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.

Oh the builder said the loo has to be on that left hand wall (it's low but there's enough head height still and the waste has to come out there).

Look at the grate! Sorry to bore everyone! They have done an amazing job!

Sorry for those with leaks!

How you bearing up Monkey?

I live in fear of a leak developing. We don't have any slates on the roof yet but it seems to be holding up ok so far...

titsywoo does the roof slope evenly from the right to the left, or is there a section that's flat before the slope begins? I only ask because our ensuite is quite similar except it starts and ends higher and has a flat bit and even then we struggled to fit in a standard height shower enclosure. Beyond that, I think the loo is going to need to be a little into the room because of the height constraints, so possibly you will need to build out a bit iyswim. That might possibly obstruct the cupboard though?

Or can you turn the shower around, possibly opening the door outwards, and have something like 1000*800 shower, loo next to the airing cupboard where the shower was, and sink just by the door in the highest bit of that wall? Can you really not get the waste under the floor to go out at the right point?

Oh maybe you can have the loo on the wall actually, in which case ignore me www.google.co.uk/search?q=minimum+head+height+for+toilet&tbm=isch&source=iu&pf=m&ictx=1&fir=WdfQ1b7MonKUvM%253A%252C2xr1L2zxHTRe8M%252C_&usg=__N38HcZEsE8E8akXnLmlW0S5U7Ro%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjZzNzJ6YHXAhWKPxoKHRB5AXIQ9QEIMjAE#imgrc=CWi9dbsS8ZX_mM:

Titsywoo I’m sure you can find bifold fire doors but they won’t be cheap.

Whisky I agree, if we went down the ikea route we’d have chosen their quartz as it’s the best price I’ve found. They are only available as part of a whole kitchen though, are you getting your units from them?

TeamRick Those tiles look really smart, it must feel good to see something that got done so quickly and efficiently.

titsy - could you use a sliding door/pocket door instead? It might give you that bit of extra floor space?

Any glazed fire doors seem to be £££.

tika - yes, getting the whole thing from Ikea I think!

Good luck everyone today! It’s all action at ours. Our tiles are coming off 😱 whose idea was it to have an extension when it’s cold! 😂

Wrap up warm bax! At least it's milder than it might be for the time of year.

I'm having spray insulation done this morning, quite excited. The roof should be done this week, then insulation, cladding and first fix plumbing/electrics starts. They're going to fit windows and do some of the plastering and then knock through (this order of work is surprising - I'd have thought plastering would have come after the knock-through). Probably looking at third week in November for the messiest bit. I might - MIGHT - just squeak kitchen fitting in before Christmas.

You sound a similar stage to us. Our knock through is happening from 3rd November, which involves our kitchen completely going. They’re plastering after knock through
Our builders are adamant they’ll be done for Christmas?

bax - I think it depends what "done" means in my case!

First fix will definitely be done by middle of next month. Second fix is more complicated! One thing for me is that I have masses and masses of joinery - new storage - which is the really transformational thing in terms of sorting out most of the rest of the house. I would be surprised if all of that is done before late Jan/early Feb, meaning that by the time everything has been put in its own specially designed place, it'll be March I hope I'm being pessimistic, but I fear that this may be my timescale!

Better to have a realistic timescale whisky than be disappointed later.

Joinery takes a long time. Ours took 10 weeks to design (with full drawings) and another 4 weeks to install. Bespoke joinery is well worth it, really elevated the look of the house. I’m sure you’ll love it.

Whisky we had some plastering done before the knock through. They plastered the opposite and side walls then knocked through to the old lounge.
I thought the same as you, so was quite surprised when they told me it would be in that order.

Thanks whiskeyowl but the slant of the roof means a pocket door won't work. Oh well I'd squeeze it all in somehow!

Very loud work here today - they broke through the ceiling as soon as they arrived at 8 which was a lovely sound to wake up to (I'm not working over half term). They did it in a couple of hours and there was barely any dust! Very happy about that! Poor DD is now using the lounge as her bedroom (her room is where the staircase is going). Luckily we have sofas in our kitchen too so the loss of the lounge isn't too great!

whatthefox - I'm not at all surprised by the length of time in the design phase! It's a big job.

sushi - glad my builder's not the only one. Was the plaster OK during the knockthrough?

titsywoo - how on earth have you escaped dust with all that going on? Amazing!!

I now have spray insulation everywhere. The extension is appreciably warmer, even though it's still open to the elements with big gaps for the windows!

