Home Extension Thread 2019 - The Extension

[TheFatberg]

Only a few posts left on the first thread of 2019, so here's a new one to get us started.

@Stokey how annoying for you when your plans get derailed.
I hope you manage to get the kitchen in before August.

Dark green units sound wonderful in a bright room.
I really love the idea of strong dark colours for kitchens but I think you need the big windows like yours for it to work.
Our kitchen is really dark and even with the extra window in the extension it's never going to be bright enough to carry off a dark navy kitchen.

@Stokey your tiles sound amazing and that is quite a showstopper of a wallpaper! How much longer do you think you'll be now?

@soakedat3 it's really hard to tell. I'm still hoping the majority will be finished by the start of August, but there will be some parts - window seat, storage cupboards & shelves - that will be pushed into September as the joiner won't have time to get it all done before his holiday.

Thanks @WorrisomeHeart. Agree light is needed for dark units.

I'm kinda frustrated that the build that we'd hoped was going to start in July is now going to be August.
I'd actually hoped for June and was using this as an excuse to DO NO CLEANING as it's pointless during building work.
However yesterday I cleaned all the windows inside instead of moping.

Today I'm going to start sorting the kitchen cupboards - everything is going to need to be packed up at some point during the build so it would be a good idea to decide now what's not making it back to the new kitchen--the fewer packing crates in dining room, the better. I've sorted the food cupboards over the last couple weeks, chucked out past use by date stuff and realised that my new 100cm full height larder is going to be very sparsely filled!

@WhereDoesThisToiletGo we found a lot of out of date things in the kitchen cupboard. I think it's been a real wake up call for us that we've just hung onto stuff and not done a proper sort out for ages. Very similar in the garage as well, the new garage is going to be tidy and organised.

@TheFatberg the worst offenders for going out of date are the weird food and drink gifts people give you for Christmas or when they come for dinner. Obscure tea blends, liqueur chocolates, cheesy puffs...
I felt sad when I threw out the tea that only FIL drank, but he's been dead 2 years and we bought it for him ages before he died.

The next cull are the things that won't work on the induction hob...

Today we have 1 wall but the work stopped again as a delivery of more wood didn't arrive. It's so stop start! Frustrating!! But the wall did give us a better sense of size.

@WhereDoesThisToiletGo, our 1000 larder will also be quite empty! But I'm still not getting rid of the 600 one! We will fill it when we are used to the space. At the moment our 1 cupboard is over flowing. :( I have also had a clear out and decanted a lot of things so that when we move them they won't spill all over the place and also so dust won't get in. Home Store & More is now my go to shop for containers!

Larder bottom drawers can be used for The Drawer Of Doom aka random crap drawer

Tell me more about your storage choices from Home Store & More @soakedat3 🤓

Morning all, forgot to say yesterday that our kitchen is in production and is coming next week. Day TBC as they don't do the delivery schedule until the end of the week.

Builders weren't here yesterday so we've managed to maintain a semi tidy and clean house for a few days longer than usual but I think they're back today to start the garage. The floor fitter is out tonight having a look ahead of fitting tomorrow. We're off to look at carpets for upstairs too.

Also interested in @soakedat3's storage plans.

Excellent @TheFatberg about kitchen coming next week.

Experienced extensioners... How reasonable /possible is it to ask builder for a schedule of what he plans to do each week? Or do they like to wing it depending on the weather?
We will be away for a week to 10 days in the 3rd week of the build. I assume at that stage they would still be doing footings and new external walls but I'd love them to spend that week doing what will be the noisiest and messiest internal bit which is digging the internal pad foundations for the vertical steels.
Would I be unreasonable ask them to work in a non linear fashion just to suit me?

@WhereDoesThisToiletGo the handles are gold not yellow on the kitchen - I've been in touch with naked kitchens and am going to go to Wren on Wednesday to get a quote.

Re the floor, we are going with lino - not Karndean/ Amtico but original Marmoleum, just need to decide on the colour. I don't want underfloor because of floor levels and mates have just replaced porcelain tiles with Karndean because anything they dropped broke or chipped! And I'm clumsy, so......

I've been busy trying to sort aluminium doors, I was going to order from a ocal company but they are dragging their feet so am about to ring a company in the North East who do them and apparently have a shorter lead time.

