Is there a 2021 extension thread?

[Yellownotblue]

Just that really, I found it very informative (and exhilarating and at times heart breaking!) to read the 2020 extension threads. I couldn’t find a 2021 extension thread. Please can you direct me, or if there isn’t one, let’s start it! All welcome.

As for us - we’re awaiting PP for our extension and our architect said the work might start as early as March (ha! I’ll believe it when I see it). It’s a large extension and we will need to move out for about 9 months so I’m a bit flustered at the thought of moving out in 7 weeks’ time. We’re extending over the garage, in the garden and in the loft, and doing a shedload of other stuff from electrics to roofing and redecorating everything. We’re in SW London.

We've been given ballpark by 3 different builders. The ones we want to use will get the plans direct from our architect to give us a more detailed quote. We've budgeted double than the ballpark figure to cover everything.

@Baxdream

We had our first builder round yesterday. He was a bit strange. Although our previous builders were chatty so achieved less. It might be a good thing if he is a bit socially awkward?

Our plan is to get the main builder to do the build to first fix/plaster then bring in trades ourselves. Has anyone done this?
We've done a build before so we have an understanding of what it entails. We just want to get it done as cheaply as possible.

Definitely a good idea. Our builders were fantastic up to first fix then have been a firking nightmare. They had to come back, in some cases, 3 or 4 times to fix simple snags so the cost to them must have been huge. I won't be using again or recommending them. I also did all the decorating myself saving 12k

I've always thought that getting very rough estimates at planning stage is a good idea - any experienced builder should be able to understand the current structure and proposed and know what is likely to be required and therefore not be a million miles away when he formally quotes off BR drawings and specifications.

We've had planning drawings completed and I'm going to drop them into our local council tomorrow and then the surveyor is ready to go ahead with BR drawings as soon as it's approved.

I'm not entirely sure the council are going to agree plans as they are (or if neighbours might dispute) since they go right up to our attached house on the first floor so will restrict light into their bedroom.

The surveyor doesn't seem to think it'll be a problem (although others I spoke to did...). If it gets refused, we'll amend accordingly.....

How long has everyone waited for council approval?

@Mallowmarshmallow good luck! By law, councils have to make a decision within 8 weeks. But in practice, they can flex that somewhat by requiring additional drawings or amendments, which then extends the statutory period.

I’ve just found out that the main aspects of our extension are likely to be approved - the planning officer has requested some minor changes that we can live with. My head is spinning, we took a big gamble both in terms of aesthetics (very modern side extension to a standard Victorian terrace) and height (extending all the way into the loft). I’m properly excited, it’s been years of planning to get to this stage.

Our plans have gone in for approval. We’re hoping for a 2 storey front extension (other houses on the street have extended at the front and we’re just making the front level with the rest really as that part of the house is set back) and a part 2 storey part single storey side/back extension. We’ve had a rough ball park estimate from a builder we know and trust who has come to see the house and talk through what we want. Now to sit and wait!

Getting far too ahead of myself by looking at kitchens and flooring etc! I love the HKOC but fear they are VERY expensive and my husband is put off by the fact they are unpainted so more hassle? How do they compare cost wise to somewhere like Howdens etc?

Good luck all those who have approval pending.

Those who started this week- how are you doing?

We now have a big hole next to our house! Getting through the concrete path next to the house was so noisy. We were warned by the builder of the extension next door that there are a lot of rocks in the ground, so our builders have had to submit a plan for dealing with the rocks to the Party Wall Surveyor. Essentially the PWS wants to make sure we aren't going to shake the rock too much with a mechanical digger and crack the houses.

So far the builders have found a lot of rocks but they are all coming out easily enough at the moment. It's interesting to see the foundations of the house and the garden wall as the digging goes on. And the builders have left a little mound next to the back door so the cats can use the cat flap.

I've been taking plenty of pictures. I take a picture from the same place each day so I can stitch them together into a video and see the build going up!

Our quotes are starting to come in and they're too high 🤦‍♀️
We have planning permission for a double storey extension. We're seriously considering just doing downstairs. The problem we have is to make a master bedroom upstairs we'll need to lose a bedroom. It could easily be reinstated if we moved but we have no plans to move for a very long time if ever.
We are thinking of making the ensuite a jack and Jill bathroom between the two bedrooms, then bedroom two the master with bedroom 4 becoming the dressing room into the main bathroom (as an ensuite).
We only need three bedrooms.

We've done an extension before so I completely understand the contingency and needing money for furnishings etc. We could build the whole thing but we'd have no money for everything else. We're going to see if we can just do a shell upstairs (with windows etc) and see if that will give us enough breathing room..

We’re in the process of commissioning architects for our kitchen extension. One has suggested that their fees would be approx £1K, another £2.5K for planning and another £7K for drawings, structural engineers etc. So approx £10.5K before anything starts! Does this sound right? We’re looking at a 20m2 extension.

Sounds extremely high for a small extension.

Thank you @Raxer26A that’s what I thought/hoped/prayed!

Our extension is hopefully going to be 20m2 ground floor with an en-suite on top. So perhaps 30m2 total.

What kind of figures have people paid for everything up to starting the actual work?

Thank you @LittleOverwhelmed (feel like I should have that user name!) that’s a really useful breakdown.

