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

[Sewfrickinamazeballs]

Hi! New thread!

@AwkwardPaws27 woohoo!

@BlueMooMoo thats kind, happy to help!

decorators arrived today and worked hard from what I saw, and they seem ocd about the finish which I’m very happy about!

TO DO:

The hallway; including taking out the old under stairs loo and change the wall into open shelves for shoes and school bags

The original old sash window halfway up the stairs - waiting for the glass

Fireplace: hearth (here but waiting for fireplace repair to be done) last bits of skirting, tile repair question, new base plate, new fireback, reinstall surround - waiting for quote from fire specialist - have quote need to respond - have emailed them to say yes please, cheaper than I was worrying about (£1200 for the whole thing)

painting - more done - 2 decorators here and doing

last electrics (some switches and sockets still to go in) - think they’re all done? New Ethernet cable for DS1’s Xbox upstairs and maybe some other internetty type wiring to finish

repainting the old front door, porch door & side shed doors - decorators to do this week

security lighting & cameras - waiting for alarm company advice

patio to be tiled - tiles here, waiting for tiler availability - tiler is fully booked for a while…

patio glass balustrade put in (not ordered yet)

second coat of paint in the pantry - decorators to do this week

decide on loo roll holder, towel rail, mirror for downstairs loo. Long bare walls atm - maybe lots of artwork as have loads of framed stuff to put somewhere?

extra flooring to match hallway to go under the stairs & the downstairs loo - have ordered sample to confirm

+last bit of bespoke coving to match original

+last bit of bespoke skirting to match original

+replacement new washing machine arriving on Wednesday as other new one was damaged in transit, then install then utility is finished

deep clean post build, need to find a company

whatever else I haven’t thought of yet…

Oh my god did i tell anyone my pm is useless.

Have any of you gone for a tiled floor in the shower area. Im so confused by the different brands on offer for the tray and getting zero assistance from the pm.

We have trays for both of the showers so wont be able to help there.

And I am totally with you with regard to the useless pm. I wouldnt dare to ask mine for such an advice. At the moment I am chasing mine for”what is the plan for next week, who is doing what and when” 😢

@LivingInaBuildingSite which alarm and security company are you going for if you dont mind me asking please. I still havent made up my minds. Was thinking of getting one from amazon and asking the electrician to set it up but not too sure which one to go to either.

We already have an ADT alarm so going with them for cctv stuff, well meant to be anyway, they haven’t got back to me. They were suggesting far too much in my opinion so I wanted to step down a bit.

we have a tiled floor in our main bathroom, have forgotten what tray thing we had underneath now though, not helpful sorry!

Thanks so much @LivingInaBuildingSite , will ask them for a quote.

A bit of situation in our house tonight on the group chat, the builders are blaming each other as whoever put up the plasterboard forgot to take out electric cable for mirror and shaver socket and the wall is now tiled as the tiler just tile over the plastered wall. Not too sure how they resolve it, there need to be 2 holes drilling in already tiled wall. Awgggg! A glass of wine for me!

Is there one electrical output or none at all? If there is one, is it possible to have one of those mirrored cabinets with an integrated power supply inside? I know it’s far from ideal but it might be possible to drop a line down from the ceiling to the top of a cabinet depending on the ceiling height?

If not the only option is to undo the tiling which is messy and expensive for sure.

What a pain though! Hope it gets resolved soon.

There isnt one except for that wall(floor to ceiling tile, the whole room). Will need to speak to the PM tomorrow, likely they have to find a way to cut the tile(on the wall). For the loft, they cut a hole before putting in because the cables were sticking out so the tiler knows.

@Newhome321 they should be able to just pop a tile i think, particularly as it hasn't been laid for ages.

Don't let them convince you its ok - thats the sort of thing that annoys for years after.

@nomoneytreehere , we are having tiled floors in shower areas. The main thing is to make sure the tiles have the right anti slip rating. I think for a wet room you need at least r11 (although I’ve also heard r10 is fine). R9 is too slippery.

www.directtilewarehouse.com/blog/anti-slip-tile-ratings-and-grades-r13-r9-explained/

you also need a tray and drain underneath - do you want me to check what we ordered?

@Yellownotblue oh yes please i would be grateful.

