Project managing your extension / lost conversion?

[samosamo]

Happy New Year All,

Mine has started awfully, but hey. Thinking about this helps...

We are in the process of buying a new house. We want to do a side infill extension.

I also want to do the loft.

I want to save as much money as possible. What are your experiences of project managing rather than having a firm in to do both or either? Did you save a lot of money or was it not worth it in the end? Was thinking about having a firm come in to do the shell including plumbing. But project managing the rest. I feel confident in doing that as mu dad is a retired builder and can help me out. But I'm wondering whether it is a real money saver.

We'll live out for two or three months and then move in (at that point we hope the loft will be done, so we'll live in the loft and the first floor while the infill/kitchen is being completed). There is a studio in the back garden with a kitchenette so we won't be without a stove for cooking!

Let me know your thoughts if you have done it?!

I'm in the same boat - doing a side return extension, builders booked in to start end of April. I was a bit nervous project managing it all so have decided to do similar to you - builders end product will be a plastered shell with electrics in the correct place, and then we will get various trades in to complete the rest. Difference between us though is that a) we won't be moving out (they build the side extension first and knock through last, so it's not a huge period of time without an actual kitchen) and b) I work from home so will be on hand to answer any builder queries etc.

Hopefully someone who has done similar will be on because I too would love some tips!

You know, I would project manage it all, but now sure where it would all stand just in terms of liability. I kinda want the structure to be done by one company, so if anything goes wrong with the fundamentals, we know where to turn to. Is that cynical?

Otherwise I would project manage all of it.

Will any of this save us money?!

We are in the middle of a builder with one main builder to take it to plastering.

We just got quotes for the finishing up jobs and also asked our builder to quote the same extra jobs. Obviously, if our builder can finish for a similar price, we will use them to save hassle of coordinating trades.

I thought about project managing to start with but through talking to different builders decided against it. It will be a full time job. We are sourcing ufh, kitchen, flooring and some glazing ourselves and it is a big task already.

I would be careful. We project managed the final stages of our build and it was hugely stressful. Trades are exceptionally busy at the moment and we got some horrendous quotes. Also there was a lot of trades who passed the blame on to other trades for things not being addressed quite right rather than sorting them out themselves. Unless you have detailed knowledge of all stages of the build I would be inclined to use a main contractor with a detailed job spec and costing pre agreed.

You might save money but will find yourself with a lot of stress and as the above poster said, unless you have a very detailed knowledge of the trades I would use a PM.

Any decent building firm will manage their own work to accomplish the job and frankly why would you do it better?
Ask for a quote to first fix and you can then sort anything subsequent to that which is, in essence, finishes such as wall and floor coverings, skirtings and woodwork, kitchen, bathroom fitting etc. The first fix get the structure and bits you don;t see done.
You might save money this way as you'll shop about more than the builder but managing a build is a total ballache!

Yes completing to first fix is what we are doing - we are competent DIYers so happy to lay the floors and decorate (as we have with the rest of the house) but need the elex and structural stuff done first.

Thanks all.

My dad is a retired builder, and he would be very involved because that is the type of dad he is. So I'm not scared of managing this build with him. It is not because I think I can do better than a building firm that does this all the time. But he is not a young man, and I know if I do it from scratch he would be all over it lifting bricks, digging foundations - sheesh. So I am thinking of getting it to first fix, or even just the shell and plumbing, leaving the electrics, plaster etc onwards for us to source and do.

I'm still wondering whether any of you have done it and saved money in the end?

It should save money if done properly.

The part ‘building route’ in the link below is quite good.
www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.homebuilding.co.uk/amp/advice/extension-cost-calculator

There was a post a while back here of someone project managing their own build paying the builders a day rate. It definitely sounded cheap for that scale.

Do you work? Believe me, this is a full time, full on stressful job! I did it last year while working part time from home - it resulted in many late nights and weekends working doing my 'actual' job, and many, MANY tears!
If you can at all stretch to it, pay someone else to do it!!