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.

Sorry that was for @PolarnOPirate

@PolarnOPirate the best builders I know have very little SM presence but will happily let you see examples of their work and speak to former clients.

@PolarnOPirate what you are describing is called a main contractor, they pull together all the trades needed but tend to work with the same guys each time even though are technically independent sub contractors.
This makes management, risk and payment easier for clients however their fee will include an amount for this management & risk (not always obvious on fee breakdowns but will be allowed for)

@sst1234, we had the surveyor around today and it looks like we've got more options size-wise than we were expecting. Downstairs, we did a 300x465 extension and the build cost us £25k I think. As were semi detached, we thought we would only be able to build on the external side but he thinks we will also be able to go out on our attached side.

So, we could do 300x half the width, 300 x the full width or 300 x half, then go out 150 on our attached side.

The latter would pretty much give us what we're looking to achieve but if we could go all the way out, I'm wondering if we should just do that.....

Sorry, a very convoluted way of saying we're not really at quite stage yet but I'm hoping it would be similar to downstairs, so maybe £25k-ish....

@Mallowmarshmallow thanks, that’s interesting. I am considering something similar and assumed that first floor extension would be cheaper per sq ft as the ground floor costs more due to digging foundations etc.

@sst1234, yes, I agree I'm hoping it will be although I figured no foundations but more roofing might go some way to levelling out....

That said, our £25k was just for the build and it included a very large kitchen whereas upstairs will be extending current bedrooms and a small shower room so hopefully overall costs would be less.

I've heard lots of talk of approx £2k per m2 and our most likely option upstairs would be 11m2....

I realised that was unclear: downstairs was £25k + a large and expensive kitchen, so overall much more than upstairs will hopefully be....

We totally changed our plans this weekend DH suddenly realised that if we had a loft conversion he could keep all of his garage, and suddenly it all makes economic sense!

First pour of concrete today, so we'll have a floor in the hall and study!

Today we had the foundations poured for our side return extension - next week the wall starts to be. built... It’s all gone well so far although more stressful than I’d expected with us all being here the whole time. We have a temporary kitchen set up which is working well but I’m finding it hard having the builders here but not being able to escape, at least not for long, as working from home in the week.

Also struggling to get a sense of when certain things need to be ready to be fitted (have asked builders if we can work up a project plan with them but they haven’t been very forthcoming.. I guess too busy with doing the actual building!)

Couple of questions:

Roof lights - we’ve chosen some fixed roof lights but I was wondering whether we should get some that open to make them easier to clean (so they’d need to be ones that rotate not just open). Can anyone recommend any? Appreciate they would be more expensive than fixed ones.

Secondly, at what stage do you put the order in on doors? We have chosen our sliding doors and spoken to the company (ids systems) who explained they send a surveyor to take measurements and then it’s a 9 week lead time to get the door fitted as they make it to order. But when should we place the order - now? As I imagine we are a few weeks off the door opening being ready to take measurements from.. the deposits pretty large so don’t want to pay too early in case anything goes wrong...

Good luck to everyone else!! At least the weather is getting better ..

We’re in the same situation re doors - they can’t come to measure up until the opening is made unfortunately. With the roof light we’re having electric opening Veluxes as well so don’t need the rooflight to open. have to send the window cleaner up to clean it.
We got our previous bifold doors from ID systems - they were very good. Who are you you getting your rooflight from?

I would love to join, we are a couple of months away from getting some drawings done. Already had a couple of builders to discuss what we would like. We are in a semi with garage (not attached) so would be knocking garage down and foundations in with double extension. Fingers crossed we can manage to get all the funds.
How did people raise the money if you don't mind me asking? Save? Remortgage?
We have been in 2 minds weather to move or get this done. But we love our house

Littleoverwelmed thanks. We are going to have to borrow the whole lot 🤔 I'm a little worried but I'm sure it will all be worth it to give us all that much needed space as the children are growing up.

We're planning on borrowing 30k from the mortgage and topping up the rest from savings.
Very early stages though and have no real idea of budget. It could be anywhere from £50k to £75k.

Yeah we were quoted from the builders about 60k, that was just the double extension no electrics, just blank box. We will probably wait another year to try and save as much as we can. Would prefer a little bit of money behind us.

@Qc16 thanks for the info, we are also looking at velux, the central pivot roof lights. They don’t seem to do the sizes in our plan though (1x1m and 2x1m).

I'm thinking about it too. By thinking about it I'm finalising the floorplan. Small (4x3m) extension mating into an existing 4x4m extension. Suspect it will be best to take the roof and two walls off the existing.

First time ever going this kind of thing. New kitchen and utility. Air Source Heat Pump (ASHP) and under floor heating (UFH) throughout, including under existing suspended floor in lounge and hall.

Thinking of using Plus Rooms. Does anyone on here have experience of this design / build contractor?

May I join you? You all seem much more knowledgeable about this than me! I'm not sure if our plans are too basic for this thread as everyone else seems to be building on a larger scale and having all the work done by builders/architects/project managers? We would like to do a total self-build apart from bricklaying and roofing but unfortunately dh works full time and I don't have the skills/strength...!

