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

[Sewfrickinamazeballs]

Hi! New thread!

Its been a really bad day. I was stressed out anyhow as the money is flying out of my account faster than I can get it in.

Plumbers have put 2 sinks in the wrong place. Its the project managers fault but he has a god complex and won't accept responsibility for anything.

Tiler came today. I'm pretty certain he was saying that laying cost is £150psm. Our extension is pretty big (130sqm) and I think the trades come and think we are rich and try it on.

Yesterday I caught the roofer nicking the old lead off our roof 😬.

I totally lost the plot at our project manager earlier who just forwarded on a revised electrics quote which has gone from £8k to £18k with no comment whatsover. I have got no faith whatsoever that he has any grip on the numbers and think he is just in bed with all the different trades. There have been a few times he has been late getting quotes to me and then there has been no time to go out to others even when I've felt uncomfortable. On top of that ive been asking for a proper update on costs and timeline for weeks and he just sends me wordy letters - with no numbers!!

We have a meeting in the morning but at the moment i just feel like sacking them all. Apart from the site manager. Hes great. But also in bed with the PM.

My husband is meeting tonight with a builder friend to see what he thinks. He wont work for us though as doesnt want to spoil friendship. Im interested in what he thinks the big items should cost though.

@CameliaLeaf indeed, us too, we could just have the wardrobe, not even sofa. I will have to save for the sofa in the next few months.

I had great Monday and Tuesday, the house was busy with builders as planned but today was a nightmare. I had just gone for a walk to destress. The windows and doors fitters didnt turn up, didnt even give us the next date yet and it took 4 weeks for this appointment. The carpenter made few damaged to the led light cornice by accident and 1 of the door was hang about 2cm too short.

And indeed the cost, we have had 50% increase to what we budgeted. It was partially my fault when I chose the nicer finish(doesnt mean that it would look nice in the end).

I've seen it with a friend who are loaded and her builders and trades took advantage because they knew they could afford it. The architect and builders sided with each other as at the end of the day, they get repeat business from each other and not the client. So sorry you've got this added stress. What I will say is, their house is stunning and they still would do it all over again because they are so pleased with their beautiful home. Hang in there, you are so close to the end!

Honestly it is totally that. One of the builders actually said to my husband that we might have to sell the house we are living in whilst the work is carried out. It was my parents house and isn't actually mine to sell but makes you realise they are just after your money.

Did you have a contract with your builder? They should have sticked with the quote. My contract although didnt have plaster and decoration and the real quote was very different from the estimated quote the company gave me so lesson learned next time if there is one is having an all inclusive quote.

The newly laid herringbone dark floor has a deep scratch today. Will clean and reprotect it properly tonight so no excuse needs to be made tomorrow.

@nomoneytreehere that sounds dreadful. I wonder if your builder friend who you saw was able to give much help with a ballpark figure. I don't know whether you can delay some of these payments to hold back until the end of the build or nearer the end so you have some negotiating power.
I do think it may be worth holding up the build to have a serious discussion with builder/pm/architect/etc. And lay all the cards on the table. That 1 week whilst frustrating could potentially save money or at least provide clarity to the budget; or refuse to pay any invoices until you and the pm can confirm costs both expected and variable.

That sounds a shocker @nomoneytreehere . Can you create a template for costs and drawdown to date, e.g. £8k total, paid £6k to date, £2k left so there can be no ambiguity in costs?
We’ve only had one such case where we thought the builder was doing 2nd fix plumbing and he said it was excluded. We checked his contract and he was right.

Can you sack your PM? He is so not doing what a PM is meant to do! How often is he there?

Yikes @nomoneytreehere sounds like you need a whole new team if they're taking advantage like that.

Progress has been frustratingly slow here - quite sad that the DCs entire summer hols will have been spent covered in dust, with no garden / paddling pool etc. They're fed up and can't wait to have friends over again.

Our kitchen is in, apart from the units that I somehow managed to leave off the order (miscommunication with DIY-Kitchens, but ultimately my fault). In their defense, everyone I've spoken to has been incredibly nice and helpful but in hindsight I might have gone with a slightly more expensive option if it meant that it was someone else's responsibility to make sure I had enough pelmets, end panels etc. Quartz has been templated so should be installed in about 10 days.

