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.

@Redcart21

This thread amazes me that many of you can ‘just find’ an extra £100k to spend on increasing budgets. I’m in awe and just hope we can be the same later in our lives! We are from professional backgrounds and so are our social circles and no one we know can afford works like this. We are early 30s, on our 2nd home. Is it just good jobs or are many of you older and on your 3rd/4th homes? Just curious…

We're early 40s professionals on second home living in Midlands and have nowhere near the budget that most of this thread have, couldn't justify spending so much when our house is only valued around £350k. Ours is a teeny £55-65k and feels like a little weekend DIY project in comparison 😂. I'm sure things would be very different if we lived in the South of country, our house would probably be worth treble what it is and we'd have loads more equity.

Wanted to say hello. 14 week build due to start on the 16th (fingers crossed) taken a long time to get here. House renovation planned, new heating, refurb of an existing two storey extension, and single story kitchen extension planned. Huge job ( to us).

Planning granted in November 2019, had the house required in Jan 20, but didn’t find our builder until the end of 2020. Wish us luck as we are so close to starting. Today has been spent on planning bathroom design and starting to box up the house. Very excited ( and tired). Plus we are planning to live in the house most of the refurb…crazy!

• rewired, not required..

Exciting Sunonmyface!

We definitely couldn’t find an extra £100k at this stage - no way!

So loads of progress at our house however I popped in yesterday evening and one of the steels looks completely wrong. I was awake from 2-4am last night pouring over the plans and it looks like it’s supposed to be angled on the pitch roof rather than flat. I really don’t want to call the builder on a Sunday so fingers crossed please it isn’t final yet and it’ll get angled next week (and I’ll be asking the builder first thing Monday)

We also finalised and did the VR of our kitchen design at Wren yesterday. It was amazing - I nearly cried

Thank you CallmeJudith
We saw bathroom visualisations yesterday. 2 will be in space that isn’t used as bathrooms yet, and it has taken so long to get here it is quite emotional to be getting closer 😊

I'm a bit early to be joining this thread, given I'm still in the process of purchasing the house that I will be extending.

However, I figure it'll take me at least a year to have plans drawn up and to get through planning, then probably another year waiting for a decent builder and prices to stabilise...at which point it'll be 2023, and I'll have saved up enough money to do my extension. I'm sure the time will flyby, but hoping to learn from all your experiences

It sounds really exciting to hear of all your plans and how the projects are progressing, it's definitely inspiring me!

Has anyone used RESI as the architects before? I stumbled across them on Houzz, and before I knew it, I'd had an initial 45 minute conversation, and they are quoting £4,500 to get me through planning. Does that seem reasonable for a £150k project?

Also I hear a lot about design and build companies, as I will need tight project management (due to maximum budget and being a single mum working full-time). Should I look for a company like that instead?

@Starseeking £4500 to get through planning seems very steep! We are in the North West and paid £1700 for plans from an architect and planning for a project over £200k.

Thanks @MissFritton65. I'm not sure if it would make a difference, but my property is in West London (the unfashionable bit).

I thought I had read somewhere that architects fees could be up to 10% of project budget, so I had thought it seemed too good to be true Thank goodness I joined this thread early doors!

@starseeking we only used our architect to draw the plans and submit them to planning. He isn't project managing the build or doing anything more than the initial drawings. We paid a structural engineer to do calculations for steels etc which was £800.

I've just gone back and looked at my fee quote again to double check. The total was actually £4,800 including VAT, and £1,900 of that fee quote relates to Building Regulations.

I've got plenty of time to contact a few other architects, so will do so to compare, thanks @MissFritton65!

I'm finally joining the thread! Although not strictly an extension, we're doing an (almost) whole house renovation and rebuild. I've lived here 11 years and have been planning for most of that time. Scaffolding went up on Friday and builders arrive tomorrow.

Starting from the top we're having the rear chimney breast removed through the whole house; the loft converted to a bedroom and ensuite; two bedrooms are being made the same size and closets built; landing made bigger by taking the useless bit of bathroom away; new window knocked into bathroom; old outdoor toilet removed and knocked into kitchen; old pantry removed and knocked into kitchen; new kitchen; plumbing in the cellar for utility. Removing the chimney breast gives us as much extra floor space as an extension but without the PP.

