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Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust

956 replies

WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 22/08/2019 20:22

And we're off again

OP posts:
Thread gallery
155
MiniCooperLover · 19/11/2019 17:08

Gas hob fully installed and signed off by gas today so I can finally cook again hurrah (and sort out my big cutlery drawer underneath 😂). First coat of paint on too, it looks pale in the picture but it's got a bluey grey tinge to it in real life: second coat will go on Thursday. It's a bit 'cold' looking as the spotlights are bright too but I'm hoping once the under cabinet lighting goes in we prob won't use the spotlights much anyway. I asked builder about swapping them out for warmer spotlights and he wasn't keen (and it's the whole unit) but if I find it too bright/cold I'll have to suck up the cost to get it right 👍

Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
chopc · 19/11/2019 18:18

@MiniCooperLover who signed off the gas hob? Our builder can fit it but don't think he is certified to sign off?

MiniCooperLover · 19/11/2019 18:53

Our builder got the plumber & has man he works with to come in and do it.

MiniCooperLover · 19/11/2019 18:53

Has = gas ... I really wish we could edit 😂

minniemooblue · 19/11/2019 20:29

I'm starting to think our extension is never going to happen. 2 quotes in so far are over £75000 not including kitchen and VAT.
I know we are in the South East but that just seems crazy money for a single storey extension.
We are still waiting on 3 more quotes and our architect is looking at what she can change to bring costs down.

Slightlysurviving · 19/11/2019 22:46

I hear you Minnie, although tonight we had our 8th builder over. A small operation he seemed nice, his ball park is 30k under our lowest quote. He comes recommend is busy ( couldn't start until march) and will take a bit longer 5-6 months but that would make things much easier for us... Just wondering what the catch is. It's tough but we are going to bring up our kids here so want to get it right and if it costs a bit more then I guess I will just have to cope.

chopc · 20/11/2019 05:28

@Slightlysurviving just be wary that they haven't underestimated.........

Slightlysurviving · 20/11/2019 07:23

Yes that had crossed my mind too. Confused

WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 20/11/2019 16:43

Praise be!
At the third attempt, the open shelving unit that was delivered today seems to be what I ordered. At least it's white as opposed to shelves #2 which were oak effect.
Belated fridge and freezer and microwave/ oven combi also turned up so we have everything need to COMPLETE THE BLOODY KITCHEN!

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Slightlysurviving · 20/11/2019 22:45

So things are being delayed our end. As I write this I'm in hospital with my 18 month old who is pretty ill and not responding well to meds. Fixing the the house suddenly seems less important. Will hop back on when we can give it some head space. Good luck all.

WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 20/11/2019 23:55

@Slightlysurviving virtual hand holding for you, I hope your little one turns the corner soon.
Puts our First World Problems of what worktop to have in perspective.
Hope to see you back here soon with better news. Flowers

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missfliss · 21/11/2019 06:52

@minniemooblue I am feeling similiar - though we are looking at a loft conversion ( slightly non standard) - first quote £66k not including bathroom - about £15k more than I am prepared to pay...

Am seeking other quotes and a different spec.

£75k for a single GF extension seems really high. Is your house especially wide?

missfliss · 21/11/2019 06:59

@minniemooblue ps we are also West Sussex ...

@Slightlysurviving I am really sorry to hear about the poorly bubs. Hope things get better really soon xxx

WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 21/11/2019 19:38

Tiny baby steps of progress here.
Obviously still waiting for the remaining kitchen bits to be done (fitters coming Monday or Tuesday next week)
Had a carpenter in who did lots of little but crucial jobs, including those extras I was going to ask builder to do but decided this bloke seemed more competent....
So I've now got wall units up in utility, 3 doors rehung with handles or locks as required, blind up and curtain pole too.
Builder put long awaited window sill in place and did a load of filling and making good.
Plumber tomorrow - hopefully dishwasher, sink and taps plus water softener

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minniemooblue · 21/11/2019 21:56

@missfliss it's 6 metres across and an end terrace so not big at all!
We are waiting for two more quotes from the architect and 2 more builders we have found coming next week.
We are having some internal remodelling to include a shower and utility.

minniemooblue · 21/11/2019 21:57

@Slightlysurviving
I hope your little one is ok. X

Unsureofthescore113 · 22/11/2019 06:45

Hi All, hope you don’t mind me jumping on this thread... I’m really at the end of my tether trying to decide how to extend our house and any advice would be very gratefully received!!

