An extension will take six months??? Give me strength 🤣

[Missboo1]

Hi all

We're having an extension completed this year. This includes a three metre rear extension and adding a bedroom on top - this won't extend beyond the rear of the house but instead will be over our existing utility.
It isn't a full width extension either, just half width of the house.

Also hoping to convert our garage into a split office/bathroom, and putting a wall back up in our living room, so our existing dining room becomes part of the new extended space as a "snug"
My husband has spoken to his dad,who has said he believes the work is going to take six months 😞
We are hoping to start the build early July (when planning is confirmed) and had originally hoped it would take 3months.

Because...big issue is I'm pregnant and due in October 🙈

Has anyone had a rear extension and small second storey extension like this and can give me any advice about how long it truly took?

Anyone ever had an extension like this with kids in the house?
We could move in with my parents but I think six months might break is 😂

Any advice?

We've just done 2 storeys to the side and single across the back. Started October half term (so last week of Oct) and finished at Easter. We lived there until the last 8 wks.

This does not include decorating, kitchen or bathroom installation, or landscaping.

And yes, 3 kids here including a toddler.

Our was meant to take 6 months but we're looking at 18 months now due to Covid and builders being terrible! That's extreme but I think you always have to assume that it'll take longer than anyone tells you up front.

Wow I didn't expect such a response - thank you all.
I know perhaps I was being slightly optimistic, just feeling so overwhelmed at the prospect of a newborn and a toddler on a potential building site.

We've got family helping with a few bits - foundations and the roof/window installation.

In answer to a few - yes we have got builders lined up, and planning application went in beginning of April but is progressing at a good rate luckily. So we've allowed 12 weeks for it.

In the meantime my husband is hoping to get cracking with knocking down the utility and breaking out the existing patio to begin footings.

In people's experience which is the "worst bit" - for dirt and dust. We have got somewhere we can move to but interested to get an idea of how long I could cope living in the house during the build.

We did a double height full width extension (well, full width on bottom, half on top) and it took four months. What helped was getting a recommendation of the builder from friends (who were in your position, with a baby on the way, and got in on time) and building in a cost into the contract where if it went over the builder was responsible for our accommodation costs. No idea how common this is.

We had designed a fairly simple extension though to minimise costs - so it was easy to build. No idea what made it so, but that was according to our architect. I think there are ways to speed it up, it depends if you want/need lots of fancy extras.

I will say we purposefully timed ours for the end of my mat leave because I couldn't handle the idea of living with family/in-laws with a new baby and I have no regrets on that.

Honestly OP, don't plan on living in it at all. It won't be safe, and any adjustments they make to try and make you able to live in it will mean it takes longer. There was no point in our build I would have been happy to have a toddler in the house.

ours was just short of 6 months, and went as per the builder's plan. ground and first, side and rear. but it's not really about the size of the extension, it's more about all the different processes and trades that have to go through.

Were about to embark on something similar and I am estimating 6 months.

Is your extension within 3m of any of your neighbours... if so have you got party wall notices ready to go? As you can’t start till 2 months after the party wall notice...

Worst bits for dirt and dust IME are

• any time they are knocking through walls
• any time they are cutting wood, tiles, paving etc on site
• plastering and sanding woodwork ready for painting

Unfortunately that’s kind of the beginning, middle and end of the project...

It was 20 years ago, but we managed to get a large house built from foundations to moving in in eight months. Very stressful though.

Depends on design. Dh designed ours so that no knocking through was needed until the final 8 wks or so. So apart from noise and people around we weren't effected really. We couldn't access the garden easily but it was winter anyway.

Then we moved out over a weekend and Monday they started knocking through walls. We had full and normal functionality in the house until then.

At that point I wouldn't have lived in it, floors were up, walls were out etc.

It took us 3 months just to get the fixed price quote. Even when we've gone out for individual bits and pieces its taken us 1-2 months to get a quote from most trades people. You can't get a proper quote until you have confirmed structural drawings which you won't get til after planning. Does your planning timeline include building warrant (or does it work differently down south).

We were told 24 weeks (its a big extension 60 sqm but a great big rectangle).

Our start date was delayed by 6 weeks before it even started cos of weather (a foot of snow) then once we got the pads in it was another 6 weeks for the steel stilts because they couldn't be ordered until foundations were in (each pad is a different height). We are finally go go go this week but we'll be lucky if we're finished finished before September.

I am expecting our 3rd baby in July and we have a 2 year old and 3 year old. We have no choice to live on site for the majority but will go to my mums for a week here or there when the dust is going to be mega.

DH is doing the bulk of the alterations to the existing house. Contractor doing extension. Slaps are just being finished. 1 x 2.4m wide hole and another 1x 1.5m wide hole. They have done this without touching the timber frame or plasterboard (and then board it up to stop water getting to timber frame). And thats moving great chunks of stonework (old Mill). Result = barely any dust and a liveable house.

Our dustiest bit so far was when husband was removing internal stone walls. Kids and I moved out. I bought dust guards from screwfix before we went to stop the dust travelling everywhere (think of a tent door that you tape up). Brilliant brilliant things!

We've put a lot of time and effort into planning what can and can't be done at various points to keep it livable. But because we've separated the existing house and extension that hasn't added time or expense. We should be finished the existing house before baby arrives and will use the utility as a make shift kitchen.

Downside is we'll have to go out the front door and into the back door to get to the kitchen from the rest of the house until the screed is down in the extension.