Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming

[Believeitornot]

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We have the same kitchen tiles rick! With grey grout too..

It's so lovely seeing so many near the end!

Rick - it's so wonderful that your extension is coming together so brilliantly after all the problems you've had!

believe - drop-dead gorgeous tiles! Wow!

Loving the ensuite! Especially the glass enclosure and matching floor and wall tiles. Lovely.

Gorgeous ensuite!

Has anyone bought new internal doors and can recommend a supplier? I need two 1930s style fire doors and I am a bit lost in websites this morning.

The website for Door Deals is quite good because they have a huge selection and you can search for "families" of doors, so you can see glazed/unglazed/fire doors etc. However, it's worth then googling around to compare prices once you've found one you like.

www.doordeals.co.uk/

I'm getting Worcester doors. I thought I wanted dead modern ones, but then realised that they might look odd with my fairly ornate 1920s architrave, which the builders have lovingly preserved and recut. While I'm definitely going for a modern look and layout, I don't want to strip out all of the character from the place.

Oh, and I got some really nice standard modern doorhandles dead cheap in Aldi! They have been sitting in my cupboard for about 18 months. They might be on the website, though?

I had been looking at doordeals. I cannot work out the difference between two doors I am looking at. I think one might be more knotty wood as it is described as “rustic” oak.

I wonder if I should buy unfinished or finished.

Is the "rustic" one cheaper as well? If so, that could be it!

Finishing a door isn't a big job, but it is (yet another) job to do all the same! I'm going to do it myself, I think but that's because I reckon they might need to cut something off the bottom of the door (to make enough room for Amtico and the ply on which it is laid underneath), which might well just wreck any coating on there.

Our doors were sourced by the builder from howdens I think. Just plain old four panel doors. Primed but need painting.

Our porch floor has been tiled finally! Very excited about this.

Loving all of the tiling pics such a great achievement

believe - I love all your tiles! They're sensational! You have lovely taste. I think my BIL has those in his bathroom, and they look great there but yours are even better.

Builders here are cladding the inside of a bay window with cedar to match the outside. I realise this sounds strange - will try to post a picture when they are done! It smells lovely, though. And it should keep the spiders at bay!

My utility is also being installed. And a lorryload of flatpack has arrived from Ikea plus my first EVER tumble dryer. I have no idea how to work it but I am VEH EXCITED anyway. It might not be the entire kitchen, but it'll be enough to keep em busy for a bit!

Gorgeous porch floor believe.

The builders have laid most of the parquet, excitement! The weights have gone off the far end so you can get a better view of it now. Sanding on Tuesday they think.

I am so in love with my floor! They are going to apply the stain with cloth to preserve the variation in the wood. If they brush it on it will end up too uniform.

Such a nice floor Dust! It looks so good. It’ll be amazing once everything is in.

I could cry with joy for you dust - it's magnificent!

💃💃💃💃 Dancing in!

These photos are amazing! I'm loving it!

Loving the geometric tiles, love the parquet, love that white metro tiles are still in.

Love the fact that we've agreed not to live here without a bathroom and kitchen and rent somewhere instead for 6 weeks. Will probably avoid heartache, illness and divorce!!

I spent the weekend in Ikea hell, putting together the bits and pieces of kitchen furniture we do have, and listing the copious amounts of stuff still missing. These are supposed to be delivered in a total of 5 loads over the next month, bringing the total number of deliveries to 7.

The thing that annoys me the most? I waited in for a delivery from store on Sunday, ALL DAY. Timeslot was 9 to 4. It got near 4 and I rang up to see what was going on. Turned out the store hadn't been bothered to pick the items having "only had 4 days of notice" (!), so there WAS no delivery, but they hadn't had the courtesy to inform me of this. I went to the store, and they were picked off the shelf for me in about 10 minutes (well, after I'd waited 45 minutes to be served).

This is the worst customer service experience I have EVER had in my entire life. The levels of rudeness, the lack of respect and the incompetence are off the scale. I am going to put in a massive compensation claim against them. I'm so angry that I'm going to charge them not only for all the additional expenses I am incurring, but also for my time - for every phone call, every wait in store, every hold line, at my consultancy rate. I do not see why I shouldn't be compensated for the amount of hours this is costing me, especially since it is actually eating into the non-waged time I have set aside for freelance work.

Argh. Really, really wish I'd used DIY Kitchens now.

Also, they have run out of ovens.

Let that sink in for a second. A major global player in the kitchen market HAS RUN OUT OF A LINE OF OVENS.

How bloody incompetent can those organising these supply chains be?

Can I please join your thread... Though only at the thinking about it stage... Want / need to knock down rubbish conservatory and want to build simple single story extension on same foot print with door way to kitchen opened up and new kitchen fitted but keeping appliances and will be very similar kitchen layout so no change to plumbing etc.
We only have 25k... Which I think seems a lot but I think I might be in for disappointment

Any advice?

I think we generally agree on here that £2k/sq metre is roughly ballpark for extensions? So if your build is around 12 square metres, and you go for reasonably inexpensive finishes, you might be able to do it for £25k!

FFS whisky, what a nightmare. I would be feeling just like you in that situation. You put up with all the nightmare of the build, think it is all going well, and then Ikea fuck it up.

Welcome theredjellybean. I think your budget sounds like it doesn’t have much wriggle room, but you may be able to do it. Especially depending on finishes and how much you do yourself - like painting etc.

Would you need planning permission or would it be permitted development? Don’t forget to factor things like building control, party walls etc into cost!

Thanks... Off to measure the existing conservatory.. If I don't come back I have perished from the cold or been eaten by the giant spiders that live there

Thanks dust. I'm just feeling a bit despondant about it all. I can't explain it rationally. It's a new form of tiredness to me - a kind of weariness with living in chaos, and a desire to take back some ownership and control of my own space. I'm not actually physically or even mentally tired, but I am emotionally tired. DH has suggested that we go away for a day this coming weekend. Being looked after in a space that is clean, and not having to navigate various cutting tools, dust or bare plaster, would be amazing.