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.

My builder didn't show up, so I had a go.

Looks fine 🙂. Its just to add strength, you should be able to tell how much more the ridgid it feels now. Well my electrician did turn up……..but not until about 5pm ☹️ Its more work than he remembers, so he’s coming back this Wednesday( 🤞🏼) so he can get it all done in one go. The joys of building 🤨

Now the roof is finished I’ve managed to add all the material costs for it and its all roughly £2000. The most expensive part was the aluminium box guttering and downpipe £450. 😳. That was more than all the tiles and battens. Its already been used on the house ( when it was a lot cheaper) so had no option to pay it ,even then they sent the wrong pieces grrrrrr 😠. It is about what i had in mind when i started so its all good ………. Roll on Wednesday 🙂

Many thanks for the updates. That figure is great. I was quoted £5100 for roof installation, timber work and gable finish. Only tiles, batten and softfit left to do

Hi. Ive no idea if your price is good or not 😀. Ive no idea what the going rate is for roofing nowadays ??? If someone had said ill give you £5000 to build that roof then i would have made £3000 and it would have probably taken about 2-3 weeks , so good money 👍.

All my brickwork came to £1300 ( 6.5 days ). That was just for the laying, i did all the labouring which was more work than he did 😀

Electrician came Wednesday, so I’m all first fixed now. (£190) Cant see me doing anything now till after Christmas, i might pop in and get the window moving but then again,might not 🙂🎄

So after little progress over Christmas ( none) 🙂 I’ve braved the cold and made a start on the inside.

I had to remove all the solid noggins in the roof and replace them so the air from the soffit vents can flow all the way up the roof behind the insulation. This is to prevent any condensation that might form. I should have spotted this when constructing the roof but didn’t 🤨. To be fair the building inspector didn’t spot it either.

Made a start fitting the insulation between the rafters (120mm) , its a time consuming job trying to fit it all tight so might take a few days to get it all in.

Waiting for the window people to come and measure up too.

I will be doing 100mm between the joist on mine,need my electrician to do his first fix first (just observe your cable is tacked to the wall plate. I will make sure my guy does this). My roofer is booked - cant wait 😎. Pls let me know the cost of windows. I need 3 windows and a door, been measuring. Have gone with 4 suppliers to compare prices.

Are you doing composite or upvc? Mine is a back door so not sure it worth spending a lot on

Our insulation was 100mm between too but I upped it to 120mm so that means then i can either use 50mm insulation on top of that then plasterboard or insulated plasterboard, 35mm insulation and12.5 mm plasterboard. Not decided yet.

I thought the electrician would have run the cables in the roof space, but he ran it round near the roof. He’s the one signing it off ,so if hes happy with it, its ok. 🙂

Well the window ( we only need one) is a sore point ☹️ We had one the same design on one of the other bedrooms and it has doubled in price in a few years. They are made by a company called evolution and only use certain fitters so cant be fitted by anyone. They are excellent windows and we are happy with them but we need the new one to match the others so they have us over a barrel 🤨
They are upvc.and look like this. The price for it is as much as the entire roof cost and is now going to take it over our budget unfortunately. 😟

Hi,

Hope you are doing great, happy the roof is on. On to windows and door. Then screeding.

Roof looks good 👍

The window has finally been ordered but its looking like 6 weeks to be made 🤨. I’ve finished the insulation in the ceiling and just waiting for the building inspector to come and ok it before I can tape it all up. Its a tricky job fitting it all tight and there were a few odd cuts. The thicker it is the harder it is to fit.

Started to widen the door opening and get the lintels in and get the floor where the cavity was filled in too. So hopefully by the time the window is ready it will be all set for plaster straight after …….well thats the plan 🙂

It is nice to be able to work on it now , as and when ive got time without the rain ☔️

Great job on the door opening and insulation, I managed to get the windows and door in. Waiting for my electrician to do first fix before I complete the insulation then ring BCO.

Hi,

Hope you are doing great.

Hi 🙂. Im fine thx .

Not updated anything for a while but there has been a bit of progress.

I’m almost ready to get the plasterer in just waiting ( today ) for the radiator to be delivered so i can get the pipework in place.

The window took 8 weeks to be made and fitted so been waiting for that 🙄, but it gave me time to get the ceiling boarding finished and the door opening completed.

Outside there is just the drain to connect to the downpipe and it’s finished.

The dehumidifier is running it there now to try and suck out as much moisture as possible out the floor and walls before plastering. It looks dry in there but with all the water that was in there its still sucking a full tank of water out everyday.

A few pictures 🙂 insulation done on the ceiling , building inspector was happy so all done. Im adding extra on the outside walls so hopefully it will be warmer in there .

Window in and window board on.

.

Great Stuff, We just did our screeding today. We will continue the roof insulation next week

50mm insulation + 12.5 plasterboard

We are at a similar stage then. My usual plasterer has dropped off the radar, messaged him/ left him a answerphone message……nothing. Spoke to another one and said he would come to quote sometime last week but again nothing. Hopefully got another guy coming to look on Tuesday so fingers crossed 🤞🏼

Its all ready for plaster now and just need to finish moving some pipework for the radiator. Ive gone for an aluminium radiator as they are supposed to conduct heat better than a steel one , time will tell on that 🤔. It was lighter so hanging it on my own was manageable.

Still waiting for the new valves.

So the third plasterer turned up ,but we had to wait a few weeks for him to fit it in 🙂. I still needed to get the radiator pipework altered ,so rather than try and get a plumber round and then wait for him to turn up i thought it was time to teach myself how to solder properly. After lots of practice pieces i was fairly confident of managing it.

i think i put too much solder on as it looks a bit messy but nobody will see it when its plastered.

I’ll admit i had my fingers crossed when I pressured the heating back up.🤞🏼

Finished the gully for the down pipe.