This should give us an extra bedroom and bathroom, two better shaped and sized bedrooms, better flow on the landing, a huge kitchen / diner / family room, and most importantly my own office / craft room!!

This is all costed at £86k. Hopefully it doesn't go too much over as we only have £100 to play with.

@Callmejudith hope you get to speak with your builder this morning and everything is actually fine. Are you visiting the site often?

Thankfully our Airbnb is only a 3 min drive away from our house and I'm mostly wfh. Thinking I'll pop in to see builders every day 😂

I need to confirm the packers/storage today. I totally didn't budget for it though and it's at least £2k 🤦🏼‍♀️

Awake since 4:30am, as I hate our kitchen design. I need to get it finalised by end of August to meet the production deadline!!

I know it's naughty, but I'm thinking of making some random kitchen company appointments to get design ideas. We're already committed to ours and I love their workmanship. I'm just not gelling with their designer. Small company, so I'm stuck with that!

Ki I

I would love to join you all. We desperately need a massive extension (4 children). I lost my parents recently so we have a little bit of money to do it with but oh my god it is all so expensive.

We have had 2 architects out. One who said they were very busy and would basically submit my magicplan ideas and charge me £4500 and another who told me my £250k budget wasn't enough and that I would need to spend £300k (which we can but it feels like so much money and no doubt it will go over that and I'm worried about ceiling price for house) and i couldn't have a garage and it would all be much smaller than I need. They also want to charge me £4500 for plans etc.

Our house is detached and I want to go out 6m internal across the 11.5m width and then out 4.5m upstairs (the whole width). Subject to planning obvs.

Lots have suggested I go into the roof (god knows what that will cost but it needs re roofing anyway) but we would need to raise the ridge height. I am so demoralised by the whole thing and the fact you need to get really expensive plans drawn up to be told you can't afford what you have designed. From the builders I have spoken to I get the sense they all have their preferred architects.....

I've spent hours designing my new kitchen (Helmsley) on the diy website for the space I don't even have planning for yet or a builder.

Surely prices can't keep increasing how they are. How are normal people going to afford to do anything to their houses?

One builder we are thinking of using (more a project manager) charges cost plus margin (on labour and materials). I can't work out if that is good or not. My husband thinks it's great as more transparent.

I'm trying to price up as much stuff in my head like roof lights and sliding doors etc. So am following this thread avidly for ideas.

@Starseeking were in West London too. We paid £2k for plans, submitting to planning and structural engineer calcs. Our architect was rubbish though I wouldn’t recommend.

Then £1200 for building control

@PoshWatchShitShoes I go every couple of days, I like to keep them on their toes

I’ve messaged our building control person about the beam. Luckily he is actually a friend of a friend so I’ve asked him on a professional and personal level. Might do a separate thread about it

@Callmejudith that's good that you can speak candidly with the building control guy.

Mmmmm I didn't know building control cost so much!!! I was just going to go online and get the approval in 48 hours. I don't need them to pre-approve, as it's all quite straightforward. Off to look at costs!!

FFS it looks like building control is at least £800!!! It's the same price as putting in a full plans application, which doesn't seem fair 😭

Our work is just internal. Their schedule of fees only goes up to work costing £75k. What happens after that?

Total waste of money in our case. We've already paid thousands to an architect, thousands to a structural engineer, engaged a competent builder and now this!!

It's £800 plus VAT 😡

I here ya! Just constant money on utterly boring things.

So the building control guy has said we can have the beam either way structurally speaking but the more I think about it the more I’m pissed off that they put it in wrong!

Hear FFS

Spoke to the architect who said they've definitely got it wrong. Also spoke to the owner of the building firm and he is looking at what's happened. I spent hours this morning looking at plans and drawing things out and worked out that the beam would be about a metre behind where our barstools will be so there's no way it can stay (priorities) I don't want people banging their heads after one too many cocktails

Oh god me again, went to the house and I'm even more confused! The builder said they can definitely angle it but actually now the other beams are in it looks quite cool. ARGH.

The other advantage of keeping it like it is is that I could go for bigger veluxes in the pitched roof. I need to draw some pics

@Callmejudith sounds stressful!! It's such a major decision. Post a photo if it helps.

Thankfully my biggest deliberation today is: basin taps with lever or cross head?? 🙈 I'm going to flip a coin.

I love lever taps!