Home Extension Thread 2018 - summer edition

[DustandRubble]

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

Go for ensuite. I only realized importance of having an ensuite after talking to EAs. I can never understand need of too many bathrooms (feels like extra cleaning work!) but it is good to have atleast one toilet on each floor, whatever be the use of the floor.

Whether you go the full hog and put the en suite in or not I would definitely put all the first fix plumbing up there. I would go for the en suite though!

I would definitely do ensuite. If you’re going to use it as a guest room it’s nice for your guests not to have to go down a floor for a nighttime wee. Also it will be a better selling point in future. I think lack of one would put people off.

Thanks..Yep, you've all pretty much said all the points that I thought of. Will show Dh and get him to see the error in his thinking!!

You could compromise and just put a toilet/sink up there? Least then, if you do sell the plumbing is there if someone wants to add a shower.

I would do the ensuite - not only good for guests/resale but saves your girls squabbling over the bathroom in future (or using yours because the other one is busy)

bobkate thankfully we don't have to shell out for rent as my parents have kindly agreed to let us move in with them... which will have its own downsides but probably better than living in a building site (though ask me again in a few months' time...) I looked at rentals but it would have cost £25k plus

Anyone else moved in with family during work?

I did wonder about just a toilet and sink. I think we'll wait until the roof is on, flooring down and then go from there. DH is seeing the other side now which is good!

Another vote here for ensuite! I definitely think it’s good to have a loo on each floor. Guests and/or whoever sleeps up there will be grateful. I’d at least install plumbing for a shower up there (not just loo and sink) even if you aren’t going to put one in initially. It will up the resale value and showers aren’t that expensive, plus it’s much nicer again for whoever is up there.

Minipie I WISH we could have moved in with family for the build. Would have saved us an eye-watering 3k/month, but as we’re expats, no joy there. 😭

I just keep telling myself it’ll all be over soon and we can get back to not being broke in a few months. 😬

I know Lingua we're very lucky to have the option. Would have been £3k/month here too - are you London based like me?

We used to be! Moved to Luxembourg two years ago and are building here. Where in London are you?

Last week one of the side panels came down for the extension so I could get a side on view of what the room would look like. It was really depressing as it looked tiny and why are we putting ourselves through this massively over time project for that?

Came back from a weekend away and all the boards are down and our new room is on display. Albeit with bare block walls and beams. And a couple of bikes for a garage vibe.

But what a difference having all the boards down makes! It now looks huge. We haven’t gone out far but we have created such a good space. It’s going to be perfect for us. I am so pleased. Now I have to wait 2 weeks for the builders to come back from holiday for more progress!

Oh but our velux goes in next week, so there is that.

That looks fab dust - you must be delighted with the space. I can't wait to see it finished.

Our walls are going up - our builder reckons he will have finished the blockwork by the end of the week.

We are off on holiday for a week from Friday so will hopefully see some big changes once we are back. I have been taking daily photos ... looking back it is really easy to forget what it looked like before and you don't notice the progress being made!

So after months of deliberating, and decisions and angst, I finally have a skip and builders here.
And have just bought 55sq meters of flooring.
It's on sale so going to have to store it somewhere in house... My office is already chock full of stuff moved out of kitchen.
I can see us spending months tripping over boxes of stuff for the build.
Plus now ordered floor cannot change my mind on colour scheme... Gulp x 100.
Is it normal to feel terrified.
We arw funding this through personal loans and monthly income, which I know we can do easily but I am still freaking out.
We are so lucky though and have parents nearby we can stay with plus this is our family home but we do have flat in London too which we use during week part time, so will get breaks from mess.
Taking dogs to London is a hassle though and currently teens are using flat as summer party central (I think 🤔).. They will have to tidy up!!!!
Usually I don't go to London at all during the summer hence kids take over..and my dp is currently rotating on 2weeks in and out of new York/London /Singapore.

This is crazy!!!

Seriously think Norman the dog will have to project manage the build

You will be fine!

Threesocks it is so exciting when walls go up. I hope all goes smoothly this week.

I have probably envoked the wrath of my builders by lifting the protective floor in the hallway. It has been there so long and is so disgusting though. I couldn’t bare to walk on it a minute longer. Annoyingly I think my parquet underneath has picked up a bit of an imprint from it. It isn’t massively obvious and a wash with some good wood cleaner might help.

So... we have our first meeting with appointed builder on Thursday... Any recommendations?

Clear timelines and payment schedules!

Day 1..conservatory down and cleared and concrete floor being jack hammered up.
Ddog2 Arnold is cowering under my bed.
Ddog1 norbert is strutting around like bossy site foreman.. Already stolen a bacon sandwich from one builder...
I have offered tea but so far they have declined and working very fast

Thanks Dust! Annoyed at the Architects because the plan was to start after Easter - and only just getting there now!

Get an understanding of the team doing the job. So who supervises the site daily, how often the "top builder" reviews progress. If you are not on site when you will be able to answer any questions they have and any that you may have.

Also how many other builds they will be working on simultaneously and how they will manage your requirements.

Ooh good idea Thehouse. The architects have dealt with them before and say that they're decent builders. We're going to be here too so will be keeping a close eye on proceedings!

Theredjelly - managing dogs is one of the things I need to prioritise... DDog1 is a food thief. She can spot a picnic at about 400m or a fisherman at 300m.... I am going to have to warn the builders that any food left within her reach (ie below 6') will disappear (this includes if left in a pocket or a zipped bag...). DDog2 is small and likes exploring and spreading hate around the neighbourhood to any other dog... I really want to ensure that the garden can be safe so that the builders can work and she can't get out of the 'safe' part of the garden!