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

My current peeve is that the planning office says they only got the ser certificate today yet I am sure we submitted with the application in Apr. They are blaming the architect and architect said he'd not heard from them at all! Someone is not telling me something and I am not happy!

I hope new dad builder likes us enough to wait! Sigh!

Oh that's annoying re planning.
You want to get it done before New Dad builder becomes Taking Youngest to School Dad builder!

Low level Swish drawers all the way!
Apart from one blind corner with pull out units, and one small cupboard for trays and chopping boards.

If I had the space I'd have a small narrow unit for trays too. I'll stick mine in the top shelf of tall unit I think. I've drawer envy now. Ours will be a normal sink cupboard as cost and its on the run with dishwasher and wine cooler so drawers would ruin the run of tall panels. I've been pintresting cool organising tips but it'll never be a good as pulling open nice neat drawers!

Note to self : do not submit for planning in Apr /may aka bank holiday galore months!

Loving reading all your extension stories. We've just had our kitchen designs and quote through from Howdens. It's mega bucks and we don't like the design! Back to the drawing board for us...

Much as I love the look of all drawers or all highline base cupboards, I'm not choosing style over functionality, so my swish drawers have to share the run with the dishwasher and sink cupboard.
I could have deep drawers behind a cupboard door but that just seems overly complicated!

This is my third go at a design.
First chap did what I wanted and it looked really klunky (and was £££)
This chap produced 4 versions - the first complied with the 2 things I "really wanted". Versions 2 and 3 kept one Essential and dropped the other.
Version 4 ignored both the things I really wanted.

It's the one we've chosen!

We are having 3 x 150 units - 1 next to the sink with a towel rail, and then one either side of the pan drawers under the hob with a rack for oils and a tray holder. I really like the look of them.

gleegeek have you looked at the DIY Kitchens planner? It’s easy to use and you can figure out the bits of your current plan that you’re not so keen on.

So structural engineer (who hence forth shall be known as Slow McSlowface has just emailed to say that the loft plans will be delayed until Tuesday. Given he had promised both loft and extension by today, which was already over the 2 weeks turnaround we discussed, I am not impressed. I don’t understand why people just aren’t trutfhful. If he’d told me from the start that they would be later, then I would’ve been (relatively) fine about it. It’s the 11th hour push backs that drive me up the wall.

soaked that is seriously annoying. Did you get any kind of email confirmation when the submission happened?

I hate when people over promise too. No, the architect is the agent so everything would go to him. I am not sure I was "allowed" to even call planning but it's my house and my money so I did. I didn't even get a confirmation for paying for the application and had to call to check the payment had been marked against the correct application.

My current thinking is the planning dept might be trying to cover up not meeting targets. I called architect and didn't tell him what was said, just requested he maybe, you know, pretty please call up and see whats going on and he's going to on Tues. Bloody bank holidays!!

I'll tell New Dad builder the news on Wed when I go look at the CAD plans again.

The planning charter says if we've not heard within 35 working days then we have a right to "request resolution" whatever that means! We are on day 30.

Can I ask how much you paid for a structural engineer? Just had a quote for £1200, not sure if that’s good or bad!

We paid about £700 and that included the ser certificate fee that they provide to say if we do as they said buildings won't fall but if they do then it's thier fault.

We paid £2100 but that was for loft and kitchen extension. We had several quotes and they were all in the same ballpark.

Anyone planning a DIY Kitchens kitchen - I’ve just discovered that not only are they not doing the bespoke colours, many (most!) of their ranges aren’t available for several months - the one we wanted is delivering in November at the earliest.

@soakedat3 that's so irritating. Our Building Surveyor did our plans and he was our agent for the Council, but we did get email confirmation of fees paid.

This new ' home owners can add an extension without planning ' business sounds a bit of a slap to everyone who's been adherent and conformist to this point.

@worrisomeheart - I ordered the Luna handleless walk in corner larder and it is coming on the week of the 8th July!!

MyNameIsJane the lead times for delivery seem pretty long at the moment. Cursing my partner for just assuming it would be two weeks, as that is what it was when we ordered. Turns out it's a month, so that delays things.

Annoyingly the only designs vaguely similar to the one we wanted aren’t yet available on the planner. Some very cross messages in their FB page as well. We’re off to IKEA this afternoon to scope out alternatives 😞

@WorrisomeHeart - what kitchen design are you looking for?

I think our structural engineer was around £800/900 - it all blurred in to a big lump of expensive outgoings! 🙈

With the island lights, we just went l for 3 hanging retro bulbs which look good and worked out pretty cheap.

@HumptyNumptyNooNoo

This new ' home owners can add an extension without planning ' business sounds a bit of a slap to everyone who's been adherent and conformist to this point
We're doing our (tiny) extension under Permitted Development which I think is good for small extensions but I don't think allowing 6m extensions under PD is a good idea.
You've only got to look at some of the really ugly dormer extensions dating from the 70s and 80s to see the effect of unrestricted building.
I think the PD normally only applies to rear single storey extensions but I can see a proliferation of really ugly badly thought out additions in the next few years and some very unhappy neighbours.
The case officer report for our PD work included the sentence Irrespective of the planning merits of the case, or lack thereof, this application seeks to demonstrate that the operation is within the permitted development rights of the dwelling. I originally took offence at this, thinking they were implying our extension was butt ugly (it's really not) but I am sure it's just a standard phrase used in all PD cases.
But it shows that as long as the extension conforms to size parameters, closeness to boundary etc, Councils will not be able to prevent them being built.
We applied for Certificate of Lawful development before we start, but I think that you can build and then apply afterwards to get it signed off. If it doesn't comply, I guess you apply for retrospective planning permission. But we know how hard - and expensive - it is for Councils to enforce removal of non compliant work.

8m extensions allowed for detached houses under pd seems a bit extreme. Who are these people who have that much space and money to do this? Poor neighbours don't get much of a heads up to complain with pd. I think it sounds like a lazy way to cut down on work for planning.

8 metres even on an already large detached house is quite a big area, especially if you are living next door!

As regards "space and money"moving from / to a large house means a lot of stamp duty. We have set ourselves a budget of "less than the stamp duty on this house" !

Hi everyone. Hope you don’t mind me butting in, we’re starting an extension with a new kitchen and planning on getting from DIY kitchens, so it’s quite timely 😊

Finalising kitchen plans and need some advice/ views. Not been on Mumsnet forever since i needed breastfeeding help (Ds now 10).

We’re havibg a 600mm fridge, tall and a separate freezer in our utility room. I’ve changed plans so the island had 3x 800mm drawers rather than including a wine fridge. So the question is - do we need a wine fridge??
If so, do we put it in the utility (cupboard space rapidly filling up, and we’re planning no wall cupboards anywhere), or in our pantry, which has space but will the fridge make it warm, when I want it as cool as possible l?

Any views vipers? Or are we not vipers anymore?! 😐

Hmm. Edit would be handy. Sorry

Unless you've got a space to fill, money to burn and a palate that appreciates expensive wine stored at the optimum temperature, I personally think that wine fridges are a waste of time.
Just how many bottles of Tesco chardonnay so you need to chill at once?
I certainly wouldn't put it in a proper cool pantry.