We have just bought and moved into our new home, a detached bungalow, and we are planning a rear single-storey extension 6 m x 5 m to create a bathroom (2 x 4) and a new kitchen-diner (4 x 5). Access to extension will be through an existing cloakroom off hallway, which we are hoping to remove, and lintel, to open it up into extension, making it part of the existing hallway.

Originally the extension was going to be a bathroom and sitting room, but on moving in we've discovered the kitchen is in a lot worse condition than we expected and will need replacing/rewiring ASAP anyway!

Also, the current drainage system is shocking and will need to be completely replaced (luckily my Dad is an ex-Anglian Water Engineer and my brother is a current Civil Engineer!), which we want to replace with a new system ready to connect up, before disconnecting the current system. The new system will be completely within our boundary, and will be connected to an existing inspection chamber in the front garden, so no new connection to sewer in the road, fortunately!

The main water supply will need relaying/moving to new kitchen, as will the boiler, as both are in the current kitchen at the front of the house...and I expect that means we will need new plumbing for the heating system too... (both DH and Dad can do plumbing though).

Possibly a full rewire needed, although this was supposedly done in 2016 (very badly if so!), which dh could do (he used to be a domestic/commercial electrician and currently works on the distribution network!) but we're not sure if current regs allow him to do it and get Building Regs sign off?

Still lots of research to do yet I think, before finalising our plans!

We want to keep the existing kitchen until extension is built and then remove it and make it the new sitting room instead. Also hoping extension can be built before knocking through into current house as we will be living here during any work.

Our budget is much smaller than others I've seen mentioned on here, and we are hoping to do as much of the work ourselves as we can to keep costs down.

Our current idea is to clear the site (removing an existing conservatory), complete the groundworks and drainage ourselves, then get a watertight shell built, knock through from cloakroom to new extension, and then complete the interior ourselves. Luckily dh and I are both quite handy and competent DIYers, but we have only ever renovated an existing property, not built or project managed an extension!

I'm really not sure exactly where I should be starting though? How do you get a quote for build costs without drawings of exactly what you want? And conversely, how do you know what to ask for in the drawings until you know how much things cost?! Any advice gratefully received from more experienced extension builders, thank you .

We are coming up to our anniversary of starting our build on Tuesday. 8 more weeks and we move back. It’s been a long time, but apparently it’s like childbirth - you forget the pain, eventually

@DisappointedOfNorfolk welcome aboard! No project too big or too small.

The question you pose is a very valid one. It’s incredibly difficult to form a view on costs without firm plans, and why would you spend money drawing plans without knowing how much it will cost to build them? I don’t think there is a way around this. Either you use a design and build firm, and given all your personal experience and expertise, I can’t imagine why you would want a D&B firm involved; or you use an architect or technician to draw plans, and then get builders to quote. At which point you may find that it’s twice as much as you had planned, and you’re going back to the drawing board to redo the plans.

It’s quite maddening!

@Yellownotblue thank you. Yes, I thought I must be missing something as I know our budget and available skill sets, but have no idea what we can build within those!

I think we will firm up our ideas and get them down as an initial set of drawings (suitable for planning application), then get a set of building drawings done, which specify exactly what materials/methods we want/need and any structural calculations needed, then use these drawings to get a couple of builders/bricklayers/roofers to price them up as a whole job and as each individual trade .

Hoping I can hop on too.

We're starting a 7.2m by 2.3m two storey extension in eight days. It's been a long time in planning since it's nearly three years since our planning went in.

We aren't adding any extra bedrooms, just making the ones we have bigger so that we've got four really large bedrooms and adding an ensuite to the room that leads onto our existing balcony.

Downstairs we're adding a 3x2m utility room and a new cloakroom (the existing one will become a large cupboard for storage as we've got no garage!), plus the existing playroom - a converted garage - will become larger to be a family room with a cosy den area and an extra desk space for me.

I thought our costs were huge (£75k + VAT to plaster finish), but seems a drop in the ocean compared to some here . Have already booked in a carpenter to fit the utility room and some IKEA wardrobes. Just trying to arrange someone to fit the ensuite now.

Originally we were going to do the kitchen at the same time but decided against it for sanity's sake (build won't require us to move out as we can just move into one side of the house and DC will share for a bit), plus means we can save up a bit and do the kitchen we want rather than trying to do it to a budget.

We cleared the area outside where they are going to build (had a shed and brick lean to full of stuff), but very apprehensive about packing up the playroom, DS's room and the study!

Good luck to all other extenders and those waiting on PP.

Can I join? I’m in the very early stages here. Had plans back from the architect and are busily looking over them. Trying to get my head round what the rooms will look like, especially size wise. I’m also trying to have a rough idea in my head re costs so we don’t get carried away and plan something in we can’t afford. Any tips on that?
Good luck everyone!

We have the shell up of a single storey kitchen extension up but we are encountering delays with the sliding doors, window and lantern roof. It was all measured up before Christmas and the original earliest fitting date was today. They have now told us we can have the sliders on Wednesday but no date yet for the lantern and the window. It's very frustrating as the builder can't do anything until all the glass is in and the extension is secure enough to knock the back wall out.