Extension thread 2022 part II...demolition, delays and decisions, decisions, decisions

[Sewfrickinamazeballs]

Hi! New thread!

Ooo this sounds fab. Can you share what ones you got just so I can dream for the next time 😝
Sadly with so many bathrooms , taps were pretty run of the mill and budget friendly. My splurge is the kitchen!

Only the electrician is working today and no-one apart from that until Monday.
I’ve suddenly been handed a new set of urgent questions about where things will go, flooring, TV units etc. Our builder does that - we HAVE to get tiles asap and then when I do, they sit outside for two weeks. My bath and toilet is also sitting outside (covered) as every room is now being plastered and prepared.
Enjoy the move back @Sewfrickinamazeballs

I'm envious of anyone who can leave stuff outside, we're running out of space for deliveries. We're on the outskirts of East London, if I left my tiles outside they'd be gone in 5 minutes
On the plus side, we haven't needed to put any old appliances in the skip, as they also disappear v quickly!

Thank you all for the carpetright experiences. I'll make a trip to look.

@Yellownotblue definitely good ammunition for scrooge husbands! 😂
Sounds great progress and how lovely to have bespoke details.
@GardensandGrandDesigns how far do you think you're off?
@Sewfrickinamazeballs that's great you can rely on neighbours. We have no heating and to be honest it's not been too bad at all. You have to wear socks and sensible clothes and we have an electric heater to take the edge off.

We had shower system and free standing from crosswater, the basin taps are Grohe. We wouldnt leave them outside either. We live in sw London.
We have been away since the weekend and wont be back till early next week but already know that the builder doesnt work on bank holiday.

@Newhome321 I’m sure they’re fab. We’ve ordered some Grohe and Crosswater taps too, along with some from Lusso. I was advised to stick to good, well known brands for durability.

Our big indulgence is the toilets (Toto washlets).

Leaving things outside would really worry me. We had a break in during the demolition (nothing valuable taken, the guy left with a cheap microwave but didn’t take any of the expensive tools) so everyone is a bit nervous. Thankfully we’re also building a garden room, so that went up first and is currently used as storage for all sorts of building materials.

@BlueMooMoo we have at least 4 months to go as we have the garage to convert and remodel inside of the whole house too 🙈 who knows might take less time if we run out of money and have to stop 🤣

We are currently away camping (first time the camping facilities are more palatial than our home ones!!) and thankfully the builders are still working and taking the opportunity with an empty house to knock through to our master suite from the upstairs landing. The roughcasters will be finished today and the first fix of plumbing and electrical has taken place, with the boiler relocated.
kitchen arrives on site next week with install starting the week after. I’ve confirmed our quartz order (Carrara pencil vein) which has a delicate blue grey veining which will hopefully look good with our dove grey and navy cabinets. I bought on a sample as no full size display in the quartz showroom so keeping fingers crossed we love it as much when installed.
Still dithering over tiles and downstairs wc ideas. I’ve fallen in love with a pink round bowl countertop sink that would spark much joy for me but not sure I’m brave enough to do it. Our en suite is quite a spa luxe with marble tiles/black taps and longer wooden wall hung vanity so looking for something quite different.
We’ve found a local glue down flooring specialist, his work looks great but he doesnt have availability until end of July so will have 5/6 weeks without flooring after kitchen goes in. He’s recommended Amtico for a realistic wood effect, we were going plank effect but like some of the herringbone designs on his Instagram so may change my mind again.
Good to hear about carpet right, may pay them a visit, we’ve got 4 bedrooms a hall/stairs and lounge carpet to get.

@JoanDarc The normal plank laid in the herringbone style is utterly beautiful. Which colour are you going for?

Thanks for the concern about leaving tiles and the bath outside - I share it all though actually don’t have much option! Thankfully it is boarded and locked, plus we have X and Y on sentry next door 🤨We’ve now got a couple of rooms plastered as of yesterday so hopefully can store some of it in there soon.

I have pretty much finalised my kitchen design and it’ll be measured up in late June. It really is going quickly now!

@JoanDarc Do it! If it gives joy, it's a must. Life's too short to not have things that you love. Your house is your home for living in!

Couldn't agree more!

Hi there, can anyone recommend a builder for a house renovation project in the Kent area? Thanks in advance

Sorry @Ineedalifeline - wrong area for me. I would recommend getting about 5 builder recommendations as many don’t even choose to quote!

^ Absolutely agree with this - out of six recommendations we only managed to get three quotes.
After we had sent architects plans & structural engineers drawings to all six I could only pin down three to visit. I think some were put off by our project being a relatively small side return.

I'm starting to research kitchen appliances due to talk of the long delivery times. Can anyone who has already done the leg work suggest any good priced single ovens, downdraft extractors, hobs or is AO my best bet? Thanks!

Also builders haven't been here the week we were away ☹️ I know it was only a 3 day week but I was so excited to see higher walls. Very mean spirited of me as I'm sure they have families off during half term too but I'm sick of squatting in our upstairs already! We've got so much still to do, it's only week 7 of about 24 weeks.

@GardensandGrandDesigns I would be casually asking one of the workers - not the boss - how last week’s job went.. If they were shutting the site down for holidays, they would have told you. But is it possible they worked on one of the less visible jobs like insulation or roof? Sometimes when I get our weekly report, I am so surprised at the things going on that I can’t see!

@GardensandGrandDesigns we got a Which? membership which was only about £2.99 for the first month I think, & then about £8 a month if you continue it which I have as I'm terrible at decisions

Very helpful for choosing our ovens, dishwasher, extractor. I have a shortlist & they link you to the current best price, I still need to hit order but the prices have definitely fluctuated (luckily it seems to have balanced out mostly ie oven up by £50, dishwasher down by £50!).

My only complaint was that I thought the range of reviews for integrated fridge freezers was v narrow but it looks much better for freestanding & American type.

I was meant to order over the weekend and seek out Bank Holiday offers but our baby boy decided to make an appearance instead
We are home, doing pretty well although still figuring out sleeping and feeding.

Just waiting on our builders who are coming to screed to kitchen floor today!

Congratulations @AwkwardPaws27 !! What a beautiful Jubilee gift to you - he is gorgeous! You’ve got to take some photos of his crib in a half built space. We moved house when ours was a couple of weeks old and have photos of the baby in the crib on top of moving boxes. This will be a great story in years to come.

Incidentally I know this isn’t the baby forum but whatever works for you regarding feeding/sleeping is the right way. Or maybe I’m just worn out from child rearing!

On kitchen appliances just watch out for lead times before you order and make sure they have it in stock.
We have a boxed recirculating hob in our rental because we found such issues with stock that we decided to buy in advance.

Aww @AwkwardPaws27 such lovely news! Congratulations!! Good luck with the final push of getting your house done! 😁

A weekly report! That sounds amazing @NewHouseNewMe . We have a small family run builders so we don't get anything like that. We don't get told what's happening so it's always a surprise 🙄 The nosy neighbour tends to fill us in! 🤣 They are due to turn up mid morning so I will be straight out there asking questions!

Great advice thanks!

Congratulations @AwkwardPaws27 he looks so cosy and snuggly ❤