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Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming

999 replies

Believeitornot · 06/12/2017 18:12

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theredjellybean · 31/01/2018 16:15

Advice please ladies... So builder came two weeks ago, very well recommended, was enthusiastic about job, had lots of good ideas etc, we seemed on same page.
He says he will let me know some idea of cost of basic build and if we're happy he will come back then for a more detailed meeting to discuss stuff like the kitchen refit before producing a final quote for us.
I said fab...
Not heard peep from him since.... Should I chase him? How long would you expect to wait??

Baxdream · 31/01/2018 17:31

Whisky that's fabulous news! That is a long wait too!

Builders can take time to get quotes together plus don't forget they do it around their current builds. Did he give you an idea of timescales?

We've had a productive day. It's all go go go with painting as our final carpets go down tomorrow. We've managed to borrow the labourers this week to help and the main builder even helped for an hour today!
All our flooring is done, kitchen plinth lighting is in.

The best news is we completed on our remortgage so all debts are cleared and we can get our landscaping done. New drive goes in in 3 weeks 😍

DustandRubble · 31/01/2018 23:24

Great news on the money Bax, and the progress.

Well I have my first dishwasher load running and got to try out the sink. I don’t have the official thread tap, but the one I have is so shiny! And the end pulls out to reveal the hose. It currently has an annoying spray thing going on but they have promised to fix that for me tomorrow.

Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
HideHide · 31/01/2018 23:53

I’ve finally had my worktops finished!! It’s been an utter saga of 3 different material choices, 5 separate visits to fit/adjust/remove/replace..... BUT they’re in!

Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
DustandRubble · 01/02/2018 09:57

Lovely worktops though! I love your light fittings too.

whiskyowl · 01/02/2018 11:12

dust that tap is so shiny! I love your wiggly cutout worktop too. We are sisters in dishwashers being turned on - it's AMAZING to have it back, isn't it? Everything kitcheny I own is covered in dust, so I am going to be running it pretty hard this weekend. The builders are acting like it's weird that I wasn't perfectly content with a sink - I'm guessing they are not the ones doing the cooking and cleaning in their respective households!

hidehide - that looks spectacular. Those yellow lights really sing!

bax - I am so glad you've managed to get the finances sorted. It's so stressful getting it all done.

redjelly - I'd say that 2 weeks is nothing in terms of waiting for a well-prepared quote. I'd give the builder a poke by text, but a really gentle one because these things do take a while to cost up.

The builder is sorting me out some lovely oak steps, which I'm really pleased with. I also have 3 radiators going on today, which means the house will be toasty just in time for the weather to warm up Grin The electrician is here sorting out some plinth lighting and getting ready for ovens on Monday. Keep all your fingers and toes crossed for me, ladies, that Ikea do not screw this one up! I've waited so long I think I will be devastasted if I don't get the final pieces of the kitchen as planned.

DustandRubble · 01/02/2018 11:18

Everything firmly crossed whisky, you are so nearly there.

The wiggly worktop is a bit of temporary plywood, I have no idea whether the granite is going to be similar. But not long to find out as it arrives Tuesday!

I am waiting for the electrician to arrive today to get everything working in the kitchen. We might be able to use the oven this weekend! Having the dishwasher is brilliant, and I was just able to fill the kettle without going upstairs. Bliss.

NurseryFightClub · 01/02/2018 11:25

Hide, I never got any quotes back either, it's soul destroying taking two hours to explain everything then they don't come back to you. I chased up several and give up.

NurseryFightClub · 01/02/2018 11:26

Sorry that was to @redjelly

NurseryFightClub · 01/02/2018 11:26

Hide I love to bold colour on the walls you have gone for, looks very classy

DustandRubble · 01/02/2018 11:30

redjelly I think a gentle nudge is a good idea. Like nurseryfightclub I had many builders who just never came back to me. Even with a reminder. It drove me crazy. Some of them had been highly recommended as well. They may have been too busy for the job, or decided they didn’t want it, but I wish they had just said that.

4yearsnosleep · 01/02/2018 11:41

Yay Bax, what a relief regarding the remortgage!

Whisky well done on being firm with the electrician and getting appliances working!

Love the worktops too!

Builders are generally pretty terrible at admin in seems. The builder we have now chosen took nearly 8 weeks to get back to us, (Christmas was in the middle). I chased him a few times with text messages. Hopefully he will be worth the wait!

NurseryFightClub · 01/02/2018 11:58

One builder we asked to quote had already quoted for previous owner and we were just tweaking it, they still didn't come back....

whiskyowl · 01/02/2018 12:07

I'm having a head-in-hands moment with the electrician.

Remember our, ahem, disagreement over the flashing disco lights in the kitchen? I.e I hated them and he wouldn't listen?

Well, the electrician produced a set of lights that apparently did warm white, AND all the other colours. And insisted I had them. So I said "OK" thinking that I would just turn them on warm white and never change them.

But it turns out they don't do warm white. They just do shades of horrible pink, horrible blue, or horrible green. They do not, in fact, go anything resembling light yellow.

ALL I BLOODY WANT IS A WARM WHITE. All I ever wanted was warm white.

