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.

Butwhyyyy - I hope you’re done by Christmas! Hopefully yours is s simpler build than mine!

@livinginabuildingsite hopefully, it is a straight forward 3 meter ext and taking out the interior wall then fitting the kitchen.

Butwhyyy - hope it all goes to plan. We’ve had the odd delay for supplies and labour due to covid/ .
But mostly ours is a bit complicated.

We had a 3.5m extension across the back when we moved in, in 2 parts; back of the kitchen & back of the living room. A few years ago decide to try open plan and got (different) builders to knock the wall down between the two. Only to find one half of the extension was not built to building regs and the middle wall was weight bearing.
Have lived with acrowprops since then!

So have gone out to 4.5 (as planning refused for 6), and needed to take down various old bits to join it together.
The roof is all one now and all correct - the old one was a bodge job joining two different slopes together!

At some point the ‘temp’ wall across the back of the original house will have to come down then all hell will break loose!

@Callmejudith you have my sympathy
we get it all the time even though I'm a bloody architect and DH couldn't pick a hammer the right way round. However trades only do it once here as I make a fairly impressive angry 4'11 blonde woman!

@wonkylegs that’s even worse! Awful!

Boiler got moved up into the bathroom this morning - so chuffed with myself for that idea. It’s a great use of space and I can get a nice cupboard built around it for towels etc.

And we finally finally have some floor action in the room of doom. I am concerned that there’s going to be one portion of the room as you enter that’s going to have a rather low ceiling height but I think if I do everything I can to draw the eye out of that bit then we’ll be ok

We moved out boiler to the upstairs bathroom and now have a big cupboard for towels, etc. Very useful.

Low ceiling height is a pain, our house has height ceilings throughout but the side extension can’t. I’m worried it will be like stepping into a cave when I go out there. Will mostly only be me though and I’m short - will be the shortest soon at the rate the DC are growing.

We also have a really awkward stair turn in front of you as you come in the front door. Used to have a tiny loo that DH couldn’t stand up striaght in! Will revert to a pin understands black hole cupboard I think once the new downstairs loo is in place. But the square of low ceiling will always be there.

@LivingInABuildingSite that made me laugh!

Well we got the window quote back today. We need to refurb the front sashes and change the downstairs window back to match the rest of the street (not sure when they took the original one out).

Drum roll for guessing the expected date of works? April 2022 😂. That's because we are adding a (new) bespoke timber window to match the rest of the street's downstairs one but it so needs to be done!

It's lucky we are in it for the long haul! In the meantime, half the windows don't open and the other half don't close 😂

Our measured survey gets done next week so we can finally think about plans

The rate we are going, I'm going to be on these threads for a few years!

Been following this thread for a couple of weeks and it is getting me mentally prepared. Am right at start, still tweaking architect’s floor plans.

Absolute rollercoaster here. Got to the house and they've made huge progress with the room of doom, we now have the internal wall for the utility room and it's amazing. They've also put the joists in for the kitchen floor so we can properly see the level of the floor. Super happy as we're doing the final order for the kitchen this afternoon so I needed to do final measurements.

However, I then find out that our dickhead builder hasn't provided the measurements to the door company so the doors haven't been ordered. He said at least 8 weeks for delivery which is mid November. What the hell do we do now? I can't see how we can fit the kitchen without the flooring in and you can't fit the flooring without doors. Livid is not the word.

I'm doing a separate thread for advice.

Spoke to our flooring guy who is luckily a good friend. He said we can go ahead with the kitchen install mid October but we'll have to do something with plywood under the cabinets. Then once the doors and rooflight go in he can install the wooden floor and put the kitchen kickboards on. We'll have to make the door opening and rooflight opening completely watertight as he said any moisture coming in could really affect the room. And that means no access to the garden for weeks either.

Luckily the velux is coming on Friday so at least they'll be some light in the room.

Callmejudith - that is so aggravating!

Our doors and roof lantern probably won’t arrive until November either. So the whole extension will have to made watertight - which also means pitch black as no natural light!