We are Oxfordshire so not exactly cheap unfortunately. I hadn’t even considered design and build companies. I will look into those.

Wow that is really expensive!! We're been quoted £1k for plans and council liaison for planning approval then £800 for BR plans. I thought that was too expensive so found another who will do it for half the cost and been highly recommended.

Anybody else has any neighbour issues with their extensions? We submitted our plans end of Feb and we were informed that we would find out by 27th April if planning application is approved. Our attached neighbour popped round today as she was worried about the stairs up yo loft as at the bottom they will be against the party wall. My husband reassured her that we are also insulating that wall so hopefully minimal disturbance. It is a delicate balance with both our neighbours as this one isn't keen on people turning these bungalows into houses (less homes for retirees to buy) and the neighbour is suffering from dementia and really hates change. We have not had any objections yet though. We did speak to both neighbours right before submission as a heads up on what is coming their way.

In other news, we received a call from our mortgage bank, they completed an affordability check and confirmed that they can give us an advance of 60% of the amount we need. Very good interest rate of 1.59% on a 2 yr fix and our mortgage payments go up by only £100. We were hoping to use our savings as contingency but it looks like we shall have to use them to fund the other 40%. We now can't go over budget.

@Notyetthere

Anybody else has any neighbour issues with their extensions? We submitted our plans end of Feb and we were informed that we would find out by 27th April if planning application is approved. Our attached neighbour popped round today as she was worried about the stairs up yo loft as at the bottom they will be against the party wall. My husband reassured her that we are also insulating that wall so hopefully minimal disturbance. It is a delicate balance with both our neighbours as this one isn't keen on people turning these bungalows into houses (less homes for retirees to buy) and the neighbour is suffering from dementia and really hates change. We have not had any objections yet though. We did speak to both neighbours right before submission as a heads up on what is coming their way.

In other news, we received a call from our mortgage bank, they completed an affordability check and confirmed that they can give us an advance of 60% of the amount we need. Very good interest rate of 1.59% on a 2 yr fix and our mortgage payments go up by only £100. We were hoping to use our savings as contingency but it looks like we shall have to use them to fund the other 40%. We now can't go over budget.

Be VERY careful and get your quotes as all in, no extras or unplanned contingency. The costs will look higher (because they are) but any unforeseen costs are the burden of the builder and you know you can afford it, or not. You'll need accurate BR drawings and specification for everything you want. If you don;t then you'll find that there are always always always additional costs somewhere!

Good luck to everyone waiting for planning permission! Our build started last Monday. They are currently working on the foundations. Exciting to see the progress but all very nerve wracking! We don’t have a kitchen but managing ok so far with an air fryer and table top hob. How is everyone else’s builds coming along? I’m feeling a bit concerned that there’s loads of things I should be doing for the new kitchen etc but have been advised to hold off ordering until we can measure it.

@Loofah01 thank you. Yes this is my main concern. We shall definitely explore lumpsum contract with our builder.

As for BR drawings, we shall have this chat with our architect. He knows that we are cutting it fine affordability, and in the plans he has several times tried to steer us away from more expensive details in the design; reminding us of our limited budget.

For specification, I told DH yesterday that we should know type of stairs that we want, the type of carpentry finish that we would like to have like built in wardrobes(but this can be cut if the quotes are more than we can afford. We can always do this in the future). Some non-negotiables like the external finish of the dormer as it has to match existing finish to meet planning so these are easier to specify. Our architect also gave us a draft electrical plan and plumbing which the builders used to estimate to give us an initial quote. We shall review these as I understand we might want to double the number of electrical points in the loft. The more decisions we make now even down to the type of tiles, bath, toilet, shower, etc we make now the less likely we shall be changing things when the build start.

As part of the loft conversion, we also need to replace our boiler as we currently have a water tank up in the loft. Looking at the plans, it looks like it is currently where the landing will be. The plumber we had around last month said that we might as well replace our current boiler with a new one instead of moving the current one. I'm not sure about this though. The current boiler is not even 3 years old yet but he mentioned that it would soon be out of warranty anyway so we might as well get a new one. We are now exploring having an unvented boiler with tank or having a combi. Decisions. Decisions.

The other thing I want to raise, it is not too disruptive having a loft conversion during the winter months? They are mainly working from the scaffolding outside and by the time they break through for the stairs, you would hope that the loft is weather proofed at that point? I hope so. It would be great if we started on the loft conversion this year as I will be on maternity leave in the 2nd half of this year. The stairs from the loft literally land in the spot where current desk is. We plan for me to shift my working space to the single bedroom that will be created in the loft conversion.

@newyorky09 Good luck for Monday! Please post lots of pictures on the progress. Many of us on this aren't sharing many at the moment as there seems to be lots of us at the Planning permission stage.

Well we have progress. The foundations have been dug out successfully. There was A LOT of large and heavy rocks in there, which we were expecting due to what was found when next door did their extension.

We have one large rock in the corner, but building control are happy for it to stay there and the concrete to be poured over it as it is not budging. Builders are unable to use a large mechanical digger on it as it would shake our house and next door too much. Our builders and building control already had it all planned what they would do if they found rock and the Party Wall surveyor is happy with that too.

Posted to early! Concrete is being poured on Friday, then building up starts next week.