Extension / loft conversion thread 2020

[missfliss]

Hello,

Thought I'd start a thread for 2020 extenders and converters.

Might be good for us each time say a bit about what works we have planned / are in the midst of if folks are happy to share some / al details.

Current house:
1970s semi with 2.5 (!) bedrooms on South Coast ( Sussex).
Single storey extension ( large kitchen / diner with bifolds) was completed in 2013.

Planned works
Loft conversion with full width rear dormer and small front dormer to create a new master bedroom with large bathroom.

Stage
Planning permission received, builder appointed to start in March

Costs
Build is £60k including VAT. Bathroom / decor extra.
It is a double dormer with aluminium sliding doors to rear and lots of pipe work due to siting the new bathroom at the opposite end to the existing bathroom below.
It's more than expected but we have non-standard plans and are doing the work to stay in the house for years as opposed to maximising profit to sell.

Reasons for doing work
An adult space to hide away and relax!
Also our son has additional needs and we may need to use au pairs in the future ( new room needed). As our son gets older he may need to live with us into adulthood

Plans
Attached

Next steps
Party wall agreement
Deciding on bathroom fittings / flooring within budget

@birdbrained that's frustrating. Hope they come through for you.

We are down to two builders, usually have 4. Builder has managed to get a delivery of roof tiles for Monday and still reckons door is being delivered on Wed. I'm still feeling nervous but hoping for the best.

One of my builders is suspected of having had coronavirus and has been off a while and is ready to come back. But they said to have an extra week to be safe. Plus I'm pregnant so they are being extra cautious for which I am grateful .

We are bribing them with daily bacon butties and a lunch time beer in the hope they want to come to work 😂

Hi @Nowombattheinn that was me thinking it looks small and it's reassuring to hear you say the same. We are continuing at a reduced rate, half the guys. We are continuing to do the external works where we can so our foundation are done and bricklaying is underway. Once we have got to a point it can't be done safely then will tidy up and stop until we get more information. Very frustrating. Oh and bats are a pain we had to spend over £3k proving they were not in our loft due to some local woodland for planning.

Is anyone else waiting on window production/delivery? We have paid a big deposit for ours and the factory is now closed and I am worried about it going out of business.

Builders started to form our flat roof yesterday. They've ordered the windows a while ago, not sure if they can pick them up /get them delivered right now.
We will see. Nothing we can do.
They were here with 4 people yesterday. 2 people working on patio, separated from 2 people working on the roof.

Hello! New to this thread. Just discovered it while worrying about our extension! Our builders are still coming and luckily we've got the steels, doors and windows in. We're supposed to be onto electrics, underfloor heating and plasterboarding ready for the kitchen in a few weeks. However Howdens are now shut and I have no idea if our kitchen will be coming? Has anyone got a kitchen ordered with howdens? We have a baby due in a month so it was a tight deadline anyway, but now we're worried about losing the last bit of kitchen we have (basically just a sink!) to get the flooring up for the underfloor heating if we might not get a new kitchen for ages. Really don't want to be without water when the baby arrives. It feels bad to moan about your kitchen in the face of a pandemic I know!

I just want to say: pay for anything on a credit card that you can. Much more protection in the event of any businesses / suppliers sadly going under.

A poor lady on the thread that preceded this one had to buy a replacement new kitchen after the first supplier went bust

@missfliss good advice. I’m a bit paranoid about how things will be after this.

@missfliss that was me! Our cabinets are now in and maybe the worktop arrives on Monday (lockdown permitting).

I will then post pictures of the worlds most expensive kitchen.

The new fridge is absolutely lovely though

@lightlypoached, yes of course. I'm so sorry again for what happened to you.
I'm so pleased you are happy with the kitchen now xx

@UpsAndDowns13 please moan away. Its a very frustrating situation to be in. If I were you I would but a halt in things though as no fun being without a kitchen

How is everyone doing? What half done extensions are you all living in? (I know all trivial with what's going on right now!) any silver linings for anyone ie all done and now all the time in the world to decorate?

Ours was supposed to start last Wednesday with our garage getting demolished, we planned to put our washing machine in storage and use family/friends washing machines whilst the work was done - so bloody glad we didn't and decided to give it a few more days to see what happened or I'd have been washing clothes in the bath for the foreseeable

Ours is still carrying on, we are having more steels put in this week and the brickwork completed before hopefully moving on to the roof if materials are available. The window factory is however closed and we will not knock through until the windows and kitchen are available.

How is everyone else doing?

Our builders haven't been in since last week. I think the guidance in Scotland is stricter than England - all "non essential" building has to be halted.

They came out today and properly closed down the site, putting safety tape up everywhere, etc. We're "lucky" in a way that they hadn't knocked into the house yet but our garden is unusable (open drainage, foundation trenches, unretained soil as retaining walls haven't been built) and if things did go completely south and we couldn't continue it'd cost a fortune just to reinstate the garden! Rather nervous about it all...

@crazydiamond222 similar here. They're still soldiering on finishing block work and trying to get the roof beams on. Only two on site though and seem to be keeping their distance from each other. They're finding materials hard to come by though.

Statement from the business secretary

www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/business-secretary-says-thank-you-to-uk-construction-industry

Kind of giving me some peace they aren't going to do a uturn.

Still got 2 builders. Doubtful will get our doors but they said they would carry on without out. Like everyone else though, struggling with supplies but our roof tiles arrived so that will keep them busy this week. Every day they are here I am so grateful

Tools down for us today. No materials left. 😕

my builder coming back to work solo this week. he is going to lay some pipework and finish the floor.
have an electrician coming next week to work solo and do first fix electricals
roofer can't get supplies so can't make progress there.

@crazydiamond222 if you havent paid by credit card, make another payment of £100 min on a card. that way you are covered if they do go under. I'm the one who lost a v expensive kitchen and appliances through bankruptcy of the company and not paying by credit card.

Thanks lightly, yes paid by credit card but still a bit of a worry. Sorry to hear about your experience, I hope you managed to sort your kitchen in the end.

Well we stopped Monday as deliveries due Thursday and Friday never arrived. Builders at least got us out of the ground so I don't worry about the kids. Finding it hard to stay positive about it all really, we took such a long time getting here and then it just stops. Then feel guilty for moaning as it could be alot worse. Hope everyone is fit and healthy.

Trying to keep my chin up and so getting together bathroom inspiration for when things pick up. Here's my mood board of anyone is bored!

How is everyone getting on? Still no progress after digging foundations as none of the building merchants are open. So our garden is still a building site with no builders. Hope everyone is OK

I’ve been away for a while. We’ve plastered our last room and painted it. We need to get the skirting painted and fitted and then we’re ready for electrics and carpets. Nearly there!

My builder has been back and is doing what he can solo. Popped up the other day at n the scaffolding for a look and it's like this :-)

Electrician been today too

How is everyone coping on their building sites ?

So it looks like Spain have lifted some of their sanctions today allowing construction and factory workers to go back to work. My initial thought is this is good news for all of us as this is the first sanction to be lifted but then they werent ever properly stopped in the UK which means we won't get an announcement like that to say go ahead and work 🤦‍♀️

Ah well at least weather is nice and can have a daily walk.