Now there is harrumphing and moaning about having to redo some work because "'t'customer 'as changed 'er mind again".

Angry

This is what happens when they don't bloody listen to the client. I've been communicating VERY clearly about this from the start. I have been like a monk religiously intoning a mantra of "warm white". It's difficult because they all clearly have these lights in their own homes, and so I have been polite about not thinking they were right for me personally and avoiding saying I think they are possibly the tackiest thing I have ever seen in my life and make any space look like the kind of club that has sticky floors and cocktails named after sex acts but clearly saying "I really want warm white and I won't really use the colours, but fit them if you must" was redolant of all of Empson's seven types of bloody ambiguity.

BrandNewHouse · 01/02/2018 12:07

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Threesocks · 01/02/2018 12:52

Hi everyone - I have been following you all for ages (stalker alert).

We have planning permission for a rear and side single extension. We put together a detailed spec with our architect and also added in our entire wish list of things we wanted to renovate in the downstairs of our house.

Got the quotes back in yesterday and they are double the amount we were optimistically hoping for!! So it looks like my dream of getting it all sorted in one go is gone and we will have to go back to focussing in the extension and do the rest of the house bit by bit once that's finished (and do all the decorating and easy bits ourselves - sigh!

The good news is that the Two building firms we really like could both potentially start in April .... so we will be spending the weekend going through the quotes in detail and working out the work we can actually afford to get them to do ... spreadsheet ahoy!

whiskyowl · 01/02/2018 12:55

Oh, and I now face a bill for £30 for the LED lights that I NEVER WANTED IN THE BLOODY FIRST PLACE. Angry

I hate my electrician with the fiery voltage of a thousand substations.

Baxdream · 01/02/2018 13:17

Will reply to everyone later but look we have lovely squishy carpets!!
But the carpet fitter is an idiot and talked to me like I'm stupid (big mistake!)

Home extensions 2017 - Christmas is coming
theredjellybean · 01/02/2018 13:37

Come on whiskey... Get some ABBA dancing queen on the iPod and tune into your inner disco diva... You know she's in there somewhere.. :)

Hurrah my builder sent a really really really detailed quote.. I think it listed every last square of loo paper and tea bag that they will use.

It doesn't include the new kitchen or any flooring and is 5 k under our total budget so as we only want simple kitchen refit, no new appliances I think we can do it, but we will have to be very careful...
I am excited now

whiskyowl · 01/02/2018 14:31

redjelly - hooray! That's great news. And it shows your thinking about what you could get for the money was spot on!!

And you definitely DO NOT want to see my Abba dancing, I promise!

bax - grrrr, I am angry on your behalf. WHY do they do that? I hope you beat him around the head with his own carpet before giving him a piece of your mind! Your hallway looks lovely, though. the flooring/wall colour combination is terrific. I bet it has that amazing smell of new carpet too!

Linguaphile · 01/02/2018 16:48

Oh whisky that electrician issue makes my blood boil for you! I'm using loads of pictures but am sure someone will make a mess of things like this somewhere along the way...

V excited for/jealous of everyone whose projects are finishing up! Loving the navyish wall colour you've used hide! What is that??

Feeling a bit stupid but which tap is in fact the official thread/Mumsnet tap?

We've had a productive week of meetings. Should have our plumbing signed off this week for a start next week. Extra velux for the loft has been ordered and they've made a start on putting it in! Just want to get things moving now lest we end up homeless in August. Confused

whiskyowl · 01/02/2018 18:15

Lingua - It was at least a thread ago! I may be misremembering, but I think it was whatashower who started the tap thing. She had the most amazing kitchen installed, with this silver and black tap that looked a million dollars. Only it turned out that it was a real bargain from Amazon. I can't remember which one it was, sadly, but it was silver and black silicone, if I remember correctly. When she revealed how much it cost, a whole load of people bought it!

It sounds like your project is cooking on gas!

HideHide · 01/02/2018 19:53

Thanks Lingua, it’s good old Hague Blue! And my tap is indeed the hallowed Amazon BARGAIN! I’ll try and link....

HideHide · 01/02/2018 19:55

It’s this one..... oos I’m afraid 😟
GICASA Professional Modern Solid Brass Brushed Nickel Pull Out Kitchen Sink Taps, No Splashing Stainless Steel Pull Down Kitchen Sink Mixer Tap www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AYSJLL6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Sb3CAbNYPEDZD?tag=mumsnetforum-21

Sherbet38 · 01/02/2018 22:11

Hi everyone
I don't know why but I can no longer see this thread on the app. It wrong appear in my watched threads or if i search for it. So I've logged onto that website and just had a good catch up.

Love the grey carpets Bax and very envious of you all with functioning kitchens Wink

We are 11 weeks in now and hopefully a fortnight from the builder finishing ( to plastered rooms with electrics, plumbing etc). They've finished plastering upstairs so the 2 new bedrooms are not far off complete. Downstairs is a dusty nightmare as they've knocked through into the new kitchen, utility and study. But I'm just avoiding the makeshift kitchen and trying to focus on the end. We've ordered most appliances now... We've gone for a pyrolytic double oven, duel fuel hob and a boiling water tap, so that's all exciting (& distracting from the mess Hmm) Smile