Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Is there a 2021 extension thread?

986 replies

Yellownotblue · 13/01/2021 01:30

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
59
Callmejudith · 20/08/2021 11:30

Welcome @magnic! We did our loft a few years and lived there and it was fine. The absolute worst bit was when they broke through for the stairs but apart from
That it was fine.

Callmejudith · 20/08/2021 11:31

@PoshWatchShitShoes good luck with breaking the news to the builder. I’m sure it’ll be fine since you’ve not started yet.

Callmejudith · 20/08/2021 11:54

Managed to get a picture this morning of the offending cellar area. The pink will be a new stud wall on the same level as the front room which will form the utility room.

The the blue area floor needs to be the same level as the back of the house so I think the idea is the steel would go across that area but not 100% yet

Callmejudith · 20/08/2021 11:54

Forgot pic

Is there a 2021 extension thread?
Chumleymouse · 20/08/2021 14:13

@Callmejudith

I mean , remove the existing floor ( suspended) and fill it in with mot, insulation,screed , so the whole kitchen/ extension area has a solid floor.

Looking at the picture the whole floor will need to be removed anyway as the old joists look to undersized.

They could rebuild the suspended floor by putting a steel across and then joists on top or a sleeper wall could built basically doing the same job as a steel .

If it’s to be a heavy traffic kitchen area and you go for a suspended floor then I would do 400mm centres and also use 75x200 joists , they are a lot stronger than 50x200 and make for a much more solid floor. Insulation between the joists will need to be at least 100mm , more is better.

One thing I hate is walking across a suspended floor and feeling a slight bounce to it .

I’m surprised your builders didn’t know that the void would be under the floor, all suspended ground floors need a space underneath for airflow to prevent condensation/ damp .

Callmejudith · 20/08/2021 14:24

Thank you so much @Chumleymouse that’s incredibly helpful

TakeMeToYourLiar · 20/08/2021 20:48

I've been up there painting tonight. It's only the undercoat but it's beginning to feel like a real room

Callmejudith · 20/08/2021 21:17

@TakeMeToYourLiar pics please!

HasaDigaEebowai · 21/08/2021 09:20

My kitchen is coming on. Plumbing and wiring now done, massive roof lantern arriving on Monday and should hopefully be in by tuesday. Plastering the rest of the week, flooring and painting the following week then the kitchen arrives!

StrongArm · 21/08/2021 13:22

@HasaDigaEebowai nearly there then!

We have spent all morning unpacking downstairs. Now can see the floor and think we might take the carpet up and dump it in the skip as the floorboards in the bit we can see are not too horrendous though I'm yet to discover why the floor slopes so much! Uncovered 2 fire places - 1 converted to a gas fire so will need to call out an engineer next week to get them to disable it and see if it can go back to wood burning (will need a chimney inspection).

We ordered one skip and filled it in about 2 hours which makes me think we've hugely underestimated how much crap we need to clear from this house!

HasaDigaEebowai · 21/08/2021 13:30

@HasaDigaEebowai nearly there then!

For the kitchen. Way off the roof, windows, cladding porch boot room and garage Sad

TakeMeToYourLiar · 21/08/2021 17:38

No photos of the painting, but I'm really please with this light

Is there a 2021 extension thread?
Sewfrickinamazeballs · 22/08/2021 09:34

@TakeMeToYourLiar

No photos of the painting, but I'm really please with this light
They are cool!
StrongArm · 23/08/2021 13:25

lovely!

it's taken us a few weeks to uncover what's really wrong and right with the house! can see all the weird extensions they muddled together were done so strangely - like a rain downpipe that runs onto the patio (no wonder there is so much moss).

@NewHouseNewMe no we didn't get an indemnity but it was a deliberate thing. We knew we would be applying to the planning department to do certain things (it's a conservation area so we have to put a planning application in for most things) so the indemnity would have been made useless at that point. So we knew it was a risk (for the 1st floor extension). On the ground floor, others have since done the extension that these guys have done so we're pretty confident that one will be approved. The 1st floor one is wooden with a perspex roof so either they will allow a rebuild or we will have to knock it down. The architect seems to think we will be able to rebuild but in the same breath, he said it goes in as if it was never there (so like starting a new application) and no one else has done this. Their angle is by us rebuilding we are improving the area (which is true) but I'm not sure why they would allow it as it's unusual to be allowed to do 1st floor extensions in a terraced property. But let's see! we do have a plan for if we can't do it but it probably means us moving rooms! We should get proposed plans and their formal advice from the planning advisory this week.

@TakeMeToYourLiar what are you doing with the staircase? (carpet, painting etc.)?

@HasaDigaEebowai hope the roof lantern has arrived!

TakeMeToYourLiar · 23/08/2021 20:05

@StrongArm

lovely!

it's taken us a few weeks to uncover what's really wrong and right with the house! can see all the weird extensions they muddled together were done so strangely - like a rain downpipe that runs onto the patio (no wonder there is so much moss).

