Home Extension thread 2018

[Baxdream]

Thought we should get the new thread ready!
Our front door is in. Long story but it arrived damaged 😫 it's in and lovely but it's going to be replaced!
Our fencing has started today, the short ones are new, the others are getting ripped out

@fourmagpies your kitchen looks like a room of calm and tranquility, what is the colour if you don't mind me asking?

My builders are happy the brick arrived yesterday afternoon and the sun is shining. Went to visit yesterday and I am so glad we are living in it

*aren't

mum - I think usual advice is that contingency should be around 10% of total costs?

redjelly - I'm so sorry, what a headache for you from the get-go. Do speak to the builders and ask where costs could be cut - there may be places where you can at least make up some of that extra.

Big day yesterday - I now have hall flooring, though I'm a bit annoyed that it's wonky. I also have new glazing to replace faulty stuff - but the new stuff is also faulty, so I am slightly despairing. The glazing guy tried to put the squeeze on me to pay him in full before it's been corrected and I had to be really firm about saying 'No, you'll get it right first'. I had the full whine about how trustworthy he was, and how he had accounting issues if invoices went over 30 days. I have no sympathy - if he cared about getting paid, in full, at an early point, he should have checked the glazing for faults.

Well done whisky on standing your ground. Quite right too.

Thanks Whisky. 10% would be ok. We are completely novice when it comes to diy or construction. This is our first house and I am such a worrier. It seems to be such a huge project for us as we have never done anything more than fitting Ikea furniture!

Whisky: love those led undercounter lights. Can I ask, as Lee they wired into your main light switch or do you control those independently?

Who's Lee?! Supposed to say 'are they'!

Fourmagpies ooh that's lovely!! I do love a grey kitchen with light worktops.

The sun is shining today and the weather is warmer, which hopefully means a productive day on site!! We're sorting our electrics this week and finalising plans next week with a view to getting started with it at the beginning of March. Any wisdom RE recessed lighting? Turns out it's EXPENSIVE. At the moment I've got lighting going up the stairs as a must because the staircase is quite dark and I want it to feel friendly and cozy, and of course we've got a row in the kitchen going in between the island and the back wall of worktops and cupboards, but still working out if the cost/benefit ratio is good enough to put them in other rooms. I've got master switches in place for lots of lamp usage in the lounge, but was also considering doing three cans along the main TV/fireplace/built-in wall. Possibly also in bathrooms and the entryway to make them feel more high end. Thoughts?

Also have an appointment to choose tiles on Thursday!! WIBU to be incredibly boring/safe and just do really large floor-to-ceiling grey tile with grey grout in the bathrooms? I worry that the smaller ones will be more of a fad than a lasting classic look. We have large grey floor to ceiling tiles in our current house's bathrooms and I love it as it's sooooo easy to keep looking clean and smart.

Feeling a bit less stressed about the budget this week as DH has just gotten his yearly cost of living raise. Helps to grease the financial wheels a bit so I don't feel quite so bad about throwing caution to the wind when it comes to my hardwood floors.

humpty - yes they are wired into the main lighting circuit! They come on with some other worktop lighting on the other side of the room.

fourmagpies - Your kitchen is gorgeous!! Love the colour!

lingua - what kind of recessed lighting? I have recessed spots in the ceilings and some recessed wall lights, and I'm really glad I went for them because they do look lovely. But you can get a much cheaper yet similar effect if you can find a way of hiding an LED strip behind some kind of nosing- which is what I did on my kitchen upstand.

Whisky,

I really liked the kitchen upstand. Can you put a few more photos.

Whisper I suggest you start thinking about internal as you’ll need them sooner than you’d think.
And welcome to the thread! 😀

Lighting pictures, hope these help x

That's great. Thank you

Other side of the upstand

Whisky yes that's what I was thinking, though to be honest I think I'd rather just go for the recessed lights where I can and do it properly the first time. Have you gone for them in your bedroom?? Where do you reckon they have the most impact in your house?

Whisky,
You have eye for detail. I am in love with that upstand with oak top. And I like the light on stairs.

Lingua - No, I have pendants upstairs and will be keeping them in my lounge and dining room too, mainly because I love Poulsen lights and am looking for an excuse to buy a couple!!

I put proper plaster-in recessed ones in the garden room and kitchen. I got slightly larger ones so that I could I then use similar sized, but much cheaper, IKEA recessed spots (Haggum) in my utility, hall and landing!

mum - I'm glad you like those, as I had a right battle with DH to get them!! I shall show him your post in proof of the clear fact I was right!!

Ah gotcha. Good tip on the size! Here's the layout of the main living area. Sorry for the rubbish not-to-scale illustrations of furniture placement! I'm debating if we should get three spots along the TV wall with a pendant in the lounge area or have four recessed lights in a square shape over the sofas. Thoughts?

What kind of lights are you thinking of on the TV wall Lingua? And do you mean on the wall itself or on the ceiling above it?

My thoughts are: TVs are a light source, obviously, and you don't necessarily want a direct light shining above them/by the side to compete. Ditto for fireplace if a fire will be lit there. I'd go for lights further into the room above the sofas as more practical. But I may have misinterpreted your dilemma here!!

This is what we're hoping to do with the wall. I guess I've been seeing lots of images with a few recessed cans right along it (maybe to highlight a book collection?). But I get the having light further into the room. Just wondering if it'll look less design-y if we just put in four cans over the sofa area, but it's probably more practical!

@NurseryFightClub It is Howdens Fairford Slate Grey on those cabinets. I've attached a photo of the other side which has Fairford Dove Grey on the wall cabinets. The walls are Cotton White from Dulux. It doesn't always look that tidy though we are trying very hard to keep the surfaces clear! The floor goes down next week.

Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, I'm with you now Lingua!

I do think it looks nice like that. Judging by the way the light falls on the floor of the picture with the two sofas facing one another, they have a second row of spots to balance it out on the other side. You'd possibly need to do something similar to ensure a reasonably even distribution of light? I don't know if that might affect your decision??

I LOVE your jug of daffodils, fourmagpies. So springlike!