Modular/prefab extension?

[SpidersAreShitheads]

There has been lots of threads on here recently about rising costs of extensions/building materials.

We've been caught by this too, but we have other complications (DM isn't very well and might struggle with 6 months+ building work).

Just browsing the renovations group on FB and the idea of modular extensions caught my eye. Delving further into it, there seems to be lots of people who have had it done who are really pleased with the result.

Most of the work is done off-site and it's about two weeks work at your house. Brick-clad exterior to match main house and rated A for energy efficiency - which given the soaring energy costs could be really helpful!

We won't be selling for years - probably two decades or more - so I'm not too fussed about whether it could put buyers off.

Has anyone here had a modular/prefabricated extension - if so, what was your experience? And do you have any companies to recommend/avoid? Vita Modular and EazyBase are two that seem pretty good....?

This looks amazing!!! I've looked at offpod for our (still faraway) future plans and they seem great.

Honestly couldn't be more pleased with them @mimicracra. I was a bit nervous at the start but the reviews were all saying similar things re OffPOD going above and beyond, and just really caring about getting things right. They seemed to be legit reviews too as they all had photos (which were all different) so I was inclined to think they were genuine.

My experience of them has been the same. For example, we aren't building right up to the size that the planning permission allows - the head guy was worried last week that with the space we were creating we wouldn't have enough room for what Mum is planning to put there. So he suggested pushing it out another 1-2 feet right across the back of the annexe extension. That extra bit of room has actually helped the logistics and made it much easier to do the necessary. We maxed out our budget and he knows this - but he's added this bit of space for free (as the materials ordered can accommodate the extra).

It's the little things like that which have really impressed me. It doesn't feel as if they're just knocking together another build, they care about getting it done properly and doing the best job. Also worth pointing out that DM is disabled and they have been brilliant in accommodating her needs (eg/she can't get upstairs to use the bathroom so access to the downstairs toilet can't be cut off).

I sound like a bloody advert 😅🤦🏻‍♀️ I promise you that I'm not haha! It just might help anyone who's thinking of going down this route. There wasn't anyone on here when I was posting about modular builds so I was SO nervous about whether I was making the right decision.

There were a couple of firms that I contacted who were really quite dodgy imo - I won't put their names on here because I don't know for certain, and it would be unfair. But if anyone is seriously considering a modular build and wants to know my thoughts about other providers, I'm happy to share my experiences over DM.

So, Friday's update - for anyone who is still interested 😅 - the panels went on the walls and the roof, and insulation was added to the walls. It feels very dark in there at the moment, which bizarrely I wasn't expecting!

But the builders assured me when it's all plastered and white, and the skylights are in, it will be a lovely light space. Obviously it will be knocked through as well which should help too.

Windows and doors are arriving Wednesday! They've not started on the annexe side yet so I've got a meeting with the head builder on Tues and will find out then when that side of the work will begin.

Couple of photos showing progress from the inside.

Hey,

I'm also following with interest. Finding the updates very useful, nice to see the construction as it happens. Keep 'em coming.

Thanks

I'm following with interest too. We were planning a big kitchen extension but put it on hold over covid. When we (finally) started looking again, the prices had skyrocketed. We're moving for now and although the next house is bigger, the kitchen is long and narrow. It would be nice to find an affordable and less stressful alternative to a traditional extension.

It's looking great. Keep posting the photos - I've got DH interested and I need to convince him that modular is something we should be looking at.

Fascinating!
Hoping we might need to use them one day, so will be following with interest.

Any progress OP? I'm very invested in this!

Hi - sorry, only just seen the comments here!

Been a busy week as we're trying to plan out the kitchen. I've never done that before so I'm not exactly sure what's normal but they want to know where all the plugs are going to go/how many we want before they board the walls up and plaster. For some reason I thought that would be a later decision so I hadn't given it any thought yet! Something for you to bear in mind @PleaseJustText if you ever decide to go down this route for a kitchen 😅

I'm not at the house today but they've started to knock down the wall so they can match up the flooring level. They've apparently put the doors/windows in too - and then by the end of this week the rest of the wall will be knocked through and the new steel in place.

