Am I spending too much on my house extension?

[BaileyMyDog]

We initially budgeted £150k for a 2-storey side extension and complete replan/renovation of our downstairs living area.

Problem is that I can see costs going up and up every time we look into something (Kitchen, Appliances, Underfloor heating, wooden parquet floors, Doors, Lighting etc.) we always seem to want better than what we budgeted for! It's now looking more like £180k. Houzz defo doesn't help!

On one hand, we will be living here long term so rather than doing bits later it makes sense to do it now. On the other hand our house will defo hit the ceiling price for our road.

What are Mnetters experiences? Do you wish you had paid that little bit extra to get your dream home or were you happy that you didn't get 'carried away?'

How long term will you live there, is it a forever home? Would it be more cost effective to move?

We did similar. Initially budgeted 100k. Now 150k and counting. Actual build costs also always more than initial estimates. If anything we have compromised and scaled back on some details to keep costs down.

We worry about the money it's costing. We are definitely over our local ceiling and wouldn't get what we've spent back if we sold.

But the house will be to our specification, taste and needs. We couldn't buy it ready done because it doesn't exist anywhere but here. We won't move for a long time. For us, it's a final stretch but worth it. I think.

We believe so. We have 2 young boys and future proofing for when they are teens. By the time they move out we wouldn't want to buy a bigger house, and probably wouldn't make sense to move as the house will be just the way we like it. (Great road/location too) I can only see us moving if we won the lotto or got a huge promotion!

13 years left on mortgage, boys are 4 and 6...

What I'm struggling with at the moment is internal doors. I would love steel double internal doors from the kitchen to living room and kitchen to office, rather than white Woden ones. The wooden ones be fine but the steel ones really give a wow factor!

If you intend to live there for a long while (as you've said) and you can afford it (things maybe tight, but not bankruptcy type tight) Then personally I'd get it done pretty much how you want it because too many compromises will leave you in the worst of
both worlds - a large debt & not what you want.

Obviously if you're doing something wildly
expensive that you could live with
doing differently then it's a good idea to really think about it (do you really need diamonds hand worked into the floor tiles?!)

But I wouldn't compromise on the size or using quality finishes & flooring etc.

The steel doors sound great!!

Are they horrifically expensive? Is there a middle ground between those options that you like maybe a natural wood with steel trim?

What do steel doors look like? I can't imagine them. And you can change doors at any time later. Tbh, I think a 'wow' factor only really matters if you intend to sell.

We're in exactly the same situation. Forever home. Future proofing and want everything to our spec. I'm sure we've topped the ceiling value in our area but we're not moving and it's going to be perfect for our family

The way I see it, we all spend our money on what brings us pleasure. We don't expect to get our money back from holidays, for example, and sometimes we might spend over the odds on our home. What we need to do is work out whether whatever we are spending our hard earned money on is worth it to us.

@Fantasisa

The way I see it, we all spend our money on what brings us pleasure. We don't expect to get our money back from holidays, for example, and sometimes we might spend over the odds on our home. What we need to do is work out whether whatever we are spending our hard earned money on is worth it to us.

Great attitude. This house will bring me joy every day when it's finally finished

Thanks for all the feedback, really good advice.

This is the kind of thing. I am going to give the measurement to get a quote, but builder thinks just a double door would be 1k plus

This is also the floor we're having, Chevron parquet. I absolutely love it.

It sounds like you're very comfortably off so perhaps look at it more in terms of the value which is not financial - if you'll enjoy living there, go for it. Don't do it if it pushes your finances too far but otherwise why not? The only thing I'd say is be careful about spending wadges of cash on the latest trends - which will no doubt be dated in 10 years or so.

We are in a similar situation. I just keep trying to remind myself that we are saving £50k+ on stamp duty and moving costs by staying where we are an extending.

If you’re looking at future proofing, the only thing I’d say is think about what you’re spending on ‘fashion’ vs long-term. Those steel doors are lovely, but there are very on trend which means they could date.

