Extension Thread 2022....plaster, panic and pics

[Callmejudith]

Slightly naff title but I haven't had enough coffee yet

@GardensandGrandDesigns if you have to go down more than 2.2m check yourself builders insurance is valid. Mine is only covered to a depth of 2.2m (my bedtime reading last night!!).

@PoshWatchShitShoes would you mind sending me your quartz recommendation. Thank you.

Eek. Builders current job is overrunning due to the storms. Now looking to start early April rather than late March. Should take 8-10 weeks (and then we need to get the kitchen fitted).

Baby due 2nd June.

Am I nuts?

@AwkwardPaws27

Eek. Builders current job is overrunning due to the storms. Now looking to start early April rather than late March. Should take 8-10 weeks (and then we need to get the kitchen fitted).

Baby due 2nd June.

Am I nuts?

What are you getting done? I've done building work heavily pregnant (and snagging immediately post birth), and this current build has had 3 different start dates (just pregnant, new born, and now 6m+). If you have the support of a partner then I would still go ahead. Babies are so much more flexible and portable in the newborn stages.

It a relatively small side return infill (about 7m²) to extend the kitchen (plus replacement of said kitchen & the downstairs bathroom).
We're also having some internal remodelling; moving boiler, chimney breast removal, replacing a lath & plaster ceiling, new stair bannisters... dusty dusty work!

@AwkwardPaws27

It a relatively small side return infill (about 7m²) to extend the kitchen (plus replacement of said kitchen & the downstairs bathroom). We're also having some internal remodelling; moving boiler, chimney breast removal, replacing a lath & plaster ceiling, new stair bannisters... dusty dusty work!

Sounds like it should be reasonable (it doesn't seem to affect your upstairs bedroom which would be the main place with a newborn). I did similar - internal remodelling, replacement kitchen, new utility, structural wall repair, fireplace removal although I can't speak to lath and plaster ceilings. Maybe factor in a few nights at a b&b or a travelodge if it gets desperate and buy one of those zip up door protectors for your upstairs bedrooms. Sounds exciting! And means you'll get to enjoy it and make the most of it with a new baby

For those just starting off, we are 1 year in today of 2 extensions and a full renovation including landscaping. We are getting there and hopefully will be finished by Easter. It's been really hard, very expensive and stressful but we are delighted with the results. The pictures are of our original kitchen and now.

@MissFritton65 looking amazing!

We’re so far into this build I don’t even know anymore 🤷‍♀️

We did what we called Phase 1, which was a loft extension, changed the roofline, new bathrooms and stairs. That was 2017/18 I think.

We planned a break, then planning got complicated, appealed, then covid, blah blah.

Rear extension demo and replacement with a bigger extension, plus a side extension. Started April 2021, still going….

I love your after pictures but am I the only 1 scared of being made bankrupt!

@LivinginaBuildingSite it's a nightmare; we had weeks and weeks without heating through the winter, the majority of my clothes are in the loft, we've both worked from home throughout but it's been so worth it despite the council making things difficult. We've never done anything on this scale before and were definitely naive going into the process. The house is 80% bigger and there isn't a room that hasn't been touched so we've had no where to escape to however there are just the 2 of us and we downsized to here!?!

@GardensandGrandDesigns unfortunately financially it has cost considerably more than we thought and we haven't gone high end on finishes. The kitchen is fantastic and from DIY plus my husband is brilliant at sourcing things but the costs are spiralling.

[quote MissFritton65]@GardensandGrandDesigns unfortunately financially it has cost considerably more than we thought and we haven't gone high end on finishes. The kitchen is fantastic and from DIY plus my husband is brilliant at sourcing things but the costs are spiralling.[/quote]
This is our forever home so we seem to be going high end on everything 🙈 The husband is a nightmare with scope creep too. My 100k idea of budget is definitely going over 200k and we haven't started digging yet.

This is our last home as we are late fifties and we are now at over £300k with mid range finishes despite our architect saying £150 would do the build!!