I now have only a couple bits to buy before my bank account runs dry, but also a few things to return / sell. I normally pride myself on attention to detail but the sheer volume of things I've had to source has defeated me!

Just dipping in to ask has anyone got a breakfast cupboard from a standard kitchen company? You know the ones which have base units, works urface and then a shallow set of cupboards set directly onto the worktop? Like a dresser? DIY kitchens do the units but only with a drawer and I'm going mad trying to figure out if it's hackable via IKEA or anywhere, but I can't figure out how.

Hi everyone, the concrete floors are all dug up, so relieved that is behind us now! Great progress this week and DH tells me the upstairs looks big, light and amazing. Start of upstairs ufh went down today and the gas pipe was being moved so the internal doorway to the extension can be knocked through. I can't wait to see that as I'll get the full sightline from entrance hall all the way through to the view of the back garden 😁

Next milestone will be screed downstairs but need ufh laid down there first. Once we have screed we can put the stairs in. First fix electrics next week I hope too. Roof lights should be in too. It really feels like we are getting somewhere now and I went to the house at half 4 to get some photos and the builders were still there! Shocker for a Friday.

2 more weeks until the kitchen arrives and 2 weeks left of the bloody premier Inn. So much door slamming last night ☹️

I haven’t got one of those breakfast cupboards but did look at them online before I went with the full pantry option, they look good.

teeny bit fed up after being away for a week, left a long list and some has been done but some has been done poorly which is aggravating. It’s like they can cope with the big building stuff but the quality finish is beyond them.
the sealant guy out bright white sealant - I prefer clear and want it redone. And sealed along the worktop where the previous efforts at painting had left gaps, now you can see the gaps peeking out from the sealant. So that needs redoing too. Sigh.

pantry is completed at least.

TO DO:

The hallway; change the wall into open shelves for shoes and school bags and sort flooring and hooks

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) - need to pay a deposit - have paid deposit, waiting for a date

painting - done apart from plaster sections

last electrics - New Ethernet cable for DS1’s Xbox upstairs and maybe some other internetty type wiring to finish - think they may have done this?

repainting the old front door, porch door & side shed doors - decorators to do this week - first coat done, I’m not at all convinced about having a white front door but wanted to match the side extensions garage type doors. Will try and get used to it otherwise will have to get them back to do it again but actually pick a colour….! - white porch doors complete and I think I like them. Have decided I’d prefer the old front door stripped and oiled so it’s a natural wood again.

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 - done ✅ and most things put back in

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 - sample didn’t match, have to take and send some photos

+last bit of bespoke coving to match original - ordered due this week

+last bit of bespoke skirting to match original - done ✅

+replacement new washing machine arriving on Wednesday as other new one was damaged in transit - installed ✅

Fix sealant in main bathroom and loft bathroom (sort of snagging from loft build and damage caused by this build) - think it’s done, need to go and inspect, haven’t been in there yet

deep clean post build, need to find a company

whatever else I haven’t thought of yet…

@tentative3 , we got our breakfast cupboard from Schuller. I was also given options by other German kitchen brands, eg Nolte, Ballerina. Ours has a full height door, behind which is a worktop (for toaster and kettle), drawers below and recessed shelves above for microwave and breakfast stuff.

@HouseyHouse21 it's also about striking the balance between what is the highest value to return/complain and what needs to be let go. We have a few things we are now trying to sell (if anyone is looking for a brand new aqualisa shower, please dm me!) But finding the time to list them is another matter all together.

We ran out of money a while ago so a lot of the finishes will have to wait but we are so happy with what we have so far.
Hoping for usable bedrooms in the next 2weeks. Very tired but on the home straight. Then I think I'll need to take some holiday to clear the storage and get the rooms looking nice again.

Lovely to hear all the amazing progress! Nearly home too @GardensandGrandDesigns ! I can’t help with the kitchen cupboard @tentative3 as we went for a full sized pantry unit.

