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?

Insurance?! Ha, another thing I overlooked.

Guess I need to change mine now the house is bigger

Jesus I can't believe how dim I've been.

I called my home insurer just before we started our build to check if our stuff in storage would be covered. They added bits to our policy to cover us during the loft conversion for no extra cost.

You will need to let your insurance company know if you are having building work done. Ours wanted to know the details of what was being done - they also removed the accidental damage extra during the period. Didn't cost us any more in premiums.
Your builder should have his own insurance policy which covers his work and liability if anything goes wrong. Our builder did comment to us that hardly anybody asks him for proof he is covered. The builders insurance would be the first place you would claim against rather than your own.

glorious I feel your window-related pain! We're having a mix of wood, aluminium, UPVC and restoration! We're in a conservation area so we're restoring two large bays and two windows at the front (replacing the single glazing with double and the steel openers with an aluminium replica) plus three new timber windows for the new extension to the side. At the rear, we're having flush casement woodgrain UPVC windows to replace the old wooden windows and anthracite aluminium bifolds/ windows/ doors to the new, more modern-looking extension. It's a bit of a hodge podge but we had to weigh up a good compromise between style, budget, sympathy to the original style and council/ English heritage rules.

Thanks, I’ve notified our house insurance and waiting for builder to send details of his policy.

Teamrick namedychangedy you were asking about full stave worktops from worktop express.

Got 'em. Love 'em. The full stave looks beautiful especially on a long run - our island is 2.5m. Expect to have to maintain them but danish oil is all that is required so far. Not sure why full stave would be easier to maintain though - all have same oil treatment, but happy to be corrected. Have a stainless steel counterpart for messy food prep. Didn't want to be too scared to put anything down on a hideously expensive marble/granite/corian thing.

Thanks @whatashower that's good to know. How long have your worktops been in for? And what are they made of?

I assumed I'd get oak all along, but now I'm looking at ash and thinking it might look nice with a white handleless kitchen..??

I thought I’d join in. Our extension started after August bank holiday. So far I cannot fault our builders. We’ve had bricklayers all weekend (not sure the neighbours will appreciate it but they’re not too noisy). We’re officially out of the ground!
We’re having a large double story with a small single. This was yesterday’s progress

Namedychangedy
They are oak, as we have oak flooring and didn't want a mishmash. We have had for 6 months now. We are just careful to wipe up water. I have given a light oiling a couple of times. But also not unhappy if they age with some battle scars over time, could always be sanded down if absolutely required. Pic is recent. The buying experience from worktop express was really good, very helpful. We waited a bit for the full stave to come back in stock. They can also finish each end with a reverse cross grain baton (sorry not described well, but details on website) they recommend if worktop near heat to protect the staves or if you just want an attractive edging, and that service is really inexpensive. Also adds a bit of length if you find yourself just needing slightly over the standard lengths available and don't want the additional expense and a large offcut. Oh, and the cat likes it 🤣

Do worktop express come round to measure? Do they install?

flyfisherlady no they are supply only (but have an installation guide). They have a bespoke cutting service to your measurements. We had one section supplied with a cutaway hole for an undermounted sink and tap and it was mm perfect fit. The offcut is a great chopping board! We found it all very straightforward.

I don't think working with wood is as tricky as really heavy marble/granite that requires specialist installers.

Very nice kitchen whatashower!

May I ask where you got that stainless steel worktop from? It's gorgeous with the wood top.

Ahhhh whatashower's kitchen, my current favourite! I love the fact your cat matches your units. I think that dark grey looks absolutely amazing against the oak.

Whatashower I love your kitchen, the Worktops look fab! I love the stainless steel bit too!

Cold & miserable here today. Building Regs came out on Friday but wouldn't sign it off!

Neither me nor DH home, 17 year DS was and said (all to be taken with a pinch of salt) building inspector was unhappy about one end of the steel, some of the wall insulation and was concerned about some of the cracks! DS took him upstairs ( the shame-place was a tip) to show him the crack in his bedroom wall and he took photos of it!

Feeling quite worried now, DH will phone Building Regs tomorrow to find out exactly what was wrong- I have a feeling we're going to have a fight on our hands! 🙄

Whatthefox guilty teamrick thank you

stainless steel is from cavendishequipment.co.uk. Ordered online using their bespoke design tool, very happy with product and service. Cost just a bit more than the wood. Still far less than the corian/marble stuff. Slightly obsessed with polishing it, don't get me started on stainless steel wipes, creams, sprays, powders 😳

Units are actually F&B black blue, just a bit blue-er and darker than the ubiquitous anthracite grey. (from DIY kitchens, see my slightly evangelical threads elsewhere)

whatashower - did you paint the inside of the wall reveal the same grey? I can't quite tell from the picture, but it looks like you did - such a clever idea! I'm trying to work out how you've fitted it all in: is the entire structure new, or is the part with the fridge new and the rest of the kitchen in the older part of the building?

For those that remortgaged for funding, how long did it take?
We had our offer from nationwide 2 weeks ago and we still haven’t completed. I harass the solicitors most days. They took 5 days to send a form with my surname spelt wrong. It’s laughable really!
They have everything now so I really hope we complete this week, thank goodness for understanding builders!

So pleased to see the gorgeous DIY kitchens being championed again! I think I recognise that one from the website

The builders are going to take measurements for us so we can then order the kitchen 😱🙌 so things are cracking on nicely.