Underfloor heating/ really nice worktops/ parquet flooring won’t date and you won’t regret.

Re: the doors, we’ve just done a big knock through kitchen diner and double doorway. It currently doesn’t have doors because of cost reasons and also indecisiveness. It’s been that way 6 months now and there’s a good chance we might live like this long term. It works well for the space.

I’m past the stage of wanting to splash out on trendy stuff like the doors above. It all looks dated a few years down the line anyway. However, if you can comfortably afford it, then you might as well do what you like.

Those doors are stunning but look like they would date and cleaning all those glass panes would do my head in.

@Pinkandwhiteblossom

If you’re looking at future proofing, the only thing I’d say is think about what you’re spending on ‘fashion’ vs long-term. Those steel doors are lovely, but there are very on trend which means they could date.

Underfloor heating/ really nice worktops/ parquet flooring won’t date and you won’t regret.

Agree with this completely. I think it’s worth spending what you need to on a very long term investment, future proofing your forever home. Over 10-20 years the extra amount won’t seem like much at all.

But those doors are massively trendy and in a few years will be past it. I doubt they’re worth the extra money.

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Those doors are stunning but look like they would date and cleaning all those glass panes would do my head in.

Yes true about the cleaning, but even if we have wooden ones they will have panels of glass so will need regular cleaning. Large panels may be easier using a Karcher than small panels if you see what I mean?

Interesting that everyone thinks these will date, definitely given me something to think about.

I just wouldn't have all those doors. Walls or open plan.

How many extra square metres will the extension add to your property? How do the plans impact the garden?

Those kind of things are what I would ask. Then I'd consider if it'll be better to spend that extra £150k on a larger house or do the extension.

House hunting and moving are a hassle, but it can sometimes be a tradeoff too.

If that extra £150k gives you value for the money then it seems worth it.

Personally, I like those doors and they'll last. If it's your forever home, then it's likely it doesn't matter if they look dated to other people.

Check if those doors need fireproof glass as this adds to the cost. Also look at aluminium ones, rather than steel. Steel is very heavy and they can drop. Finally, why don't you (as others have said) either use cheap blanks/basic doors and upgrade at a later date when you're sure you want that style/have found them at best price.

@ChocoTrio

How many extra square metres will the extension add to your property? How do the plans impact the garden?

Those kind of things are what I would ask. Then I'd consider if it'll be better to spend that extra £150k on a larger house or do the extension.

House hunting and moving are a hassle, but it can sometimes be a tradeoff too.

If that extra £150k gives you value for the money then it seems worth it.

Personally, I like those doors and they'll last. If it's your forever home, then it's likely it doesn't matter if they look dated to other people.

The house (detached) already had an extension on the ground floor but poorly designed, we will be going from 3 bedrooms to 4 double bedrooms plus en-suite. No impact to the garden.

For a decent 4 bedroom property in the area we would have to pay extra 150k, and it will not be finished to the standard we are going to have, so it made sense to extend rather than move. However we only have a single (long) garage so there a ceiling price on our road. That £150k we are spending will get added to the value of the property so I can justify it, but anything over that will not add value (I believe!)

Good tips about the weight of the doors. I will get a quote but now I think I am leaning towards the boring wooden french doors.

I do not like the idea of it completely open-plan, I feel it's too big (80 square metres in total) and want to have separated spaces but still have lots of light flowing through

Thats beautiful flooring. I think it would go very well in the hallway of my Newhouse!

We hit the ceiling price when we did work in our previous house (or would have if we had sold then). When we came to sell the ceiling price had obviously increased and we broke it with no problems at all. If you're adding value in terms of layout etc and have no plans to move I wouldn't worry about it.

I think a good rule of thumb is to try to break even on the expenditure vs the increased value of the house at the time you complete the work. We did this on our last house, then sold 5 years later for an additional £100k