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Original poster

Home Extension Thread 2018 - summer edition

1000 replies

DustandRubble · 08/06/2018 20:24

A thread to share the highs and lows of all things extension, loft conversion, renovation related. Bring your own dustpan and brush.

OP posts:

Thread gallery

151

Humptynumpty02 · 05/07/2018 18:50

Good day today, was busily beavering away painting in a nice quiet house (builder has moved onto another job whilst we wait for the windows to be sorted) when said builder calls and asks whether he can come along and start converting the front garden to a car parking space. Me, "yes, when are you coming over", builder, "I'll be there in 20 mins". Before I know it the house is full of people and that feeling of progress being made quickly comes back. Bliss.

BrandNewHouse · 05/07/2018 21:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

DustandRubble · 05/07/2018 22:17

Not much happened here today. I am hopeful that we may get something resembling the start of a roof tomorrow.

OP posts:

Ilovechocolatetoomuch · 05/07/2018 22:19

I love the days loads of people are busy sorting house but also quiet days are nice too! Today and tomorrow we only have the kitchen fitter which is lovely. Next week back to bedlam!
I think the electrician is going to be pissed off as we made school boy error of not measuring fridge, and it doesn't fit through door. It is currently residing in our garage so he can't get to fuse board, whoops!

AmazingGrace16 · 06/07/2018 11:00

Feeling grumpy today and struggling. I'm 6 months pregnant and we face another hot awful weekend with no kitchen, hot water or garden. Not able to get the paddling pool out and have toddler to entertain.

Someone remind me it'll be worth it!

BrandNewHouse · 06/07/2018 11:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Baxdream · 06/07/2018 14:03

Please trust me when I say how worth it it is!
We had no back wall in November/December and our kitchen was a microwave on the floor.
It's a distant memory and nearly funny now!

4yearsnosleep · 06/07/2018 18:14

@AmazingGrace16 do you not have a friend nearby where you can plonk yourself in their back garden for the weekend? I've warned my friend that we'll be spending a lot of time at hers in exchange for food & wine

bobkate · 06/07/2018 22:46

It's the weekend - yay! No getting up and having to be builder ready!
humpty lovely doors!! Thanks for the link.
thered - not entirely sure where we're getting the kitchen from yet. We drove a v long way to visit the DIY kitchen showroom and really like the norton. I just am not convinced I can be relied on to do the ordering myself! I have another visit at Magnet on Monday and I'm going to try to get the plan details. Their units for the same design came in at £9000.... I need to get the Norton comparison really.
amazing - not sure about working time restrictions but would screeding be very noisy?
thebag - As MrsBlondie says try to go week by week and enjoy the peace of the weekends. It will be worth it in the end. Can't believe after 3 months I am still saying that!!
Lingua I would probably go for the off white but I do like that other colour - sorry, that's not terribly helpful is it??!!
Oh Amazing you must be struggling as it is in this heat at 6mths pregnant. Our bedroom windows have moved to the extension so they have plyboarded up our current bedroom - omg - it's like a bloody furnace in there.
As much as I'm so indecisive and still haven't finalised so many things, I am feeling quite positive today.
Apparently we have the scaffolding going up at the end of next week, roof trusses arriving the week after and the electrician is here to start his first fix on Tuesday. Best get my kitchen decided pretty damn quick!
Happy weekend to all x

Ilovechocolatetoomuch · 07/07/2018 07:02

Amazing- we just bought an adapter from screwfix to put the hose on our bathroom tap. This does mean my hubby has to climb up a ladder to feed hose through upstairs window but it will be worth it lol.
Our plaster is all starting to craze where it has dried so fast in this heat :( bit soul destroying when the painter wants to come and paint the rooms for us and he can’t as the plaster needs doing again. I feel like we are so close but yet so far!

Need to go and order some carpet this weekend for the bedrooms, I can’t wait to have the upstairs back again.

