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?

It's now completely smashed to pieces

Oh fuck. No idea why dd has snuck into the pics

Ah well. Least she's cute

She's at cute as mince MonkeyFace

Well have an update on our extension. After loosing faith in the builders I am taking it all back! They turned up on Monday and demolished and prepped the site, diggers were in and trenches are nearly finished ---- really pleased with the progress we are making each day. Feel bad I ever doubted the builders. So far it's all looking good and they have been here on time and finishing late every day.

Very excited to see it all happening finally! How is everyone else getting on?

Thats great news redrobbin , we are hoping to be at that stage soon. After only getting planning permission on friday it turns out that our builders have availability to start soon eek! So its all systems go getting paperwork ready for the mortgage and working out budgets! Thankfully we have enough left over from the sale of our last house to get to roof height!

We haven't got planning permission yet

Hi all mine has been going ok so far ( fingers crossed) brick work and new roof on house done . Went to choose tiles and granite at the weekend ( caused a few disagreements lol ) breaking through next week

I knew that the first quote I would get through from one of the builders would be too much money and I would go .

So the first builders quote came through this morning and I went as predicted. I really hope he's deliberately sent a really expensive quote because he doesn't want the job. He didn't break down costs, so I have no idea where all this money is supposed to go.

Still a bit , but coming down a little. If it's going to be that much money (75k instead of 30k), then that's the whole thing out of the window.

Other builders have promised quotes before the end of the week and I'm so hoping they will be more reasonable.

Stressed already and not one spade has been stuck in the ground yet. I may have sneaked out at work to buy some . Have to report that local supermarket does sub-standard chocolate muffins.

shortlass if it helps. Our builder broke the quote down into two areas only: build and plumbing & electrics

He did give a good level of detail (4-5 pages) on what those two areas included. Helped to compare quotes from other builders.

Oooh just the thread we submitted our plans laSt week and today a lady turned up unannounced to take photos of the back of the house good job we were actually home unsure if neighbours have objected or if this is usual. We are hoping for a second storey extension over existing first floor extension. Dreading it as we are reconfiguring the whole downstairs as well. But rttt I hope to be inspired and get excited

Thanks RedRobin. I just need to wait for more quotes to come in. If only I were a patient person...

counttoten this is normal (well it was for us, anyway) although they should have told you they were coming! If the plans were only submitted last week then I doubt your neighbours have even been notified yet. Fingers crossed it all goes smoothly!

shortlass don't panic yet. Our first quote was nearly £200k (!!) higher than our second quote, and we're hoping a third quote due in this week may be cheaper still.

shortlass our first quote was £15k more than expected, second came in on budget. They do vary widely. A friend who is having a 2 storey extension had a £75k difference between lowest and highest. £75k does sound very high when you were only expecting £30k.

Hi there all
I'm looking to move house and just wondering about costs of 2 storey extension for extended kitchen with 1 new bedroom and en suit and extension to existing one. From plans of a house im going to view I think it will be about 30sqm, anyone know roughly what that'll cost? If too much I don't want the house.

Short- What are you planning? Our quotes did vary alot too, all is not lost :)

Day 2 here. Yesterday they took up the old Patio and some prep work. ( boarded out the drive etc) This morning the digger turned up at 7am! Que me running round like a headless chicken still in my PJ's. Im so not a morning person. Building commenced at 8 and almost dug the foundations for the rear extension and have levelled some land at the end of the garden ready for the shed. Tomorrow will be digging the foundations for the side extensions.
The kids are loving the digger in the garden and we may of gone outside once the builders had gone for a little sit in the digger :P

Ok so starting soon is actually monday! Which is great but its full panic stations to get the garage empty and move the relevant garden plants!

pigleychez kids do love watching the diggers don’t they? Our trenches for the footings have been dug. Builders had to hire the grabber lorry thing 4 times to come and collect all the debris from demolition & prep - our drive was literally over flowing with debris and soil

We are concreting tomorrow and it’s Day 6 for us. It’s very exciting to see all the changes every day.

Red- Yeah we have had a grabber already and the drive is full ready for another and we havent even started on the side extension yet.

DD2's response to seeing the deep trenches was ' They've ruined the garden!' :)

The lovely builders have left tonight having built the dog a bridge over the trenches so he can still go out for a wee!

Thanks for reassurances. My project is a little side extension 3.5m x 2m, bifold doors, moving the kitchen and creating utility. I'm asking builder to fit kitchen, but I will supply units etc. I've asked for underfloorheating too, but that maybe a luxury too far.

I may be a bit optimistic with my budget, but I hope not crazilly so as extension is small.

Oh, and I'll be getting another company to supply and fit bifolds, so builder just quoting for creating opening

Been a busy few days here. The foundations are now full of concrete and the bricks are starting to go up. Its starting to feel real now. Pleased with the progress and how lovely our builders are.
Plus none of the neighbours have moaned yet about all the delivery lorries, cement trucks in and out. :)

Wow it looks like lots of us are making progress now spring is here! Here is whats left of our garage after just a few hours! (to be fair it was thretening to fall down anyway) the remaining wall was leaning so far by the end of the day that after this pic they pushed it in so it didn't fall in the night!
We are off bi-fold shopping today, but i think its choosing the garage door which is going to be trickiest, as no meny side hinged glazed modern options arround!

Lots of progress all round it seems! We're in middle of week 6 now, we have a kitchen at last (no more slow cooker 😊) but I'm pretty sick of the mess and dust. We were away for a couple of days and got back to an entire bathroom suite all unpacked in my daughters bedroom so we couldn't even get her into bed until we'd lugged it all out. Plaster dust and lumps of concrete everywhere. The most annoying thing was they had used my dustpan brush (my only means of clearing up the big pieces of rubble and dust on stairs, hall etc) and put it who-knows-where. Sounds so petty and in the scheme of things I really know its not important but I just wanted to sweep the bloody stairs before the kids trampled up and down them and I couldn't even do that!! Gaah! Hope others are able to be more Zen than me through this process. Is not helped by man-child DH sighing and rubbing his head in despair the whole time but not actually trying to do anything to make the situation more liveable. Sorry for moaning, I do know it will be worth it and that we are fortunate to be able to do this. The chaos is just getting to me. Any tips for coping?

Reunited