Home extensions 2017- the one where all builders are dickheads.

[monkeyfacegrace]

Link to the old thread.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/2847599-Home-Extensions-2017-come-along-on-the-journey

As you were ladies.

No one came today!

Electrician phoned all the plasterboard in the kitchen & utility room will have to come down off the ceiling! Wiring redone & plasterboard put back up!

Out with girlfriends tonight, do not be worried by any incoherent ramblings later!

🍾🍾🍾🍷🍷🍷😞

I'll take some pics in the morning, won't be able to see anything at the moment! The skip that has been on our drive since August Bank holiday finally went this morning. Our builder did a bit of a tidy up yesterday and has booked loads of people in for the next couple of weeks so we should see some progress finally after not much happening for a few weeks.

Fucking hell Rick, I can virtually taste the dust from here.

If it's any comfort, it DOES get better. Slowly and you'll lose even more will to live, but it does, actually, get better.

Blimey rick, no wonder you're fed up. At least our builders haven't actually made it inside yet. Our lounge and dining room are all in one room at the moment but it's still fairly civilised, even if a bit cosy.

So other than decorating, I have a walk in wardrobe. The opening to the left will eventually be the end suite. For now it's an empty, unplastered room that we ignore.

My son's room is small and shit and the ceilings are 6" too low, but it's there. And he LOVES having his own space. In his room, there's a large loft hatch with a pull down ladder. This goes up to a very small attic space, he can just about stand up in (150cm ish), but fits a TV, xbox, mini fridge, 2 bean bags and 2 of those foam chair bed things for sleepovers with his mates.

Downstairs we have space for the kitchen to be fitted. The bit where the washing machine is, was my old kitchen. That will be a utility area, with white goods and storage. Where the cooker is, will have the sink and work surfaces, and there's space (just) for our dining table.

And yes, the oak floor is the stuff that's alll got to come up again.

Rick 😱 We are lucky because we are moving the kitchen. So our old kitchen is still functioning and we can screen off the dusty room (although we have to walk through to get the old kitchen). My plastic doors have sort of held up and the dust elsewhere isn't too bad.

monkey, that is so pants re the floor. Shocking.

Stringchild get your neighbours builders!

The collective nightmares of this group are making me very nervous!

Honey I'm home!

It was particularly dusty cos DH had taken out a broom cupboard wall and taken up the old floor tiles in the kitchen but I'm quite relieved you're horrified! I was starting to think I was being unreasonable! 😬

I've been at my friends lovely house, it was warm, and you could walk round the living room & sit at the dining table! All those luxuries I had forgotten about! And I drank prosecco & lots of white wine which I know is a headache in the post! Meh!

Monkey - quite jealous of the walk in wardrobe! 👗👚👠👡👢! 😍

Can I please join you?

We started our house renovation (new everything nearly ... doors, windows, floors, heating, electrics, kitchen, bathrooms, etc) in June.

We are hoping to be done by the end of November.

All the boring stuff is done - electrics, heating, walks down, new walks built, windows in) & now we are waiting for the scree and plaster to dry before starting the tiling etc.

We have moved out and I am longing to get home. But living offsite has been a life saver as small delays have not stressed me as much as I know they would of otherwise.

We live in Europe and our builders are German. They are very reliable and always turn up! We are using a big building firm with over 200 staff which I think helps with their availability.

Photo of our new (sticky and wet) scree floor.

We have bricklayers today. They started at 8am (sorry neighbours!). Thankfully we have three of them today including the boss so I’m hopeful they’ll finish today..
We’re off to howdens this morning to sort out the kitchen (I know it’s early but there’s a sale).

I’m very jealous seeing the extensions that are further on than ours. When did everyone start?

Do you want to answer that very last question rick? 😂

bax, Howden always have a sale. Never ever buy a kitchen from them unless you have 75-80% discount on each component.

Even then, get the plans and design all done. Then go to DIY kitchens and order a kitchen a gazillion times better quality for less money (even with the discount). Just a heads up!

That's exactly what I did with our kitchen monkey. Got magnet to design it then sent that to diy kitchens and it was over half the price. I love my kitchen! (This is the only pic I can find of my phone and it's just of the island - the rest is behind me - oh and it's just before a party, we don't normally have balloons everywhere )

Progress pics. The first one is the sun room which is an extension at the back of the house. The existing French doors will be going. The second photo is down the side of the house. An existing lean to was knocked down and we've extended to neighbour's wall, this will be the utility room and we'll be keeping a clear space like a corridor so we can still get bikes etc from garden to front. It annoyingly has a chimney breast in it but still room for washing machine, sink, tumble dryer (finally!) and storage.

bax we started in May, should have been 3 months! Our builder is great, just lots of delays. We're also getting our kitchen from Howdens in the sale. Price wise it'll be a bit more expensive than DIY (I have price checked) but Howdens is more convenient and shorter lead times.

Believe, we're at pretty much the same stage as you, I think. We're hoping our floors will be down in the next week or so. Our builders have promised us we'll be done by Xmas, so if we are you definitely should be!

What floors are you having? I went back and forth over wood vs tile for a while, and think I've settled on engineered oak parquet. But the rest of the ground floor is a not-great and v.dark laminate so am thinking it won't blend very well.

Rick, I know what you mean about the relative luxury of a normal, finished house. I had dinner at a friend's house last week and had a fab time stroking her lovely smooth walls! I even volunteered to clean the kitchen, just for the sheer novelty of it - she didn't seem to mind!

It's funny isn't it Namedy! Even the adverts on the tv are making me yearn for some clear space & a tidy living room! I was just in town & tried on some lovely shoes in the Clarke's sale but they were black suede! I just imagined them covered in dust & brick dust, sighed & walked out!!

Trying to keep positive by concentrating on the patio which is definitely happening on Monday! Absolutely nothing to do with Twatchops (builder- to anyone new to the thread) he's so organised it's untrue! The digger is here, he's organised our skip to go, his to arrive! What a breath of fresh air!

Bax on Wednesday it will be exactly 6 months since we started our 12 week extension! 🙄

Ok my contribution attached - still living with the screed floor - hopefully only another 6 weeks to go. The builder is back next week (hopefully) to sort out the drainage and retaining wall so he will measure the moisture level in the floor then.
So fed up of the dust, I went to screwfix this morning to buy a cheap vacuum cleaner to use in the room. It will make me feel better if nothing else!

Teamrik that is insane! Poor you for living with that.
Bricklayers have done a fab job today, we’re nearly done. I just need this alleged storm to do one this week so we can get our roof started!

Bax ours was an 8 week first floor above garage conversion extension.

Started 6th March. So I make that almost 8 months

Wowsers how do your builders sleep at night!
We started after August bank holiday and have been told it’ll be finished for Christmas but probably not decorated. I’m hoping that happens!

Morning everyone! Guilty100 here - I had a namechange!

It's so exciting to see these lovely pictures of your new extensions going up! You're all way ahead of me, and it's lovely to be able to imagine a point when I've got a sealed shell out the back! I love the lightness of your space sushi.

My builder (who is not a dickhead so far, though this may be revised at a later date!!) is pouring concrete floors this morning!

I left on Friday for my BIL's wedding and came back Sunday to find lintels in place above the two windows at the back. It's amazing how much it defines the space. I can see the views I'll have of my garden through each much more clearly now, even though it's essentially just a top bar that's gone on!

Really hoping it's not too windy this evening! I have a lot of plastic sheeting over everything and it's super noisy in the breeze.

We have the roof going on Wednesday. Please pray for good weather!