Build cost in Surrey

[mellimad19]

Hello ! We have received planning for a double story extension to the back of the house (adding about 30sqm to ground floor and first floor) which is extending the kitchen / adding a study and on first floor, adding extra space to two existing bedrooms and a dressing room.

We are also looking to reconfigure the front of the house , adding a new entrance and converting the garage.

I know I have been very brief but my question is around the calculation of the added space. In total we will add 85Sqm (the builder is calculating part of the existing floor space into this figure due to new foundations).
I am calculating £2086 per sqm meter which is building the envelope but my question is - should I double that's to calculate they internal finish as well ?
Using all the online calculations and indivdual pricing I have received for various parts such as Windows / sliding doors/ render/ kitchen (30k) our budget should be enough yet the quote came back over 400k !!!!! (way over budget)

We have never undertaken building work before so I am nervous but not want to be unreasonable.. the architect has been useless in trying to find a solution even though we are paying them for this process ...

I am now also looking at other builders but it seems the minute you mention Surrey / they double the price !

Any advice / thoughts would be VERY much appreciated !!
Thanks

Have you had different quotes? It sounds too much. £2k/m2 should cover things like Windows, basic electrics, plastering etc but not things like kitchen cabinets or bathroom white goods etc.

I'm just trying to think what we're paying for a garage conversion and I think it's going to be under 15k for foundations at the front, building up the wall, putting a window and floor in, a radiator + basic electrics, plastering etc to turn it to a basic room.

I'm a Surrey based Carpenter not a builder or contractor, it sounds way over the top...... but a lot does depend on on the finishing and component costs. Kitchen refits for instance can be anything from a five or six grand to a hundred grand, so its hard to say without more details..

1. I would suggest that you contact a surveyor to answer your questions regarding measurement.
2. It is worth obtaining more quotes and estimates, ask friends and family for recommendations on firms, people you can trust...

People vastly underestimate the cost of internal finishing. Of course you can go high end, which will easily double your cost per sqm but even a reasonable finish will add a good amount.

Stuff I find lots of people forget to account for:

Tricky plasterwork
Expensive paint
Lighting: more than you think you need
Switches and sockets: you need loads
Window treatments: shutters and custom made curtains are both expensive
Security alarm systems
Door handles
The cost of moving out and renting elsewhere because of the sheer amount of noise, dust and hassle

The trick to doing this right is to price it down to the very last item. It all adds up very quickly.

Eg for a bathroom don't just price for a toilet, bathtub, tiles and taps. Price for the mirror, the lighting, the extractor fan, the shower screen, the towel rail, the toilet roll holder etc etc.

The cost of home improvements has really rocketed lately. Combination of brexit and jittery housing market maybe? Good luck!

Thank you so much for all your responses .... the pricing process really is bewildering....
I keep thinking as well that the numbers don't stack up ...
We are not going for something 'extravagant' only good quality and minimalistic.
We're using the same floor board in the whole house / the same tiles in the bathrooms / the same colour on all the walls etc ...
I cannot understand how the quote is no high ... especially when the builders are telling us that it's an easy house because it's only timber framed and stud walls (not a single brick anywhere)....

Waiting for another pricing tonight so let's see what this new builder comes back with ...
Thank you
:-)

Do you mean you're looking to refurbish the whole house in addition to doing the extension? Or are the floor boards and tiles just for the new bit?
I'd say minimalist stuff is very pricey - e.g. Porcelanosa, simple stuff with obscene price tags. And I would say that a 30k kitchen is extravagant and many houses with 7-digit values have kitchens than that...

We are in Surrey and doing a total refurb and adding approx 500sq ft across a double extension. Our quotes are in the £330k range, and priced includes a fairly decent finish. Extending is not cheap.

18sq m 2 floor extension not in the SE - £200k!! This included £40k for a new roof for the whole house though.

We’re now moving instead begrudgingly

£400k?!?!! My friend paid £400k for a double height basement conversion which added about 1200sq ft to the house all super high-spec plus a garden re-landscape. This is in London.

For the work you're talking about I'd be thinking along the £100-120k mark.

Thank you so much again for all your responses - super helpful ....
We got another quote last night from a builder who didn't even specify the work - just gave me a total ? We specifically agreed that he was going to give me proper pricing and his proposal of what we could afford with our budget....
I can't understand that the building trade seems to be the only trade where they think it's acceptable to ask you to spend large amounts of money without specifying on what and how ?

If anyone has a recommendation of a good builder , then please let me know ....
thank you

We've just had a small extension of kitchen into utility room, French doors etc. Came up to £12k. We had a builder based in Reigate/Redhill. Good work, the project finished on time and as quoted. PM me if interested.

OP I can't tell you how many people we've had coming once and never hearing from them again. Or giving us a ballpark figure but no breakdown. It's taken us 8-9 months from first idea to complete, though only 4 weeks for the actual work. The rest was finding an architect/surveyor and a builder who seemed reliable. Good luck. 400k seems huge!

We had the same issue. Nobody would even give us a rough idea without drawings, & we didn't want to pay for drawings until we had a rough idea of costs. Finally got some prices from neighbours who had had similar work done & it was silly. We even considered paying for builders to come & stay from Wales for the duration of a loft conversion, which we had been quoted 45k for & Welsh relatives had paid 15k for in their much larger house.

We ended up putting up with the rabbit hutch for 6 years while the kids benefited from the local schools & are now, (after a lot of saving) moving 2 miles down the road to a cheaper postcode into a house twice as big thats still within its NHBC!

Hi - We are Builders and property developers based in South Wales and now Surrey (Esher). We have our own electricians , carpenters , brickies, groundwork's the lot. We work on extensions to a price of £2,300 per accommodation metre for a standard quality build, cavity walls, Brick or render, plastering, carpentry, plumbing, as a rule of thumb ( unless you really want expensive bifolds etc). We have a history of 60 House Refurbishments, currently building a lot of houses. Happy for you to come see our work or can send photographs etc of current and finished projects. Or if we can help in any way , drop us a mail, reason we came here is that Surrey seems to overprice the work. Regards Andrew C