We are just about watertight now - the big glass doors are in and roof lights installed. The main hurdle is 2nd fix plumbing which is complex as we’ve lost faith in our sub-contractor. We’ve also got 2nd fix electrics but confident there. We are mainly waiting for those and kitchen, plus flooring and painting. Meanwhile the builder goes on a 2 week holiday and I’d ideally have him around for 2nd fix plumbing. So we’re close but no cigar..

@NewHouseNewMe glad you are water tight that is fab! Do post a pic of all your gorgeous glazing. 1 month to go for us before all ours goes in.

Concrete goes down for us tomorrow and then we can get downstairs ufh down. They have a lot to do in the next 2 weeks to get us back home!

Had a run through of my niggles list with one of the main guys today, hoping it leads somewhere.
boss is due to visit sometime this week too.

mostly we are almost just about there but reckon it’ll take a while to finish the last bits.
the fireplace people are booked for sometime in September for a start.

Still haven't got a quote from the builder. I've already chased once.
I'm not sure if there's any point trying to get a different one to quote - they'll all have massive waiting lists of work, although maybe the looming recession will have caused some cancellations?
Thinking about looking for a structural engineer (builder didn't reply to the email when I asked which they used) so we could at least get plans drawn up.
And I need to start doing something about the house insurance. We're covered for it being unoccupied for 60 days but it's now six weeks since we bought it so time is running out. I was hoping to switch it straight onto the renovation insurance but as we haven't even got a quote yet that's looking increasingly unlikely!

We have a date! 12 September and had the planning meeting yesterday. Only worry is we are planning on having a Lusso stone bath which weighs 110kg and the main guy was concerned about how to get it in (talking about cranes and the like)! Eek - how do people get heavy baths in?
@RidingMyBike how frustrating, I’d just give your current insurers a call and see if they can help in the first instance?

That will be here before you know it! Very exciting!

@RidingMyBike Unless it’s a small job (e.g. just internal works), you really should get some quotes, even if it’s painful. We contacted a bunch, some even came around to view and discuss but only 4 quoted properly.

I also think you should move forward with structural engineers. If you don’t have the structural drawings (which can take weeks), you can’t submit to building control without them. The process can vary per council and for minor works, it can be just a case of notifying and some checks but for major works, they ask for the full application to be processed before work starts.

We also found the best builders wouldn’t quote without structural engineer drawings. They didn’t trust the architect’s which are largely about the aesthetics, not the supports which drives the costs.

This is the time to discuss the bath @Martinisarebetterdirty . It sounds like you could be reinforcing the floor depending on the properly (age in particular) so do ensure they price for it and that the structural engineer knows.
I had to rethink my heavy bath option because I haven’t planned it early enough.

Mine was carried by hands(6 people) and it has a chip but given the effort to bring it up we are getting the chip filled rather than getting it replaced. And yeah, indeed, its a pain. I have had it fitted for almost 2 months or so now and havent tried once. Mine is double end.

Just a curiosity question as I’m beyond this point @Newhome321 but if it’s a period property, did you have to reinforce the floor ? I know one person who avoided it by designing the bathroom layout so the bath weight was spread across the floor joists running length ways. Sadly mine would have been sideways along just 2 supporting joists so I had to get a slipper bath in acrylic. It looks the same but touch it and you know it’s not!!
It’s probably the biggest shortcut we’ve taken so far.

We have 2 in 2 bathrooms, its pretty huge so spread across the beams sitting on top of the tiles(with underfloor heating underneath it). The only reason I knew they are sitting on 2 beams because we have ceilings and floors redone. The project manager and plumber would know. I was more concerned that the tiles might crack if they were put on top and I was reassured that it should be ok.

I have wardrobe fitting teams in today and the doors were not correct and will be delivered in 3-4weeks. I have been pushing so hard to get all big tasks completed this week as we are away for 3 weeks but it seems we still have coming back from almost all teams. Plumbers, electrician(because lights havent been delivered), decorators, carpenters, windows, doors(wrong side panels). Dont want to leave the keys especially with the wooden floor laid.

@NewHouseNewMe thank you, our structural engineer has visited twice and isn’t at all worried about the weight of the bath (I raised both times as I am!), he said he was more concerned with bookcases and the weight of books! I will check in again as I am concerned about it.