In vain I've stuck up two plastic zip doors and a plastic sheet over a stud wall to try and minimise dust to the rest of the house.

We've ordered porch tiles but I'm not 100% convinced by them. Dh is a lot more fussy than me - so I (internally) conceded and have gone wth his preference. However I'm hoping it won't be curtain-gate again. He chose a pair of curtains for our last flat. They were dark and patterned and for years I hated them but as they were made to measure for massive windows I couldn't replace them. For someone who claims they like simple patterns, they were incredibly fussy 😬

At least he has agreed to my idea of a navy blue island (DIY kitchens, F&B) which will look amazing.

Dh did make a suggestion of having LED strip lights across the width of the extension on the ceiling (a 6m wide room). He was 100% serious and I laughed out loud

Guilty100

Hi! Kitchen is fitted into a wrap round extension which expanded the original kitchen on the side and length - and even gave us a new shower room and hurrah! hurrah! hurrah ! a separate utility room. (We were just finishing up when this extension thread started.)

It is a classic Victorian semi-detached house shape with the rear narrower than the front so we effectively did an infill to expand the rear flush with the front side, and also pushed a bit to the rear. You are spot on that the decorative brick behind the fridge marks the new extended area on the party wall side.

The huge revelation was removing the raised kitchen floor and dropping down a bit into the foundation which gave us far more head room as well as more light from the new glass roof and windows.

If anyone is interested in before and after I am happy to dig out some pics.

The grey wall is actually the supporting steels, which we did not box in and were spray painted - these are actually BS anthracite to match the bifolds and French doors, the kitchen unit colour was chosen to be slightly tonal/bluer so it wasn't all too matchy. Pic of roof steels attached to illustrate.

I think we are still quite shocked at the unbelievable difference the extension has made, we have lived here for 25 years and had got used to it how it was, including the attached outhouse with prehistoric loo 😳. I know we put a huge amount of effort and research into the decision making and stressy procurement process, and at times it was rather scary and messy (OMG the dust and dirt) but for anyone in the middle of the chaos right now I would say do hang on in there, (not that you have much option! ) but in our experience you will come out the other side and feel it was all well worthwhile!

Beautiful work on your extension whatashower

And thank you for the steel worktop details. I want to replace my very high maintenance and now heavily etched marble worktops, and stainless steel is a definite contender.

Believeitornot gosh your post takes me back. I would give up on the dust thing, for your sanity tbh, it's a lost fight 🤣😷
I am sure you will be double checking builders measurements 😁just remember to allow for plastering on any partitioning and corner, on one free wall (i.e. with an internal corner) we gave up trying to work out what the finished length would be and got slightly undersized units which we centred, proved to be a wise decision. It was measurementgate here for quite a while.

I think LED lights are a man thing. Our site foreman was determined we should have them as a strip right across the roof (where we now have some very simple traditional track spots.) On closer questioning, it was clear our foreman meant the multicoloured LED light strips which cycle through colours. Our very own rave/brothel.

Oh wow whatashower, thanks so much for the pictures, it's incredibly motivating to see the end product, especially when we're still in the depths of it, with the dust and drilling and eating microwave meals! You've ended up with a really beautiful space - I love everything about it.

We're doing our extension on a shoestring so dropping the floor level was discussed but it would have meant the garden being above the kitchen floor so we left it as is. Shame, as nice high ceilings would have been lovely.

After your other picture I'm now seriously considering stainless steel for the island, but if it's high maintenance then realistically it's not for us. Hmmm...

whatashower - I LOVE the idea of exposed steels. What a triumph! Your lighting tucked underneath them is an excellent thought as well. I get the feeling you've done a load of detail on this build, and it really shows that the thought has been spent on it. I would love to see more pics if you don't mind showing them! I am doing something similar in terms of making use of space that is currently below the house to extend the height of rooms - in my case the drop is around 840mm, so quite substantial (I'm on a hill).

I am having a lighting dilemma today. I don't want a light fitting of any kind because it will hang down and get in the way of the view of the garden. But I don't think I want spotlights either. I'm considering one of those plaster-in solutions, but I don't know how you change the bulbs on these - can anyone advise? I'm also worried about them looking ridiculous - I don't really like the square shapes some people make with them, and there is nowhere to drop the light down a wall, which seems to be how they're used by architects. I think I might prefer recessed lights instead?

rick - I am thinking of you today, hoping you have good news from building regs.

Namedy our low point was the night Trump was elected, appropriately. We actually moved out far away for most of the build but had to be there for site meetings and occasionally work related stuff. Was there on my tod. No boiler, no heating, a large part of the rest of the house damaged by settlement and necessary repairs, neighbour rightly furious, dust at mask-wearing levels, too cold upstairs, slept on the sofa in front of the tragic telly and an electric fan heater, in all my clothes and then some, with a pot noodle or somesuch nutritional feast. 😢
Stainless steel arguably very low maintenance, and so so easy to keep spotlessly, hygienically clean. It's just that it is so reflective there is the additional opportunity to obsessively polish to a uniform shine without smears. The stainless steel wipes are quite good for this, but Knaus cream is tops. I am a complete slattern and a messy cook who aspires for tidy despite myself - so I reap what I sow.

We have plastered lights on our walls guilty and they are very easy to change as they are open from the top. Just reach in and change. Which style were you thinking for the ceiling? Are you thinking plastered in spotlights? Definitely recommend LED lights, they will last much longer.