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Original poster

Pregnant - am I mad do a kitchen extension?

24 replies

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/12/2021 09:39

We've been wanting to do a side return kitchen extension since we bought our house 5 years ago, but only now have the funds.
We've got planning permission, & just received full plans from the architect (including calculations for steels etc) on Friday.

I'm also now 14 weeks pregnant (3 previous MCs so we didn't really expect this one to stick, but he or she is due end of May/early June).

We're contacting builders for quotes now, but I'm not sure when to say we want to have the work done. I've heard waiting times are longer than usual - would April be totally unrealistic?

Or do we ask for say, a September start, so hopefully we are in a bit of a routine /have some clue what we are doing with a newborn?

I'm loathe to push it to 2023 as we're paying interest on extra borrowing and not seeing the benefit. Plus current kitchen is slowly falling apart...

OP posts:

popcorndiva · 05/12/2021 10:07

Doubt you would find a good builder now for an April start. We got quotes in September, and that was for am earliest Aug/Sept start.

MrsFin · 05/12/2021 10:18

I think it'll be a case of when the builders you like can do it rather than when do you want it done.

Original poster

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/12/2021 10:27

@MrsFin

I think it'll be a case of when the builders you like can do it rather than when do you want it done.

I fully appreciate that - my question is more, of they say end of June do I ask if it's possible to start later so I'm not 2-4 weeks postpartum?

Or is it madness to even consider with a baby?

OP posts:

Original poster

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/12/2021 10:33

@popcorndiva

Doubt you would find a good builder now for an April start. We got quotes in September, and that was for am earliest Aug/Sept start.

Bloody hell, a year? Please say you aren't in East London/Essex!?

It's not a huge wraparound, it's an infill of about 7m². I wonder if that would make any difference...

OP posts:

popcorndiva · 05/12/2021 10:50

No we are midlands.

I have a friend in Herts who is starting in Spring but she booked hers in June this year

Roselilly36 · 05/12/2021 10:57

Huge delays trying to get anything done at the moment, delays on materials availability, prices have also been subject to big increase. If you can wait, I would, it is always stressful having this kind of work done. I doubt you will find a reputable builder to start in April tbh. Many congrats & good luck with your pregnancy

Original poster

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/12/2021 11:27

@Roselilly36

Is it likely to get better or is this just reality now?

I'm worried if we pay back the extra borrowing we won't be able to borrow it again with a dependent, nursery costs etc.

OP posts:

popcorndiva · 05/12/2021 11:29

There is still a massive backlog, costs are rising so quotes are only valid for 6 months etc

Lots of delays and you will need a decent leeway with your budget. If I was you I would wait till 2023,continue to pay off your loan but don't spend it

whyohwhyohwhyohwhywhy · 05/12/2021 12:22

Id just get on with it tbh. Anything is possible you just need to want to do it

Original poster

AwkwardPaws27 · 05/12/2021 12:22

Is it likely that prices will actually go down though?
Our architect seemed to think that's just what the costs will be now.

I've been holding off doing some other rooms, the hallway especially, as I didn't want them to get wrecked during the extension. No point doing much to the garden, as they'll dig it up doing foundations etc. Can't get rid of the cracked shitty concrete in the front garden as we'll need a skip there so better wait til afterwards...

I'm so tired of living in a dump. Just having a moan!

OP posts:

Usuallyhappycamper · 05/12/2021 14:29

As you have no older children, I would day go for it when the builders are ready. Your child won't need food for the first 6 months, so it's less disruption than with an older child. Also, worth getting done before they are mobile and want to "help". If it is too noisy to nap do you have a relative or friend you can decamp to for day times?

witsendeverytime · 06/12/2021 09:50

I'm renovating at the moment, and I'd say it depends if the extension work can be blocked off from the rest of the house. Baby or not, my guys are lovely but I can't stand having them in the house six days a week (they are so busy there's usually someone here Saturday). Even if on another floor they are there...
You will be on maternity leave and home most of the time. If the extension is behind a door then ok, if it involves half the house then wait, or go live/spend your days at another house (parents)? But building work is never fun if you are living there, so I'd just get it done. It will be harder when your baby is mobile and needs alot more entertainment. I'd also keep the baby home to nap - mine always managed to sleep through anything as I made no noise concessions!

roses2 · 06/12/2021 10:21

Pre covid building costs went up 10% year on year. We delayed our extension by 3 years and the price went up £15k. I'd get it done now to lock in the price. I had my baby 2 weeks into the extension and we stayed living in the house. Boiler was in the loft so we had heating and hot water. We just setup a mini cooker, microwave etc in one of the bedrooms so we could cook.

I have no regrets at all starting the work whilst I was about to drop.

Original poster

AwkwardPaws27 · 06/12/2021 10:57

I'm renovating at the moment, and I'd say it depends if the extension work can be blocked off from the rest of the house

The main part (side return extension, new kitchen) can be. There's side access and a downstairs loo too so most stuff can come round the side & they won't need to use our upstairs one.

However we are also having a layout re-jig (you currently walk through the dining room to get to the kitchen; we're extending the kitchen to have a kitchen-diner, and will be creating a wider hallway, opening up the current stairs which have a wall on both sides.