The costs are eye watering. Our quote before planning 3/4 months ago started of at £225 before vat and is now sitting at £305 plus vat. It's horrific. We haven't added to the spec. My husband keeps saying we should project manage it ourselves but I'm not so confident.

Allow me to (sheepishly) join in.

I started the 2021 thread 😳. Then delays piled up with planning permission, Covid, architect etc. To make a long story short, we only started three weeks ago after 18 months of planning.

We’re doing a wrap around on a Victorian terrace, together with two storey side extension where the garage used to be, and gym/garden room in the garden. I will come out feet first 😁

However, in the last 3 weeks since we started, the house has been completely gutted, garage demolished and today we poured the new foundations. It’s wonderful to finally see progress. And pretty scary to see how shoddily built our house was. I certainly understand the weird draughts and creaking a lot better now.

Good luck to everyone doing their projects as well.

And yes, costs are horrendous but our project manager is a gem and is constantly suggesting ways to bring costs down. We’ve saved £££ on glazing, structure, specs etc by choosing different suppliers, joiners and so on.

@Yellownotblue ours have been great too but once you start everything else looks terrible so the costs spiral as you bring everything up to the new level; beware!

@missfritton I saw you went with diyk. I'm finalising my design - do I need to do anything before clicking check out? Do you think it's worth ringing their support line to double check my plan?

@BlueMooMoo it's worth giving customer service a ring and they'll check it. They are really helpful.

I went window shopping today and looked at the origin windows and reaunard something or other. I always thought Bifolds cost the most but it has apparently swung round now and sliders cost more (unless you go upvc which we will not). Anyhow man at origin gave me some good advice as our openings are around 4.5 m. Basically it is about £2.5k per span cheaper to stick with 3.8m openings (around £5k). He talked me out of the super slim profile.....

Would love to hear others thoughts as I started this process wanting fancy IQ windows but our budget has been decimated by random cost rises.

@nomoneytree

I went window shopping today and looked at the origin windows and reaunard something or other. I always thought Bifolds cost the most but it has apparently swung round now and sliders cost more (unless you go upvc which we will not). Anyhow man at origin gave me some good advice as our openings are around 4.5 m. Basically it is about £2.5k per span cheaper to stick with 3.8m openings (around £5k). He talked me out of the super slim profile.....

Would love to hear others thoughts as I started this process wanting fancy IQ windows but our budget has been decimated by random cost rises.

I've always wanted sliders even from when we started our plans 5years ago so sods law they are no more expensive! We have a 3.5m opening and are due to go to the supplier - Corvision and Smartsvisioglide next week to have a look. We have an allowance of 22k for our glazing (includes windows) so there will have to be trade offs for us.

I honestly don't think some of the superslim profiles are worth doubling the cost even though they do look beautiful. Could you get a fixed pane and then have the sliders to keep your original 4.5m opening?

We've recently been researching our glazing and going around showrooms. My advice would be go and check out a few different brands of sliders as the quality differs and you can only test that in person! In my opinion origin are not the best for sliders. Sunflex were higher quality all round. There are so many options for sliders and how they open too and how much. I think 6m sunflex sliders are 11k.

Our preferred showroom sales guy said origin are great for Windows though.

Also getting anxious about costs. For those who have experienced spiraling costs etc, have you had your houses revalued after and did the value go up enough to cover the costs? I worry about negative equity!

Good tips here on doors. We are going for bifold and haven’t even started looking at different ones.

We recently installed aluminium Air600 lift and slide doors. There are 3 panes across about 4.5m, really easy to move with 2 fingers. The frames are not particularly small but you don't really notice them as your eye is drawn to the view outside. I chose them as they have a little rubber cover over the bottom slider rails so you don't get a build up of cat hair and leaves in the channel!
Apparently bi folds are very 2000s now 🙂

www.discoverair.co.uk/aluminium-lift-and-slide-doors

I don't think I made a proper hyperlink above but that's where you will find the details