@NewHouseNewMe no we didn't get an indemnity but it was a deliberate thing. We knew we would be applying to the planning department to do certain things (it's a conservation area so we have to put a planning application in for most things) so the indemnity would have been made useless at that point. So we knew it was a risk (for the 1st floor extension). On the ground floor, others have since done the extension that these guys have done so we're pretty confident that one will be approved. The 1st floor one is wooden with a perspex roof so either they will allow a rebuild or we will have to knock it down. The architect seems to think we will be able to rebuild but in the same breath, he said it goes in as if it was never there (so like starting a new application) and no one else has done this. Their angle is by us rebuilding we are improving the area (which is true) but I'm not sure why they would allow it as it's unusual to be allowed to do 1st floor extensions in a terraced property. But let's see! we do have a plan for if we can't do it but it probably means us moving rooms! We should get proposed plans and their formal advice from the planning advisory this week.

@TakeMeToYourLiar what are you doing with the staircase? (carpet, painting etc.)?

@HasaDigaEebowai hope the roof lantern has arrived!

Plan to paint the walls, not sure what colour as it's quite dark at the bottom

Stairs I'd love to just carpet the tread and leave the wood in the risers exposed

NewHouseNewMe · 23/08/2021 21:51

Ah yes that does make sense @StrongArm. Hopefully you'll get permission for it and it'll all go smoothly!

HasaDigaEebowai · 23/08/2021 21:58

Roof lantern has arrived. I’m hoping they put it in tomorrow. Its quite large (4m x 2m) but two panes of glass will need replacing due to marks inside the double glazed units..

StrongArm · 24/08/2021 12:43

Did all of you pay your architects a % of the construction costs?

I paid a fixed fee last time but that was a long time ago and apparently % fees are the done thing now!

MissFritton65 · 24/08/2021 13:12

@strongArm we are in the NW and paid a fixed fee last September. I'm amazed at some of the architect fees mentioned on here; ours were less than £2k for a build costing £230k to second fix.

Ecthelion · 24/08/2021 22:27

@StrongArm

Did all of you pay your architects a % of the construction costs?

I paid a fixed fee last time but that was a long time ago and apparently % fees are the done thing now!

We paid a % fee. Quite bitter about it at times now as any time something trivial is added I think "Well, that's another £XX in the architect's pocket for no work!". For example if we picked a slightly higher spec of light fittings there's no extra work for the architect, but we have to pay them more! I'd try and get a fixed fee if I could, but a lot of RIBA architects only work for a percentage.
NewHouseNewMe · 24/08/2021 22:35

We have paid a fixed fee. For those paying a %, are they also PM'ing the build?

RebelGeek76 · 25/08/2021 05:56

We paid a fixed fee too. We saved ourselves a bit on fees by going to an architect technician instead of a full architect as we only needed plans drawing up for our single storey rear extension and not a full service. He charged £350 each for planning and building regs drawings and we found him to be very helpful and knowledgeable especially when it came to resolving an issue we had with a build over agreement.

HasaDigaEebowai · 25/08/2021 06:05

We’ve done ours without an architect. I’m not sure whether that’s paid off. I’ve certainly been very hands on and it’s probably cost me far more in terms of time than it would have to pay an architect.

RebelGeek76 · 25/08/2021 06:11

Been slow progress here now the builders have gone and we're on our own but OH has finished our roof deck and will be doing insulation today ready for our next sign off with building control tomorrow. Its been painful as OH works in big commercial builds and uses lasers a lot for measuring/levelling so he's been very particular about the roof and annoyed as clearly our builders hadn't been as accurate so walls aren't level or square enough to his standards 😂😂! I just let him get on with it and half listen to his rants and be his little labourer as and when needed 🤣

Busy day today as hopefully getting bifolds fitted (or at least frame in) as renderer coming tomorrow, plumber in to do some of first fix, OH doing roof insulation and finally have electrician coming to do a reccy so hoping we'll get first fix sorted soon too. Been nightmare getting sparky as OH has 2 close friends that said they'd do it and they've both let him down when needed, 3rd is also a friend who we were hoping will be reliable, its just taken a while to get him to come and take a look at what we need doing.

Is there a 2021 extension thread?
Is there a 2021 extension thread?
Is there a 2021 extension thread?
HasaDigaEebowai · 25/08/2021 06:49

We had a nightmare building inspector visit yesterday. Previous inspector had seen the kitchen and said it has a lot of glass but the overall improvements in other areas eg insulated slab, new a rated windows throughout, new boiler, new cylinder, new roof and roof insulation, new doors would mean we are still ok.

Different inspector CMD out yesterday and wants us to put 60mm of insulation on all external walls.

This would be annoying anyway but the biggest disaster is that now my kitchen won’t fit and its already made and waiting to go in.

Can’t put it outside since the windows are in and we’d end up with no window cills.

Not entirely sure what we do at this point. 25mm of insulation would fit (just).