Self build extension

[Diyextension]

Noticed a few threads on people building extensions / knocking down conservatory etc , so I’m just about to start doing mine.

I thought it might be good for anybody thinking about building one or for people that have no experience/ idea what the process involves.

i will probably be doing about 80% of the work myself , and then using certain trades , plasterer/ electrical as and when.

Old conservatory will be removed and. Single story (bedroom ) extension will be in its place. It’s 5m x 4m .

progress will be slow as I work full time so days of and holidays only.
it should be a straightforward job , but the only downside is we live on a hill so everything has to be carried up/ or down.

if anyone has any questions , feel free to ask and I’ll try to put pictures on as and when there is any progress.

Then finished breaking up the rest of the concrete around the extension ( which did me in ) 😤

Well done, I had my plumber do our first fix today

Plasterer turned up and 3 days later it looks like a different place , hopefully by the weekend it will be fully dry and will able to get a coat of paint on.

Wow wonderful transformation. It looks amazing

Getting it plastered and empty is definitely a turning point.

I have everything, door/door furniture/ skirting / architraves/ radiator… all i need is for the electrician to second fix and sign it off £??? .

Then i will be able to work out how much it has all cost to a painted finish.

flooring and window coverings excluded.

Wow look at that! V impressive!

Your plumber looks neater than me 😀. Is it a kitchen extension ?

Thanks , we’re on the final stretch now . We have 5 weeks to get it finished, till my daughter come back from uni.

carpets have a 2 week wait so no problem, wardrobes are ordered so again sorted , electrician has been in touch and hopefully finish sometime next week .shutters for the windows are a 10-13 week wait 😳. So I’ve found a place online that has a 2 week wait but ill have to fit them myself .

ive got a week off this month so should be able to crack on and get it done in time.

You must be very organised to be able to do this.

At the end a things you learnt would be great.

Thanks 🙂.

One thing i have learnt is every time i have a skip , i fill it in the allocated time ( 10 days ) phone them up to collect , then they leave them for anything up to 2 weeks ……..8 days and counting so far……repeat phone calls makes no difference.🤨 It also makes little difference which company it is , they all do the same. 🙁

Our ext is a study/shower RM/Utility. Was padstone installed in your cut through before lintel was installed?
I need to ring my BC , he requested a visit to see when it is being done

Frustrating about the skips!

At what stages does the building get inspected and when’s the final time and it’s all signed off?

I didn’t put padstones under the lintels over the doorway. There is no need for them in a 2’6” opening. They are used when creating larger openings with heavy rsj’s on and a lot of weight above.

You can also use engineering bricks, as they are stronger than clay bricks and less likely the crush softer clay bricks when there is a lot of weight on them.

I had the choice of padstone or engineering bricks when i fitted steels in a different part of the house , the roof trusses sit on the steel so they was a lot more weight on them.

I’ve had inspections when the foundations were dug and ready to pour concrete. When the floor was up to the damp proof course and ready to concrete. Once the roof structure was on and ready to tile.

i was due 2 inspections when the roof insulation was fitted and also when the ceiling was insulated but they were happy to be sent photos.

For the final inspection it needs to be plastered ( fireproofing ? ) and the electrics finished and certified.

Ours is only a small extension so relatively straightforward. I suppose on larger builds there are more visits needed, steelwork and things like that.

photos are taken all the time so if they need to double check anything ill have a pictures of it .🙂

There are 4 parts to the original planning permission ( porch has now been shelved) so we will only get partial sign off till the others parts are done.

Thank you for the info.

im looking at a small kitchen extension- mainly self build with initial foundations done by a builder. And that info is helpful as builder said I’d need to get building stages signed off.

Taking photos throughout is a star tip!

It is a very simple process. I phoned them up before i started and asked if they needed to do a site visit before any work started and they said no, just call them when foundation’s are dug and ready for concrete.