So we live in a 2 bed terraced house, as per the picture, have one DS, live in the south east. We are very happy where we are, looked to move but change our minds, heart settled on just extending. I initially wanted just a conservatory but hubby says it would just be used as a junk hole (he’s right) and he’s rather have something more practical built at the end of our kitchen like a utility room and downstairs loo. That’s the dream but I have no idea of what we can do :-( we initially considered knocking down our kitchen wall to make a kitchen diner but we just think we are compromising, we really need more outside space. We are having 2 builders come and quite next week but we still haven’t completely decided what we want :-( please help xxx

Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 22/11/2019 11:50

@Unsureofthescore113 With any house, you have to balance the living space to the number of bedrooms. Is there scope (in the future) to add another bedroom in the roof?

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chopc · 22/11/2019 13:45

@Slightlysurviving hope little one is ok?

northernruth · 24/11/2019 14:44

@Slightlysurviving that does put it all in perspective, hope all is OK

@ wheredoes that kitchen is looking amazing

@lightlypoached your CAD looks great as well

@Unsureofthescore113 when you say you need more outside space what do you mean? More downstairs? I'd be tempted to separate off the living room at the front, extend across the rear of the house and make part of the current kitchen a utility/ loo (plumbing will be in place) and knock down the wall between kitchne and dining room to make a large kitchen diner. You might be able to do this with just a 2m full width extension (less depth is good because it doesn't limit light and is cheaper of course)

Sorry I've been awol. Huge problems here and I've been in a bit of a hole with it all. We discovered two weeks ago that the chimney breast had been built in the wrong place (by 20cm) so the whol living room was slightly offset and felt "wrong". So we made the builder move it....huge drama and he offered us £2k not to. Room had fire surround and wood burner in, coving was fitted and we were about to have the carpet fitted. Anyway it's done now, including moving a window. Pic below.

At the same time the kitchen has gone in, we have a problem with the extractor in that the one I have ordered would require the joists to be cut (and this would cause potential structural issues, and should in any case have been done before the ceiling was fitted)

Also at the same time the electrician has not been finishing jobs off, wants to charge us way more than quoted and wants £1k before he'll come back on site despite not having done the work that justifies the next £1k. fortunately the builder is acting as intermediary and we will hopefully reach a compromise.

Needless to say I've not been sleeping well and am feeling mentally unwell with it all - however the end is in sight and in two weeks we should be there

Photo of one of the spare bedrooms now done and also kitchen with the worktop in (the brown cupboards are MDF and will be painted to match the walls in a pale yellow)

Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 24/11/2019 17:23

@northernruth Dear me, that sounds very irritating. Well done for standing your ground to get it right.

This is the long awaited Baby Blue kitchen... Looks lovely and fresh.

I still have no idea if I am going to have my kitchen finished this week or not. I have been very patient but finally - politely - lost my shit with kitchen supplier. Losing my shit does not come naturally to me so all I managed was a rather scathing email, including the word Shambolic.
And plumber did not turn up on Friday either so still no taps or sink connected.

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chopc · 24/11/2019 19:30

@northernruth I feel yo it frustration. Have had similar issues with our build by builders not thinking and making mistakes etc

They were supposed to have finished by half term then beg Nov and now still not finished. The kitchen is taking ages to fit as I guess fitter not used to fitting quooker 4 in 1 tap/ insinkerator etc which I wasn't aware of obviously when they took on the job. He has also done stupid things which meant he had to redo it which took unnecessary time

Deep breath

lightlypoached · 24/11/2019 23:00

@northernruth that sounds awful. Good on you for sticking to the plan. I feel for you with the stress of it all. We found out last week that they'd built the opening for the french doors 27cm too narrow. We decided to live with it but if it was an off centre chimney I'd have been like you I think ! Heartbreaking to get within sight of the finish and having to undo it all! I'm finding myself double checking everything now. We now have a week slippage so will be finishing end of jan, we hope.

No idea yet on timing of remedial works for the cracks, we had to clear the spare room to make way for the to work - not that we had anywhere else to put it all!!!

The mantra here "it will be lovely when it's done!"

On the plus side we took early delivery of our ridiculously extravagant pendant for over the table. Omg it's a thing of beauty in the flesh.

It's the copper one Grin

Home extension 2019 the Third thread- Drowning in Dust
Slightlysurviving · 25/11/2019 12:58

Hi all thanks for the well wishes, good news is she has finally responded to meds and looks like she has turned a corner, not out of the woods yet but I will happily take it. In other news I now know I don't want anything that reminds me of a hospital in the new house.

lightlypoached · 25/11/2019 14:08

@slightlysurviving that's good news for your DC. sending you virtual healing vibes Flowers for a full and speedy recovery

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