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.

Here's my drawn on layout - the utility comes off the hallway (the rectangular room) and will have the cloakroom at the end of it. We'll have our washing machine and tumble in there plus a tall cupboard for hoover etc.

ah that's a great use of the space by the stairs @Callmejudith. Your giant roof light makes sense now - will make that space at the back lovely and airy!

[quote MoiCnoi]@TakeMeToYourLiar we are in the same boat. we in WK 10 of loft conversion. I'm so impatient but our windows have been thrice delayed and it's out of my hands. I'm also focusing on the paint charts. What colours will you go for?

@purplebutterflybiscuits we have lived in ours throughout and it's been OK. Dusty and disruptive, but mostly OK. (Unlike when we did the kitchen which was unliveable as I realised too late)[/quote]
We've gone for a light sage in the bedroom and a very pale taupe in the bathroom.

What about you?

Popping in for an update! We're a week into the loft conversion and extension by knocking down an enormous chimney through the house. Everything is going on in the loft at the moment so I can't see an awful lot. We had news yesterday that the roof isn't in a brilliant state. The last owner did an amateur conversion so they hadn't been able to get a proper look at the underside. It's looking like all the tiles will have to come off, new felt down and then retiling with hopefully most of the original tiles.
As the builders and scaffolding are already there and they can reuse the majority of the tiles, we're hoping it won't be over £10k (if anyone can take a guess then it'd be welcome!). I'm currently crossing the nice to haves off the list but I can live without carpet in the bedroom for now and the big fridge freezer

Good that they found it though Rhubarb and hopefully it won't be ££££

I doubt it will be over £10k rhubarb

We've just paid £4K in Home Counties to redo our front elevation

Here the new bannister has just gone in. I love it. Think we will stain it oak. Any suggestions for wall colour?

Thanks for the advice on quotes @Sewfrickinamazeballs and @Callmejudith. It feels like I'm begging builders to come around to quote!! Maybe I need to engage more to start with.

Beautiful bannister!

Me too! Is there a dormer over the staircase that gives it such lovely headroom?

The stairs are lovely! Thanks for the idea about costs - I'm glad they're going to do it as leaks are something I fear in this house. I'll just wait for the quote and say yes!

Roof shouldn’t be over £10k Rhubarb unless it’s really big.

I’m losing the will to live with my project. Everything is massively delayed, everything thing is ridiculously expensive. I ordered half of the radiators 3 months ago but held off on the other half due to storage capacity. They’ve gone up almost 35 % due to steel costs.

We have decided not to go ahead with our extension. With quotes of nearly £70k plus kitchen, flooring, toilet and utility fittings we'd be looking at 90-100k!!!
We don't plan on staying here, only about 5 years so it's just not worth it. Kind of gutted we wasted nearly £2k on plans on the back of the architect agreeing our budget was fine.
Plus we have remortgaged and borrowed extra to get the extension done! Now not really needed!

So we will be replacing the kitchen, decorating, new floors, new front door. Sort the garden.
Whilst keeping an eye on Rightmove and will bring our move forward a bit!

Slightly gutted but also a bit relieved which is a bit telling that the extension wasn't the right thing to do anyway!

Hi all, can I join in please? Long Time lurker. Initially had plans drawn up for a kitchen extension and loft conversion but with costs being far far more than pre pandemic/Brexit, mixed in with a non standard construction house that required more steels (and struggling to get quotes never mind start dates) we have gone ahead with the loft conversion. We are only in the first week. So scaffolding up, roof off, steels in and dormer being built today/tomorrow. We plan to completely remodel the kitchen, blocking door, adding french doors/bifolds etc but no extension. We have a call with one plan at end of month and hoping we get a design that fits kitchen, dining table and sofa are in. Kitchen is 5m x 4 so I may be asking a lot. Anyone know/think it's possible?

Also any good advice re living through loft conversion? TIA

We have a roof (we’ll sort of)

Bugger. The builder is really concerned about the floor in the old dining room which will become the kitchen area, there’s basically a huge cellar type space but no support so he thinks we’ll need some kind of rsj. He’s getting the building control in tomorrow who is also a structural engineer to do some calcs. Feel like this is going to be our unforeseen contingency eater

there be the giant roof light @Callmejudith! looks great - I always think once the roof is on, it starts feeling like a proper extension! Did you know the cellar was there? where do they put the rsj to sort it out?

we had the architect round today - there are a number of issues. He believes due to the issue with the surface water drain at the front (which drains into a combined sewer but is being used by next door and us as drainage from bathrooms, not waste though) that we should move the bathrooms to the back. Moving bathrooms to the back would mean renovating every floor which wasn't my plan. I had hoped we could get away with ground floor extension only.

I am also still not convinced that we could move the bathrooms far enough back to be 4m away from the waste pipe (house is quite long but not wide). I await his plans!

he initially thought we should do a full width extension at the back - I actually disagree - I know the council here well and I'm pretty sure we wouldn't get permission (conservation area v protective of trees and there's one next door which would be problematic). He then relented and said yes you're probably right. Architects always do this I find. I'd rather put in plans that will pass than plans that won't and take months to resolve. So we are now likely to stick with the footprint and re do the back extension (which is a lean to). Really critical issue for us is the 1st floor extension which has no approval but has been in place for 40 years. No one else has done it. They think we have a chance by claiming we are improving the area by rebuilding it but it's possible they could just ask us to pull it down. If that happens, we lose a bathroom so fairly major!

Absolutely zero clue re cellar! We knew there was space under the front room but not any further. Mental.

Yours sounds so complicated. I found the same with the architect - almost pushing their own ideas rather than what would actually work

If you have a void/ cellar under the kitchen that you don’t use it might be better just to fill the whole lot in rather than taking the floor up to reinforce ( steelwork etc.. ).

@NewHouseNewMe

Me too! Is there a dormer over the staircase that gives it such lovely headroom?

Yes it's a double dormer

@Chumleymouse sorry to sound silly but what would you fill it with?

@cancancan that's disappointing but if you're only staying 5 years, you don't want to spend a year of that doing a huge extension. So it's possibly for the best? Nonetheless disappointing!

@Callmejudith - wow that's unforeseen. Did you know about this cellar space? I'm thinking of wine storage for you.. But filling it in coud be harder too (concrete etc.)

@magnic are you also hoping to fit in an island? If so I think it's going to be tight if 5x4

@StrongArm it does depend on the LA, doesn't it? Ours is pretty strict about conservation areas but would otherwise let a 40 year old extension stay. Did you have an indemnity insurance policy when you bought the property? That might help you if this gets sticky.

@Callmejudith wow your roof light is going to be wonderful. Such a great size! Hope the cellar issues get sorted quickly and cheaply!!

Staircase looks great @TakeMeToYourLiar! Are you carpeting? I'm hoping we can do a runner on ours gets fitted... but carpets are #1675 on my to do list 😂

I've just redesigned our kitchen... as in, ripped up all of the plans we previously had. Arranged a call with builder tomorrow morning to break the news 😆 We're actually moving out end of next week!!! In denial still. Builder starts after bank holiday 👏