Linguaphile · 07/07/2018 09:21

Oh Amazing that sounds hard, I can’t even imagine being pregnant with a toddler and having building works, especially in this heat. ☹️

Doing sums this morning and I think we’re about 10k short to finish up the little bits and pieces in the house and actually pay for the move (provided we don’t get our 10k deposit back on our rental, which is highly likely since landlords here are notorious for making up reasons to keep the lot). We knew it might be tight and have a plan, but it’s not ideal. :(

Bright side though, kitchen measurer came yesterday! Exciting times. Also beginning to see progress in the bathrooms. Bathtub for the master bedroom ensuite is in. 🙌

Home Extension Thread 2018 - summer edition

theredjellybean · 07/07/2018 22:29

Bobkate.. I felt the same but then downloaded and printed out the planner from diy.
Basically it's a big grid, you just measure your walls and draw them on, then they have all the different cupboards as paper cutouts. You cut them out and glue them on the grid. And write the product code on each stuck on cupboard. There arw even little cutouts for fridge, freezer dishwasher sink etc
I already have fixed cooker and plumbing so I could see immediately what would fit, and were we had a gaps. We had a 10cm gap one side of cooker so I rang diy.. They were snooper helpful and suggested various filler options.
My dp and I played around cutting and sticking for ages and when happy sent diy our grid and they put it all into order for us and gave price.
It was significantly cheaper than holden

bobkate · 08/07/2018 14:03

Thanks thered I have used the grid, in fact that's what I took to Magnets to use as an example. How do you know though if and where you need end panels/plinths/filler bits, etc? Those are the bits that are worrying me!

Whattodowithaminute · 08/07/2018 18:41

I found the diy website quite useful with respect to end panels etc. My understanding is that you don’t need to have end panels but the finish will look better with them. Plinths go under any units and are cheap and can be cut to the right size. Filler panels are to cover gaps so I think we will have a 100mm gap from wall units which we will fill. We are yet to fit our kitchen though so I don’t know whether I’ve got it right yet...

theredjellybean · 08/07/2018 20:18

I rang diy.. They helped me with all that stuff.. I was freaking out about not knowing what all the bits were.

Chilver · 08/07/2018 20:31

Just appointed our builder this evening for our single storey rear extension and internal renovations. Hope to be joining you all on this thread soon - depending on when builder can start!! I know its going to be hell living through the project as we can't move out, but know it will be worth it in the end!! Eeek....

bobkate · 08/07/2018 22:13

Fab - thanks whattodo and Red - I really need to get this bloody kitchen plan finalised before the week is out!
Exciting times ahead chilver We haven't moved out either and to be fair it's been fine so far, but they've not touched anything upstairs yet, so we're still able to use our bedrooms. Not looking forward to when that situation changes!!

alc3254 · 09/07/2018 10:12

Hi all. Collective opinions needed. DP and I are considering buying a house that would need a complete renovation and whike we are at it a side and rear extension. I have only an inkling of the work this will involve. So, my question is...knowing what you now know during/after building work, is it worth it? The alternative is to wait and find a house more 'done' already.

Original poster

DustandRubble · 09/07/2018 10:52

If it needs a complete renovation and extensions I would factor in the cost of living somewhere else during it. It could be worth it, but that is a lot of building work to live through.

OP posts:

alc3254 · 09/07/2018 14:12

We are in the position we can move in, live there for a few months then move out and renovate. Just debating if it is worth two more 'moves'. Thankyou for your reply.

Humptynumpty02 · 09/07/2018 14:20

I would say yes it is worth it, nothing is more valuable than living in the space for a bit to be able to work out how it works/doesn't work for you. When we purchased our house we had wildly different ideas to what we have (nearly) ended up with, purely because we didn't understand the space and how we would utilise it.

That's alot of work though, but sure it will be worth it when done.

bobkate · 09/07/2018 16:07

alc3254 if you think it could end up being your dream home, and if you also have the lucky option of being able to not be living there whilst it's being done, then I would say go for it. I agree that to move in, live with it a few months, and then go ahead would be the best option. It's amazing how just living in a space can make you change your mind.

On another note - anyone fancy having a look over our kitchen layout.
Couple of colour options which I could use help with as well. I think the all blue would just be too dark but I have no clue

panorama.magnet.2020.net/view/