Off the peg fittings for a cheaper extension?

[Fliebel]

Morning Wise MNers. I'm in the very early stages of planning a kitchen extension and after getting rather burnt in a previous house I'm looking to be a bit more sensible in this one and get the majority of the fittings off the peg to keep the costs down. Its a bog standard, not very old house so I have the benefit that everything is very standard sized unlike my previous Victorian cottage that needed super narrow, non standard doors, sigh Can anyone recommend any suppliers they've used? I'm particularly interested in roof lights, folding sliding doors and kitchens, but I'm looking for everything really, so will take any tips! In fact, come to think of it, any tips from your build at all that kept the cost from snowballing would be gratefully received! TIA!

We have used these for all the kitchen baskets:
www.kitchenfittingsonline.co.uk/

We got our kitchen doors here:
kitchenandbedroomdoors.co.uk/wardrobe_door_finishes.asp

The kitchen cupboards themselves were standard B&Q carcases.

Taps I always but from ebay shops (there are loads)

Windows and doors for our extension were another ebay shop if I remember correctly

Kitchen cupboard hinges were screwfix

That's all I can remember I'm afraid!

Main cost saving was that we only had the builder to do the brick, block, sub floor and roof work. DH did all the other work: digging out for the footings (because of access problems this had to be done by hand), fitting windows & doors, dry walling, electrical work (DH was an electrician), decorating.

I drew up the plans and project managed. The extension was within our permitted development rights so plans didnt need to be hugely complicated. So the main piece of officialdom was Building Control.

Every cost was researched extensively. Didnt mean we stinted just didnt waste money. We ended up with a 5m by 4m extension plus new kitchen for around £20k. At some point we will get walls and ceiling skimmed but DH did a very good job in dry walling so that isnt necessary yet.

Have you missed out a digit from that number, @GnomedePlume? If not, that's very impressive indeed!

Thanks so much for this @GnomeDePlume, that's super helpful. I'm astounded you managed to do all that for £20k- that's amazing!

We used the same door company as a pp for wardrobes (Ikea PAX hacked by joiner to look fitted). Have previously used DIY Kitchens and Units Online for kitchens, recommend both.

My H is DIY handy so did the decorating but can't get close to @GnomeDePlume. That's phenomenal.

@HouseyHouse21 no digits missing. It may have been £22k rather than £20k but that's it.

It is amazing how much you can spend having something done by someone else! The plans side of things - honestly, I 'drew' them on excel! How much would I have spent on an architect simply to design a box with a slopey roof? I have a tape measure and I'm not afraid to use it!

The builder was someone DH had worked with when DH was a practicing electrician. Not 'mates rates' but we had kept the job simple and we live a few streets away from the builder. He fitted us in round other jobs. Every day after the builders had finished DH would restack bricks, sweep up, dispose of any rubbish. Meant that the next time they were there they could crack straight on.

The electrical work was straightforward for DH. He was no longer Part P but was still classed as a 'competent person' by Building Control so we just had to pay £100 or so for Part P sign off.

DH taught himself to fix plasterboard for walls and ceiling by watching Youtube videos.

The extension is now our sitting room so no plumbing required. We increased the size of the kitchen into what had originally been a half-hearted dining room.

Research, research, research. We kept within our permitted development rights to avoid the expense and delay of planning permission. Taps are ridiculously expensive from B&Q when the self same tap is available from an ebay shop for a fraction of the price. That's just a small example.

@GnomeDePlume this is so inspiring! Thank you so much for this! I've always wondered if there was more we could do ourselves, but I've always found it a bit intimidating TBH. I wish there was a course you could do that would teach you the more manageable bits, but maybe its just a case of lots of Youtube and lots of patience!

Online research is such a boon. There is so much information available online. the more you plan and research yourself the less chance that you will come away wondering if you have been hoodwinked. you will also find that you can do so much more than you thought.

Our house is 15 years old. One of the problems we had to deal with was rainwater drainage at the back of the house. It didnt go into the rainwater sewer it went into a soakaway (basically a huge plastic crate filled with stones sunk into the ground). The soakaway has to be so many metres back from the back of the house and so many metres down.

As with the footings this was going to have to be dug by hand. DH started digging and came across a huge pipe which hadnt been marked on any plans (it's worth having a look at the developer's plans when original planning permission was granted). It wasnt going to be possible to put a soakaway in the garden. The solution was to take the rainwater through a pipe in the garage to the rainwater sewer in the front. Building Control werent thrilled but equally couldnt come up with an objection!

Good luck!

@GnomeDePlume That's a great idea to look at the developers plans, thank you. I've got a horrible feeling our build we'll throw up things like that as well (there's a drain cover that I'm sure we'll want to move)