Our electrician has been today taken out junks of celatex and redone the wiring, lots of it had been trapped over the joists!

DH has text builder to let him know he can come back, put the plasterboard back up & book the plasterers! Silence!

Please keep everything crossed for us! We really need this plastering! 🙏

Hi all. I haven’t posted since my screed issue. And I’m still waiting for it to dry properly so we can have flooring installed! I am learning the art of patience. The kitchen is in now though and electrics finished.

I’m not using the kitchen yet as we don’t have a splashback. I’m thinking about coloured glass but can’t decide whether to fill the whole space between worktop and eye level units (ours are the shorter type, so it’s a fairly big expanse) or just have a strip slightly higher then the wall sockets. Is anyone else thinking about this?

I also came on to mention The Appliance Depot which sells graded (slightly damaged) appliances. I read about it on one of the old kitchen threads on here ages ago. It’s worth having a look as some of the defects wouldn’t be noticeable after install, eg a small dent on the side of a fridge. I’ve just ordered my dream fridge freezer which has £400 off the rrp but it’s only the packaging which is damaged. I just hope no one comes on here to sound any alarm bells!

Emma, I would fill the whole space if you can. It will look more seamless and much easier to clean glass than a painted wall.

Fingers crossed for you TeamRick!

Who was waiting on the windows? I’ve been crossing all my fingers for you too...

Thanks Fox I think you’re right.

The other reason I’m not using the kitchen yet is because I’m a little bit scared of the induction hob! Never used one before. But I’ve checked all my pans will work. Maybe I’ll try it tomorrow.

Hope everyone else has made some kind of progress today.

Whisky the plaster was fine. They were careful how they did the knock through to try and minimise the dust (was still everywhere), which helped. I must admit it felt as if we were making progress once some plaster went on.

Our builder finished the outside yesterday so we are now fully compliant with the building regs sign off. Looks a lot neater. DH and my dad will put the rest of the paving slabs down and we need to get some stones for one side as well as returfing part of the lawn. That can wait until next year.

He also checked the moisture level of the screed. It is still reading 17% in places so still have a wait until we can lay the floor. He reckons he should be able to do it before Christmas but I have my doubts. It needs to be less than 5%.

And the whole process has obviously got to me seeing as I am awake at this time and posting on here

Our builders knocked through on Friday. I was a bit nervous but seems to have gone okay! Not too much dust but I think that's because it was more doors and windows than brick. They're plastering this week. Then next week, the wall in the kitchen comes down! That will be realy messy as the ceiling will be coming down too... The plan is for the builders to be finished by the end of November but we still have lots to do when they've finished so not sure we'll be totally finished for Christmas but at least liveable.

Oh rick - you've had a breakthrough! I'm so happy for you!! Fingers firmly crossed it continues!

Emma - I agree with whatthefox - fill the whole space, looks much more modern! I've only used inductions in holiday lets - but I've been impressed with how amazingly quickly they heat. It'll be so much fun to play with it later on!

sushi - hooray for build regs sign off! And Christmas is a reaaaaally long way off when it comes to drying timescales, I'm sure you'll get it done well in advance of that. If all else fails, you can use a fan. I had a massive flood at my old house caused by my stupid exP and they brought in large, industrial-looking fans to move air around. It really helped it to dry out more quickly. If you're under the cosh to get it done, that's always something you could consider. Costs a bit in electricity, though!

Did anyone have spray insulation as part of their build? Mine was done yesterday, and the roof is really deep and neat but the sides are less deep and it's not flush with the timbers in places. I'm concerned they haven't put enough in there. However, I'm also mindful of the fact that more insulation may be required by regs in the roof. I will ask my builder when he returns tomorrow, but would be glad of advice in the interim if anyone has any to offer?

fourmagpies - that looks amazing! It's going to feel so light and airy! And another one saying the dust isn't too horrific... ahhh, you guys are getting my hopes up!!

No idea whiskeyowl - I was expecting the house to be full of it but they closed the door to the room and nothing came out. Any dust that came down they rolled up in the old carpet and in the skip it went! Staircase was going in as I left for work this morning so should be in by the time I get home. Just need to choose handrails and spindles etc. We bought the roof tiles this morning and they came in £1800 over budget :( We are matching to our attached neighbour (he bought his last year) but there is a shortage so the price went up. Our contingency money has just dropped substantially!

Here's a pic of the hole in the ceiling (DD's old bedroom which is now a hallway - this is a loft conversion on a bungalow).