You don’t need to know the stages, just ask them when they are there when they need to come out next. I’ve found it better to give them as much notice as possible, sometimes they will come out on the same day but usually im not in that much of a rush .🙂

you can ask them about any other issues when they are there. They did suggest upgrading the insulation in the cavity for a better product ( higher rated ) which i didn’t know about and cost only slightly more. They can be helpful if your not in the trade and don’t know every in and out .

First coat of paint went on yesterday. The plasterwork looks pretty good with only a few minor bits to sand down before the second coat.

Second coat done ….will definitely need 3 , maybe 4 ?

Electrician turned up , he had a cancellation and it was lucky that it was my day off. No problems with anything , so just waiting for the certificate now and the bill 🫤. Im not sure how much it will be ?

Skips still on the drive , I’ve phoned them again and its on the “urgent “ list. 2 weeks now its been full ☹️

Everything to finish is either here now or on order so hopefully it should be done on time.

.

After some long days trying to make sure it’s finished on time we are almost done. Just another coat of paint on the door frame and the door to seal, a few bits just to patch up and paint in the hallway (to be renovated later ). And most of the building work is done 🙂.

Carpet is coming Friday. Shutters for the window are here hopefully I’ll get them fitted before the carpet is down, fingers crossed I’ve measured them right 🤞🏼

The skip finally went after 3 phone calls and being on the urgent list for a week 🙄. Now I’m not one for health and safety but when he came to collect it he had a skip on already and a box kept falling off which then he tried to throw it back on multiple times. The sight of him standing under a swinging skip full of concrete really made my toes curl………🦶🏻😳
2 skips on top of each was a new one to me and looked a bit top heavy ……but hey its gone 🙂

Total cost is £16,533. Thats to a painted finish not including window/ floor covering.

£2,305. Was labour. Or £2905. If you include the concrete pump cost x2 which i suppose was labour as there was 2 of them .

The rest was either materials or skips.

The upgraded cavity wall insulation and the insulated plasterboard on the 3 outside walls added up to an extra £600.

The window cost , the aluminium gutting and the price of insulation were really the only costs that were a lot more than I anticipated but overall its come in around what i thought.

The planning building regs fees are not included in that as i had it all passed years ago and was 1 part of 4 items that were on it.

It definitely could have been built cheaper if someone just needed the “space “ and were not too bothered about using certain materials. … cheaper bricks, cheaper window, guttering,soffits and so on .

all looks good, well done

Many thanks for all the updates and also for leading the way. We are also now done. Study/utlity/Shower rm. The plumber will tile later and install the WC and shower tray. The The rest will be done as at when I am free

@Diyextension the breakdown and overall cost is amazing! And well worth doing for that space.
Thanks for sharing your progress.

Thanks.

It is completely finished now, just the groundwork around it left to do but i’ll finish that off as and when i have time.

Cost wise it was well worth doing to save money but don’t underestimate the amount of time it takes to do something like this. You have to be 100% up for giving it all your spare time ( days off,holidays) and hours here and there just to get anything done.

It has been enjoyable , frustrating at times (weather, measuring the shutters too big 😞). But not stressful. I think things only get stressful when you are working to a timescale/ budget and it starts to go pearshaped, i didn’t have either of those so made it a lot easier.

The final cost was Actually £1600 as i forgot I ordered more bricks than i needed (£500 ish ) for the extension to build a small retaining wall down the side to create a path alongside it.

The carpet and window shutters bought it up another £1480 to completely finish it off.

I’m not sure most people would have the time or be willing to do something like this and i have no idea how much it has saved in relation to employing a builder to build it ? In hindsight I suppose i should have had a few quotes before i started it but i didnt see the point of wasting anybody’s time knowing i was going to do it myself.

I think if you are not in a rush to get something built then it’s definitely doable to project manage/ order all the materials yourself maybe a bit of labouring, cleaning up . This should reduce the price quite a bit ?

The only thing now is to wait till it gets cold and see if all the insulation actually does what it’s supposed to do and keep it nice and warm.

A few final pictures of it and thats it…..its taken about 2 years on and off to get it done. Think ill have a few months off getting small jobs done before I tackle the next big job. 🙂.