Home Extension Thread 2019

[4yearsnosleep]

Time to start another extension thread. 2019 for lots of newcomers and hopefully lots of finishers too!

We're Day 5 of builders on site and have a roof framed. V excited about the big velux

That looks fantastic! We are 2 months in and the daily progress has been amazing.

Today, the brick layers came to do my long-awaited exposed brick wall... I went out before they had finished and when I got back it had been done with this different layer along the top.
There will be an aluminium frame and glass going up the rest of the wall and on the ceiling.

So, I'm not sure if it looks bad or good? I don't think I'm happy with it like this, but happy to hear other opinions. Will they easily be able to change it tomorrow if it needs changing? 🤷‍♀️

Skylights are in already, but we have Bifolds and windows arriving tomorrow 😄.

Husband thinks it finishes the wall off nicely....but I don't think I wanted a nearly finished off look 😬🤷‍♀️

You mean because the bricks go the other way ? It looks like a good job I would leave it but depends how much it bothers you. I like it.

Thank you. They have done a great job and i'm really pleased with it, but just not sure about bricks at the top. It wasn't what I was expecting and I'm struggling to decide if I like it or not 🙈. My usually opinionated teen daughter has said it looks good, so maybe I should go with that 🤷‍♀️

The frame and glass are going to sit on the outer wall, so this will need some kind of 'cil' on top - can anyone help with this? I'm wondering if some wood is what it needs? I think I feel as though the wall has been cut shorter with the 'border' on the top and will this look better or worse with with the 'cil'?

I like it Hoppahouse.

Thank you ☺️
I think the problem is, I keep seeing that top level as not part of the wall...will see how it looks once the glass is in tomorrow...

hoppa if that’s the top of the wall then I think it looks good and finished. Great progress 4years welcome newbies and old hands. Can’t wait to see some gorgeous extended homes ready for the summer

Thank you for your responses - are you all absolutely sure?! 🙈
This was the big thing that I wanted and now I'm all muddled!

Hi, can I join please? In the initial stages of planning for a 4x5.5m kitchen extension and loft conversion. After talking about doing this work for almost 5 years, it’s all going very quickly now we’ve taken the plunge. Expecting schematics from the architect this week, finances are in place and we have a builder pencilled in for June. I feel like there are so many decisions to be made and so much that has the potential to go wrong, I just want to be on the other side of it!!!

Jumping back in, I popped into the previous thread and read all your advice which was really helpful, we're in the planning stages of a 2 storey side extension (precedent already established in our street) and attic conversion. Planning in progress at the moment.

Hi everyone. I found your 2018 thread a few weeks back and have been avidly checking to see what everyone is up to.
It almost our turn. We currently have a kitchen with a small table at one end and a narrow dining room off the sitting room that leads to a lean to upvc conservatory 2.3m deep by 3m wide. It has no electrics so really cold in winter, too hot in summer, the roof is covered in moss that the birds throw off the house roof and if you lift the lino you can see moisture. The conservatory is basically used as a dumping ground and the dining room is too narrow so rarely used as you can't get past people once they are sat down and that with one side using a bench instead of chairs.
Anyhow, what we are going to do is turn the kitchen round so the units are the opposite end, knock down the wall between kitchen and dining room and replace the conservatory with a brick built extension within permitted development so we get a big L shaped area. (See pic).
I suppose my main question I want opinions on is the kitchen layout. The kitchen is north facing so it never gets direct sunlight. There is a big window where the end of my units come to do you think it would look silly if we extended the run slightly past the edge by 20cm and had a 25cm overhang for a breakfast bar if we clad that end? So from outside you would see a bit of the back of the clad unit? Otherwise we would brick up some of the window to coincide with the edge which would reduce the light and would also see different bricks on the outside.

Ok, so need to work out how to attach, the button is there but won't "press"

Ok, hopefully attached

Oh how exciting and also, very jealous! DH and I can only dream for an extension at the moment.

How much are your extensions costing roughly? I only ask because I have been looking at conservatories and they might be in our price range.

I think it would work @ShakespearesSisters. I think it would look better with a slimmer window though, it doesn't look like it would mean losing too much glass?

Thanks 4yearsofnosleep, I'm worried it might just look like a hash job from the outside when we are on the patio and really obvious where we have blocked it up. If we only blocked up the unit bit it would be 25 cm, if we blocked up the window and overhang it would be 50ish cms. Otherwise we could have one tall window and then a work surface height window but I wasn't sure if a tall window immediately next to a short window would look strange.

Shakespeare’ssister - have you got someone to do drawings or is it permitted development? The person who did our drawings came up with an alternative we would never have considered.

Our extension picture today - our upstairs is quite open plan at the moment now the chimney breast has been removed. I could put a laundry chute in from the hall to the utility .

@MyNameIsJane (yours is going to be a great space) I do have some initial plans from an architect for the building work, we are waiting on structural calculations for some steels before he gives me a copy of the plans. I've just had initial ones by email. I've done some myself so I could play around with the space with my cut outs of the than me etc. I love a bit of graph paper.
The builder came round tonight to go over things. We are his next job that he was expecting to be the start of April so I was thinking it would be mid april as builders always over run but because of good weather his current job is going quicker and can start ours in 2 weeks, eeek. Got to hurry the architect up.

Than me = table blooming predictive text

ShakespearesSister tracing paper is also your friend for redoing architect's layout. We have taken a ridiculous amount of time to get to this stage - mainly due to nightmarish planning - and have gone through loads of iterations.

Hoppa I think it would bother me too. I can't picture it with the glass on but don't think I've ever seen interior bricks finished like that. Then again I think most of the ones I've seen have been a whole wall.

Starting in less than two weeks, scary! Anyone got any preference for council building controls (cheaper) or private? And any tips on portable induction hobs? Spent Sunday in the seventh cycle of hell that is IKEA buying storage.

Brick update - spoke to the builder at 8am to say I wasn't happy with the top of the bricks. He understood, but was annoyed that the brick layers hadn't told me and also told him I was fine with it 😤. Anyway, top bit is off and the glass will be fully installed tomorrow and I really hope it looks ok 🙈

I think it's the right decision Hoppa. Otherwise it would keep bugging you.

I'm trying to finalise our kitchen layout today (while "working" from home and sorting out book day costumes). Where do people keep their toasters - cupboard or counter?

We have a very long island (3m) which is going to be most of our prep space (& hob), an alcove behind that which isn't very wide (2.5m) and will have fridge freezer, sink, dishwasher & kettle - don't think I can justify hot water tap. Then an oven stack to the right of the island with low level cupboards next to it for plates etc (toaster could go here) and a pantry cupboard on the opposite side. I guess the toaster could go in there. I feel like this should be easier! I may try and upload plans later.

So exciting! We’re starting in April. 40ms x 2 story extension. Also renovation and some layout changes in existing house. There are sooooo many things to consider! I’m really excited, our new kitchen has 6 massive sash windows and French doors so I think it will be beautiful. Just need to decide on the interiors. It’s so hard!

Stokey, I’ll have an island and a normal L shapes kitchen. I’m putting a hot water tap in so no kettle. The microwave and toaster will be in a single width unit beside the fridge and walk-in larder. Microwave built in up top, toaster on the small counter beneath.

Any extension updates? Just waiting for planning permission so watching this thread with interest 😊