Roofer is back today after a week off for the rain so hopefully we will start putting floors in next week!!

@WhereDoesThisToiletGo worth a try - they may prefer to do it while you're away so they don't have to work round you

@WhereDoesThisToiletGo You can absolutely ask them, and they are likely to be able to give you one - all estimates and flexible but it will give you an order in which they do things. We had one and it really help - it also help me know when I needed to make decisions! Ours provided us with this:

December, Monday 3rd until Friday 7th.

• Brickwork and steel work continued.

December, Monday 10th until Friday 14th.

• Brickwork and steel work continued.
• Decision on windows and skylight so we can order them in good time.

December, Monday 17th until Friday 21st.

• Climax to steel work and brickwork.
• Shut down tidy up.

• TWO WEEK SHUT DOWN BUT WE MAYBE CARRYING ON BETWEEN CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR. TO BE CONFIRMED.

January, Monday 7th until Friday 11th.

• Brickwork and steel work snagging.
• Roof construction.
• Install UPVC windows and doors.
• Decision on kitchen and flooring if it’s not been already made.

January, Monday 14th until Friday 18th.

• Completion of roof structure and 1st fix carpentry. Studwork/door linings/noggins.
• Roof coverings.

January, Monday 21st until Friday 25th.

• Completion of roof coverings.
• Knock through walls.
• 1st fix electrics. Cabling to new areas.
• 1st fix plumbing. Kitchen, heating.

January, Monday 28th until February Friday 1st.

• Plastering.
• Concrete screeding to extension.

February, Monday 4th until Friday 8th.

• Carpentry 2nd fix. Hang doors, flooring, skirting,architrave.
• Decoration.
• 2nd fix electrical.
• 2nd fix plumbing.
• Start kitchen/utility.

February, Monday 11th until Friday 15th.

• Kitchen installation.
• Decoration.
• 2nd fix electrics.
• 2nd fix plumbing.

February, Monday 18th until Friday 22nd.

• Cleaning.
• Snagging.

Sorry - that was probably too much information!!!!

@PazRaz10 not TMI at all !
really useful thanks

@northernruth the handles are gold not yellow on the kitchen - I've been in touch with naked kitchens and am going to go to Wren on Wednesday to get a quote
Oh, gold sounds nicer.
I think if you are prepared for the hard sell at Wren, you should be ok.
I would even start your planning session by saying that you are absolutely not going to sign on the dotted line that day, you want time to look over the design etc. Then both you and the designer both know where you stand and it's up to them how much time they invest in the plan

@PazRaz10 that's a great list. Thank you

@PazRaz10 That is a great list! I wish there was some way to pin messages as I bet that one will help lots of people. Myself included!

Re:storage. I have cleaned out out local home store and more of these.

www.homestoreandmore.co.uk/kitchen-storage/smart-seal-square-food-storage-container-2.8l/086699.html

They are stackable and air tight when you turn the seal and much better value than the systema ones. I am waiting for the smaller size to come back into stock :(

Thanks @PazRaz10 that's so helpful!! Soaked I've been taking lots of screenshots of the things I want to remember on the thread and saving them to a folder!

Can I ask a boiler question? Our boiler is currently where the red X is and obviously the flue goes out of the external wall into the garden.

I thought we would move it to the yellow X in the utility and this is included in the quote from the builder (approx £750)

Can I actually keep it at the Red X and it some how goes up through the roof? Or best to just move it? WWYD?

Was there a pic @avocuddl?

Try again! :)

I would move it to the yellow x as I think most modern boilers need an external wall. Or move to other side of the kitchen that has the external wall? Boilers can be quite noisy at times so I wouldn't want it in an area that I spend time being sociable in if possible. It would give you back some space in your kitchen as well.

Why were you thinking of keeping it as is? Costs?

After worrying about all the rumours of delays for DIY Kitchens, ours turned up as promised yesterday. The builders won't be ready to install it for a couple of weeks yet, so we had plenty of leeway.

Our windows and patio door went in yesterday and that has made so much difference - you can now start to imagine yourself living in the room.

The old 3-room annex has so far gone from picture 1 to picture 2