So excited! The first step to our extension.

[FlamedToACrisp]

So so happy today! We've just had the architect round for a first visit. His estimate for the shell is comfortably tens of thousands below what we expected, so we're going to apply for PP for everything we wanted. We honestly thought it would be a lot more and he would have to slap some sense into us and cross off bits of the plan. We don't care if it's just a shell as long as it has walls, floor, windows, doors and a roof. Ideally plastered and with electricity. But if he's right, we may actually be able to have a kitchen and bathroom as well!

Jumping on to say we’re having an architect visit on Tuesday and hoping for a similar outcome! Are you handing the plans over to a contractor? Rookie here...!

We'll probably pay the architect to oversee the build. We just don't know enough to supervise it ourselves, and asking the builder to project-manage sounds like paying them to rip us off and hide their bodges.

Just a small word of caution about architects' estimates of how much things will cost. They aren't always absolutely bang on. There was a thread recently about builders quotes were coming in higher than expected.

Definitely go for permission for everything you want. You don't have to do it all at once.

Thanks @nomdeguerrrr we don't expect his figures to be spot on, but he was about 20K lower than our planned figure. If we are short, we'll just have a sink plumbed in, and get our current oven installed instead of the £1000 range cooker we'd like, and do our cooking in an empty room with random bookcases and cupboards - luckily we were umming and ahhing about whether to have an 'unfitted' kitchen. Our 'kitchen' will probably be a shed with a kettle and microwave for a month or two anyway! We'll get there eventually - my only fear was we'd run out of cash and not have a roof yet.