Is an extension going to cost more now?

[Dustyboots]

Because of Brexit and/or pandemic?

Will it cost more or take longer?

We’re trying to decide whether to embark on this - or whether to move instead.

The purpose is to mend a crumbling house and add a much needed third bedroom - we have planning permission.

The can only speak from our building works, which we’re done in the late summer. It took longer, builders merchants weren’t open long hours and they had their temperature taken daily so a couple of times they were down a person or two.
It was harder to source specific materials so we had to make some compromises.
Luckily it wasn’t more expensive

Most trades are putting their prices up at the moment due to demand. Get a quote ASAP so you can secure the price. They will only get higher as we approach summer.

We’re in the middle of an extension and are noticing increases and lots of stock issues

Do you mean price increases Hasa?

Are they big increases?

Yes cost of materials and products. It’s mainly due to low stock/difficulties in importing. Wooden floor is an example and certain roofing tiles. Lots of companies also have longer lead times than normal. My kitchen won’t be delivered until mid July despite me ordering a few weeks ago. Cooker can’t be delivered until late April. Labour is also difficult since demand is high (hence our builder is managing everything)

I think Labour is difficult because of Brexit and low paid workers not being allowed in.

It’s not taking much to put me off...

@Dustyboots I personally think you’d be better of moving if you can.

We're nearing the end of our extension build.

The build cost has gone up due to the usual surprises you find while building. We've had no price rises due to materials or supply issues.

Most lead times have been the same as before all this. For example, our kitchen is still just taking 10 days to come.

Our doors took slightly longer as they were having issues with delivering to other projects because home owners were self isolating.

Our builder is very good though and is well planned out.

On the move or extend question. We debated this a lot and even applied for love it or list it.

We viewed lots of houses and really costed up our move as well as costed up and planned our extension.

There were 2 main reasons we decided to extend. First was we didn't see anything we liked more than our current house. We'd be either compromising on location or having an en-suite or near to family. Second in every house we viewed we'd need to do something, either redecorate or a new kitchen etc. We could make our current house perfect without the cost of moving and then the cost of a new kitchen on top.

@AmIBeingTwatty why do you say it would be better to move?

Just to add we’ll have to move out and rent while the work is done as it’s a very tiny house we live in. So length of build really matters as rent is very expensive round here/London.

@Dustyboots issues with labour & brexit are very regional and not affecting so many small builders however material and products are definitely affected both with delays and rises in cost from both CV and Brexit. There are also issues with demand - everybody has been thinking about their homes over the past year which hasn't helped with availability
If you can be a bit flexible that will help with availability and costs
There are also increased costs for architects/engineers and builders with regards to PI insurance due to Grenfell which has had a massive knock on impact across the industry and has upped all our costs significantly.
I think it's been a hard time to predict so being able to think on my feet has been helpful on my own extension - managed to get some reclaimed bricks to match rather than an import we originally matched but were finding more expensive this year and had a long lead time.
I've been advising clients to have a decent contingency for time and budget with the hope that they won't need it but to ensure they don't end up with a big shock.

@HasaDigaEebowai Where did you order the kitchen from if you don't mind me asking?

Ok Thanks @wonkylegs

We are not fussy at all about the way things look. This is about creating a third (albeit tiny) bedroom and mending broken house bits more than anything else.

We’ll choose the easiest things to get hold of and change choices when necessary. Hopefully that will help - should we go ahead with it.

Stock seems to be a bit of an issue, we're getting a new back door and the lead time is longer than normal, same with the windows we had done. In terms of prices I think that's due to demand rather than anything else. You're likely to be looking towards the summer for start dates if you book people in now.

We are around 3/4 of the way through a large extension, started end of October.

So far so good, no issues or increases. 🤞🤞We will be receiving a plastered shell so we will floor and decorate ourselves.

Yes, my parents fairly simple conversion of 3 rooms into two rooms with a new window and bathroom was quoted for about £20k around 14 months ago.

They were a bit slow deciding and then everything was put on hold for the pandemic. They now have new updated quotes which are £40k. Literally double They had 3 quotes all very similar so it seems to be across the board.

The problems I've come across is lack of materials- slate, bricks etc. Seemed worse during the Spring lockdown though.