@nomoneytreehere

here you go:
www.europeanheritage.co.uk/products/delta-tray-trent-30mm-linear-offset-end-drain

www.bigbathroomshop.co.uk/milano-600mm-tile-insert-linear-stainless-steel-shower-drain-82010

This week (hoping to):
Finish plastering - due to finish tomorrow
Finish bathrooms - on track
Door discussion about whether to replace or adapt - going to adapt. Can't afford to spend £1k atm for new.
Bespoke door finished and delivered - delayed
Drain outside fixed - done
Floor levelling - delayed unless the flooring guy turns up tomorrow or Friday but doesn't seem likely
Flooring installed - definitely not
Order blinds - can not seem to find a supplier to fit a 170cm sliding door pane. Anyone have any recommendations?

We have all shutters with plantation shutter in sw London. The biggest area is the loft sliding door and its 2.4m width. We are going to have 4 folded. Plantation was recommended by couple of friends but I havent had them fitted yet, it is scheduled in 3-4 weeks @BlueMooMoo

I will also be needing advice on blinds for sliding doors as our fears were confirmed this week. The integrated blinds and fly mesh we ordered was actually only fly mesh because the opening is too wide. I think our sales guy realised after he did the measurements on our plans and just wanted to get the quote out and forgot to discuss with us. Huge £££ blunder and seriously expensive insect screen. Blind advice please!

How annoying, would they compensate for it @GardensandGrandDesigns .

We have shutters for all rooms rather than blinds so no info with regard to blinds.

I havent had the PM getting back to me with regard to the tiling situation, I usually have to chase him multiple times. If there is one reason why I wouldnt have chosen my builders it was because of the useless PM.

Nope not even with the quote saying blinds! He was annoyed with me saying he must have explained!

Your pm sounds very frustrating. How long has your build got left?

I hope for 3 weeks: 1/2 pending decorations, 1/2 carpenters(waiting 1 month for the carpenter), bathroom rest of tiling(waiting for the window fitting rescheduled tomorrow then to carry on with the rest), bathroom fitting. Some plaster skimming, might be 2 days. Floor to go in(herringbone for living room), rest is engineer wood, 2nd fix electric, for level 1 and ground floor etc. Now listing all down, not too sure if these all could be finished in 3 weeks.
I am drafting the panelling plan(living room decoration). Really tired from work today so might just go to bed and think about it tomorrow. The carpenter has plenty things to do.

Sounds a lot for 3 weeks @Newhome321 but best of luck!

@GardensandGrandDesigns what a pain. Is the fixed panel been able to be changed?

May I join in for a little moan? It’s another week of highs and lows at Yellow’s. On the bright side, I’ve finally ordered a kitchen after months of agony. Installation forecast is 14 November which is a bit later than I would have wished, but at least it’s this year.

On the dark side, the cladding is now four weeks behind schedule due to a miscommunication between the cladding contractor and the rest of team. I’m told they will now start next week with a larger team so should go about it quickly.

The bifolds on the garden room have been installed, our new slate roof tiles are all installed on the old part of the house, all the bathroom stuff has been ordered as well as kitchen tiles, and the UFH is nearly complete on the top floors. But I feel like I’m swimming through treacle, with millions of decisions still to make. I’m feeling a bit deflated today. We all have days like that, right?

@Yellownotblue thanks for the tray info.

I am also totally deflated. I feel like PM (who i am paying 15%) has totally dropped the ball and not managed me to make sure all the bathroom kit is on site. The architects plan just didnt work and because of steel and joist position the shower trays are non standard.

Ive barely done any work all week whilst ordering bathroom stuff. Ive still got to find a vanity for my daughter who wants a round countertop on just a drawer. So many decisions to make and i feel totally out of control.

On top of that rangemaster have lost my range oven. They have told john lewis they delivered it a month ago. Im still waiting for a call back....

On a positive note, i have ordered our vanity from harvey george.

Thank you @nomoneytreehere . I have found the process of sourcing vanities one of the most frustrating. I’ve resorted to designing my own out of IKEA kitchen cabinets, and will have custom fronts made for them. It’s making me a bit nervous though. I hope they don’t look too wonky.

My current challenge is with designing the utility room. It’s a very small room, and will also house the boiler and hot water cylinder. It’s a real headache to find cabinets that fit. I feel like I’ve tried every possible configuration and all of them are awkward.

Sadly not but we've convinced ourselves it opening from the kitchen direction might actually be better. Just the fly screen that if I think about it I feel sick!

@Yellownotblue post a plan if you like with what you need to fit in. I feel like i have designed every possible configuration of a utility!!! Its doors in my house that mess everything up.

Vanities are just so expensive and mostly look rubbish. Its like the mainstream brands havent moved on from the duravit look of 15 years ago and the designer stuff is loopy money. I didnt think of using ikea cabinets though. I won't be able to use ikea for my daughter though - shes 14 and at peak ikea environmental hatred 😳.