The current dining space will become a home office for DH as he's WFH full-time and this is highly likely to continue - although it could still be a formal dining space or playroom in future of needed).

This part will invade the hallway & I'm considering decamping to the in-laws or an airb&b until it's done to a plaster finish.

Pregnant - am I mad do a kitchen extension?

OP posts:

WhatAWasteOfOranges · 06/12/2021 11:20

I would say get a few quotes and try and see when the builder you like best is available and book it in. No point having everything on hold… stuff isn’t going to get cheaper.
Whatever stage you are with pregnancy/ newborn etc you’ll make it work. Easier to do it with a baby than a mobile toddler and in spring when you can be outside the house a lot if you want to be

nomoneytreehere · 06/12/2021 13:49

I'm south west and we are planning a large extension. My experience has been that more builders actually have capacity and availability as people are dropping out of their slots due to the price increases. In my area it was always an 18 month wait for the known names but they have all been quoting for a spring start for me.

Your architect should be able to put you in contact with some decent builders that they have worked with before.

I would get on with it. Once you start weaning in earnest you will want a kitchen.

RichmondMumof2 · 06/12/2021 14:13

Hi @AwkwardPaws27

All the best for the pregnancy.

Your existing floorplan is very similar to my house layout. We too are doing the side return thing. I've attached our proposed plan for comparison. Ultimately I've put the working rooms (loo and utility) in the dark bits of the house and with kids (6 & 3) want a kitchen, diner and living room.

We're at a similar stage (plans approved, about to go to tender) and I'm also thinking of pausing (will see what the quotes come in at and hope to only go if we feel we could manage).

Actually baby age is a good time to do renovation as long as you keep your head happy about it. You can be out and about during the day.

SauvignonGrower · 06/12/2021 14:13

I'd get on with it. New borns don't crawl around and it is so much worse doing building works with a toddler.

(I'd also re-think the ground floor office. You'll drive each other crazy trying to work and deal with screaming kids on the same floor.)

hotmeatymilk · 06/12/2021 14:17

Or do we ask for say, a September start, so hopefully we are in a bit of a routine /have some clue what we are doing with a newborn?
This made me smile: you won’t necessarily be in a routine by then, or have a clue. But! Newborns are easy and not having a routine will be a bit easier: noisy building work? Baby in sling, out for a walk. It’s when they’re crawling and sticking things in their mouths and need solid food or are determined to cot nap at set times after early months of resisting that very thing that it becomes harder.

I’d plan around the availability of materials, money and trades, and let the chips fall where they may in terms of the baby. Maybe it’ll be a newborn, maybe six months, who knows. You’ll manage.

Original poster

AwkwardPaws27 · 06/12/2021 14:22

@SauvignonGrower

I'd get on with it. New borns don't crawl around and it is so much worse doing building works with a toddler.

(I'd also re-think the ground floor office. You'll drive each other crazy trying to work and deal with screaming kids on the same floor.)

It's being soundproofed as he'll also be using it to record music (his passion) as well as for work. I'll work in the spare room after mat leave, so we'll still have a guest bed & I won't have to share a workspace with DH all the time, baby will have the 3rd single bedroom (which is closer to us) once they move out of our room & we've got the other double. Unfortunately there isn't another bedroom for DH to have, & if he was upstairs he'd be practicing cello or guitar next to the baby's room, so downstairs makes more sense for us.

OP posts:

Mger2 · 10/12/2021 15:27

Can I ask what sort of quotes you've had? We have similar plans for a side return extension. We've got planning permission but not yet the full building regs/structural drawing. Most builders insist they can only give a very ballpark figure until they have all the drawings but average estimate seems to be around £140k.

NatMoz · 11/12/2021 07:54

I'm 40 weeks pregnant on Monday and we have almost finished our extension. We've got a bit of snagging to go and flooring has been delayed but it's perfectly livable now. We were quite desperate to get as much done as possible before baby was born and started the process in January/February before I knew I was pregnant with planning etc

EdGamblesDimples · 11/12/2021 10:18

Do it ASAP! Speaking from experience it's so much easier to do with a baby/non mobile toddler!!

surreygirl1987 · 11/12/2021 21:38

Okay so the problem is that you don't know what your baby/newborn life will be like. With my first baby, he was the most difficult little thing in the world and literally stopped napping at 8 days old - I would have never in a million years have been able to handle an extension while he was a baby. I could not put him down without him screaming his head off and if my some miracle I managed to get him to sleep the tiniest noise woke him. I would have much rather have dealt with an extension when he was a toddler when he was a lot easier! Conversely, my second baby was an absolute dream and would nap anywhere and everywhere, no matter what noise, and was the most flexible child in the world. When he started crawling/walking he got more difficult. With him, building work would have been easy when he was a baby but not as a toddler! What I'm saying is, people's experiences that they are sharing are just that - their experiences- and may be entirely different to yours. I'd just book for when you can get them / when you want it (so asap) and do the best you can with it - you don't know what you're planning for yet! Best of luck!

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