he hasn't already done this ask if he could give you a price breakdown for 1) the extension over the garage 2) conversion of kitchen to utility 3) Conversion of dining room to kitchen diner 3) Conservatory, 4) Porch, 5) block driveway and to break each section into labour and materials and could you show where the 7k extra on materials has come in.

A fair whack of your quote is labour. For the materials to have gone up 7k they would have had to have gone up a ridiculous percentage I think.

A bit of context if it helps, south coast. We have just had a huge chimney breast and the chimney pot removed, all made good, scaffolding plus 2 skips. New internal wall and door way built to form new reception room . One window removed, half bricked up plus new front door entrance cut out involving new lintel plus replacing 12 ft steel beam with larger one as per structural engineer. Non supporting wall between two rooms removed.

Electrics have been altered substantially , plumbing altered, lots of plastering and new room under coated. Just over 4,weeks work, total cost including 2 skips, one lot of scaffold, lift for steel beam, the beam plus all materials is about 6k.

Forgot he had to brick in a doorway too, just walked past it

Oh monkey that's so frustrating! It hadn't even occurred to me that costs would have gone up.. we had our quote months ago. Builder hasn't said anything as yet..

Surely lots of people get quotes several months in advance anyway as good builders seem to be booked up.

Agree with mirabelle- I would explain no more budget available so what we he suggest to get around this. If he's booked for you I imagine he will want to proceed, otherwise will leave him and his team without work?

I've just ripped apart the quote.

Seems his labour has gone from £6131+ vat to £9695 + vat.

Materials have increased by approx £1000 Inc Vat.

So that's £6k accounted for.

And his previous 'best price' was without second fix woodwork (which is fine, I can do skirting etc myself), and with some labour through as cash.

It's actually gone up by £9k in total.

I'm waiting for his response. What I want to do is tell him that even though I was desperate to get started, I'm not a fucking mug and he can go screw himself.

Can I join? Was supposed to be starting ours mid-Feb but when I still didn't have a contract at the end of Jan I knew I had lost my builder. I've also lost my job so will bide my time and watch on jealously for tips!

Welcome Mehfruittea and sorry to hear of your difficulties.

Monkey unless I've forgotten how to do percentages which is entirely possible, that is a 58% increase in labour charges I'm not sure I'd feel confident to proceed with him personally after him trying that on, were there any other options?

You always expect it to go up as unexpected problems occur but to start that before you've even started makes him seem like a big rip off merchant and I'd worry about what else he would pull once you've started and he's got you over a barrel.

I'm fuming on your behalf now.

Hi, can I join too. We are living in Ruislip (West London) and planning to build large single story side and rear extension: open plan kitchen/diner/living area; bathroom, utility room, additional bedroom with on-suit and dressing room. Also want to replace main roof (pyramid pitch). Have current planing permission and all drawings done. We are looking for good reliable builders in the area, could anyone recommend.

We are very happy to have found this site and to be able to chat to people going through the same problems. Just to know you are not alone makes a lot of difference!

I've just been chatting to another builder, and it's been suggested to use a timber frame for the above garage extension.

Does anyone have any experience of these? I don't want to anything non standard that will cause a ball ache with morthage companies when selling in the future.

Oh can I join please? Planning all done, we have a builder & hope to start at the beginning of April!
Out 2 meters across the back of the already open plan kitchen/diner and then utility room & hobby room/workshop for DH round the side.
All the quotes came in more than we were expecting but we're pushing on anyway!
I am so excited!

Teamrick I need to adopt some of your enthusiasm.. at the moment all I can think of is the upheaval!

Hello! Can I join please?
We want to have our whole house renovated, re-wired, re-roofed, three separate extensions. So far paid a project manager £8K to produce one quote which was from a builder that we put her in touch with, which is well over budget. Before we revise our plans in their entirety I really feel like we need to get another two quotes at least to see if we are in fact, living in cloud cuckoo land or if we can find someone to do the work. Budget is £400k so you'd think it'd be doable... you could knock our bloody house down and rebuild it for that, surely?!?!

Monkey,. What a nightmare. Does sound like he's trying it on abit! Makes me about nervous about ours now as we are due a site visitor soon with a view to starting in a few weeks time. I know our quote will go up as we've added a few bits and bobs ( builder already knows about these) plus we've up specced on a few things.
No expert on timber frames but the bungalow conversation opposite us was timber framed upstairs so guessing it's reasonably common.

Welcome to everyone joining us. It's nice to chat to people who are actually interested as I'm sure I'm boring my friends already!

Desperately want our final start date now. Have been penciled in for 6 the march but that was tonks ago. Last we heard we were still on track give or take a bit. I'm so impatient!

Tatlerer- I'd say the project manager needs to get her finger out and sort more quotes. Our varied quite abit, plus it's recommended to get 3. Then you should be able to work out costs and if you need to scale back on anything ( although your budget seems healthy enough)