Have no idea when we might be able to actually put a new kitchen item in there. And to think I thought it might be done by September!!
Im hoping we can play room Tetris and temporarily move current kitchen bits into the dark extension while they work on ripping up old kitchen floor, and same for living room, and juggle it around.

Am actually thinking we won’t be done by Christmas and I have to start accepting that fact. Started in April…

and nothing happening today anyway as roofer is off sick and was only going to be him today.
He’s booked in for a knee op in November and been told to stay off his feet today by a doctor apparently. One day? I can’t see he’ll be back tomorrow up and down a ladder. Not sure if the company have an alternative for him. I like him but frustrated now!

@LivingInABuildingSite I'm sorry that you are also going to be living in the dark. It's so frustrating. I'm refusing to believe we won't be able to host for Christmas.

I just want to cry

Me too! I’m sat here doing nothing today because I’m so fed up, which won’t help, I need to go and achieve something/anything!

Though tbh I wouldn’t mind having no one for Christmas because it would mean the PIL aren’t here! 😂 but if we can’t actually manage Christmas then the worse situation of possibly going to theirs will be suggested. I can’t do that. I can’t really cope with them being here, but being at theirs - no way.

We’ll just keep muddling along, somehow I guess.

More summerhouse paint arriving today, so can get busy with that the rest of the week to finish it. DD very happy with ‘her summerhouse’ - not sure how long it will last as the weather cools down. But for now means all her craft crap is out of my house and into hers 😂😂

Oh and what’s even more annoying (& I just need to vent here) is that the 3 neighbours in a row all have workmen here today!
They’ve all moved in in the last year or so, and have cracked on with windows, bathrooms, kitchens, driveways, etc.

We’ve lived here for 17 years now and will have the worst condition house in a couple of weeks when they’re all done.

I know, they’re not doing exactly the same thing, and I don’t wish non-workmen in them, just annoying to look out and see builders vans that aren’t mine!

Oh that would annoy me too!

Final kitchen order done - super happy with it

You don’t have to live in complete darkness. If you need to seal up the opening with polythene / membrane to keep any water out then you can use a thick gauge clear or opaque fixed to a wooden frame. You don’t have to use black. But if you need to make it secure then ply/ osb will be needed

I have thought about that actually.

They’ve taken out an original window on the stairs for safe keeping & hopefully triple glazing for the future. They put in a ply board with a Perspex rectangle in, so now it looks like a door to nowhere. But it did let light in.

Then we had really heavy rain and it was dripping on to the stairs (not through the Perspex to be fair, but they tarpaulined the whole thing so now the stairs are dark.

I’d prefer a Perspex square or two for light so will chat with them when we get to that. It’s more cost and potential leakage risk but it is a possible.

Callmejudith- yey for kitchen ordering!

I made it out for a walk to the library at least but has felt like a non-day, paint arrived though!

@Chumleymouse again, super helpful. I didn't even realise that was an option. A see through part will make a world of difference especially as we're south facing.

@LivingInABuildingSite which paint did you get?

More paint for the summerhouse (DD’s summerhouse!) as I only ordered one tin with it. Which would’ve been enough maybe for the outside but I painted the inside too (apart from the ceiling as I lost the will to live as it needs 3 coats everywhere!).
Have finished enough of the inside for her to put a Freecycle armchair in there, with blankets and craft crap. So will need to move bits around/dust sheet while I finish but that’s fine. She was so excited to start using it.

I have a pic of the Perspex window/non-door somewhere. Found it I think.

Now all dark though because the wood leaked.

If you have removed old windows ( upvc ) You can easily remove the glass units from them. And cut holes into plywood or osb boarded up openings and temporarily fit them in to have a clear window and still be secure. It’s a relatively easy job and will still be water tight.

I used some opaque plastic as a dust screen, it didn’t have to keep out the weather but it still let light through.

As opposed to the black I used over the stairs because I’d ran out of opaque, If you have a choice don’t use black because it just makes the room behind too dark and depressing.