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

Does anyone here know much about LVT? Had it in our old flat - not really a choice was there as standard with an off-plan newbuild ( karndean I think?)

Considering a herringbone parquet oak LVT for new loft bedroom and bathroom.

Any thoughts?

I have polyflor which I bought from flooring hut. It is good.

@missfliss, I have just had LVT laid throughout my downstairs and it looks fabulous. It’s Amtico, herringbone plank 4 x 18 inches in ink wash wood. It looks amazing.

thanks both - appreciate the reply - i'd love to see any pics if you are happy. If you don't mind sharing costs including fitting and approx area)'d be grateful too so i can get an idea for budgeting

Mine isn’t a herringbone. We opted for a long straight plank design with a grey strip between the planks.

www.flooringhut.co.uk/polyflor-camaro-white-limed-oak-2229

We had 36 square metres and ordered 2 buckets of adhesive at about £45 each. I think we paid our fitter about £700 to screed and fit.

Hello

We've got a 1930s semi that we're putting a dormer on this year.

Hopefully it'll give us a good double room with an en-suite.

Interested to hear experiences from others doing similar. Anything you'd recommend or avoid etc and pictures.

Need to finalise things with the builder and clear out the loft first.

Hi!
I'm new to this discussion and very excited to get going on our work.
We have 3 bed semi detached 1950's home.

Our Plans:
Rewire house.
Change heating system.
Renovate current (only) bathroom.
Add a small shower room downstairs.
Divide current sitting room and play room with a wall to make 2 separate rooms.
Make window in our playroom bigger.
Demolish wall between current galley kitchen and dining room.
Add a 4×6m rear extension.
The newly opened up and extended space will become a large kitchen and living/dining area.

Cost:
Ridiculous amount!!
€95,000, excluding kitchen and sanitary wear.

Reason for work:
We are a family of 5,the eldest child being 17 so we need more space.
Also, more importantly, our house is falling apart so the rewiring, renovation etc has to be done.

We are due to start the proposed 10 week works at the beginning of April and will be living here while the work is going on

@Beechwood66 is one of the divided rooms downstairs going to be an additional bedroom?

It will be a small second living room with a sofa bed so that it can be used as a second living room or a guest room.

Following with interest. We are in a small 2 bed terrace and need to extend and convert the loft or move. One dormer to the rear ideally, may need whole roof redoing though (some idiot replaced slate tiles with concrete tiles on the whole row and roof is bowing and supported with struts at the moment.

Loft conversion with disabled toddlers doesn’t sound too appealing though! Not sure how much to expect it to cost though.

@missfliss we were going for lvt but had a few misgivings and ended up going with something called protek instead. It's completely waterproof, has insulation and acoustic protection built in and was actually a bit cheaper. It has lifetime domestic guarantee. It gets used in commercial builds ass well like supermarkets so I think it will Be up to the job.

It goes down in a week or so. I'll put a pic up once it's in.

The lvt stuff was quite thin and tricky to lay properly, according to the fitters.
Hope this helps

Thanks you everyone for the information- will also look in to Pro-Tec. Couldn't tell if it could be laid in a herringbone pattern from the site?

cupoftea84 - were looking at getting a dormer too :)

Weve been in our house about 18 months and its the first big job we want to do. We would like to get a dormer double bedroom, with an ensuite and a small juliet balcony with glass doors leading on to it.

Weve had one estimate cost on the dormer of £37,400 - not including fixtures (shower, sink, toilet, maybe tiles) for the ensuite in the loft. Were are going to get a few more quotes.

Our bathroom is currently on the ground floor, so we would like to get it moved to the upstairs (replacing the back bedroom) at the same time. Were thinking £12-15k for a very nice bathroom for the main house.

Can I ask how everyone is paying for their renovations? We are looking at re-mortgaging our home, but worried about the LTV of the mortgage rate if we did so. I own another house which doesn't have a mortgage, so I am looking at potentially taking a small mortgage on it to be able to afford the works as the LTV would be much better. I think my partner would also need to go on this mortgage with me (but we would want to get a sole proprietor and joint tenant mortgage which limits our options).

I've missed you all so much that I've resorted to having a new skip on my drive!

@hotcheesetoastie we are extending the mortgage to pay for our loft. At the same time we have used an inheritance to buy our car outright and ensure we are debt free otherwise. So monthly outgoings will actually be less. We have fixed a low interest rate for the next 10 years and will be overpaying by 10% each month.

@MarieG10 This is the same stuff. But because you had the screed done by a specialist you do not need the self-levelling layer because screeders left it already in level

Hello. Joining the thread (having been lurking for six months or so) as I've got builders lined up for the end of March.
We're having a single storey rebuild with a small side extension at the back of our Victorian Semi, basic building costs c.£64k (inc. VAT) that doesn't include any electrics or plumbing......hoping to do the garden too, but if the building work & new kitchen go over budget then the garden will have to be indefinitely postponed!!
Oh and we're in Sussex.

Hi @Pashazade - welcome! Ee will be building at about the same time! We are also in Sussex (coastal West Sussex / East Sussex border)

*we

Ahh missfliss I too am on the Sussex borders but a little further inland

well hello neighbour :-)

I'm West Sussex too @missfliss and @Pashazade!

Ah hello @minniemooblue !

Seems like West Sussex is a hotbed of construction!

Today I got my first real sense of how big my new room will be!