Balls! Didn't mean to press enter 😅

Apart from the extension to the main house, they've also put down the concrete pad base for the small extension to the annexe - this is going up in a week or so's time once most of the work on the main annexe is done. The roofing on the annexe is more complicated so that could take a while to do, apparently.

Just a couple of photos showing the concrete base (as the enormous groundscrews sadly weren't suitable for this side - booooo!) and also the state of the knock through this afternoon.

Will update again by the end of the week when hopefully I'll be able to show you the windows/doors and maybe skylights?! It's progressing at a mad speed.

Am following this with so much interest, thank you for sharing!

A few questions:

• Do they fit out the internal, eg the kitchen and the painting etc too?
• When you say progressing at a mad speed, how long in total do you think your main annexe extension will take?

thank you!

@dreamersdown - no problem at all, any excuse to talk about it tbh 😅😅 I am ridiculously excited by it all haha!

I've attached the original loose project plan which should give you an idea of how quick it is. The annexe side isn't shown on here, this is mainly just the main house extension plan.

I think a normal extension from OffPOD is about 3 weeks, start to finish. Ours is complicated as they are doing bits and pieces on the annexe extension as we go along, and the annexe extension is a lot more complicated (because we're trying to correct/build around longstanding issues - building work done 20-30 years+ ago).

OffPOD do usually install kitchens, bathrooms etc as part of the build, if wanted.

When I contacted OffPOD, they originally quoted April as the first available slot. However, we were desperate for a quicker installation and they were just in the process of adding an extra installation team. They said they could fit us in Jan/Feb if we didn't want it painted/kitchen and bathroom installed. That was fine with us - we're being taken up to first fix electrics.

Our budget is in two chunks - we had our first lot of money from the sale of DM's house. That's covering the extension main builds up to first fix. There's a ton of other work needed - two new kitchens, two new bathrooms, flooring throughout, adding a utility room, new window sills, moving the front door to the annexe etc. Some electrics. We have a long list! 😅 The money from the sale of my house is paying for everything else to be done. We couldn't move in until the bulk of the extension work is done because it's loud (my twin DC are both autistic, and DS has high needs). We're currently in the middle of selling so hopefully the sale/money will come through and we'll be able to move seamlessly onto the rest of it.

I want a loft conversion done in the future - DS' room is tiny - and apparently OffPOD do these too. So I'm going to get them to quote for that before they finish up, just so I have an idea of how much to budget for next time.

Sorry for long answer! Please do feel free to ask anything if it helps. When I discovered modular builds and wanted to know more, I had no one to ask other than the companies doing them - so I'm happy to help with questions if I can 😊

Forgot to attach the draft project plan! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Following as daughter and son in law are planning to do an extension in the next couple of years

Hi, I’ve just started following this thread.

I’m at my wits end at the moment as our builder was supposed to start our extension in the middle of January and he’s still not turned up! It’s just been excuse after excuse to the point whereby I’ve lost all faith in him. Its looking like yours will be finished before mine has even started :( I think I might reach out to these guys, do they have a website?

Do you think they will complete it within the project plan time line? We had an extension built on our last house and it took about three months and it didn’t look any bigger than yours

Be sure to keep us updated…. I’m very intrigued

You really need to empty the rooms for the guys.

Well, yes - clearing the room was the plan! 😅

I'm not living at the house at the moment, only DM who's a wheelchair user so she can't move heavy stuff around. The problem with that is that it means if things change, I'm not on site to know about it right away. The lovely builder sent me a photo in the afternoon just to let me know the wall had been partially knocked through - but obviously it was too late by then!

The back wall wasn't supposed to be knocked out today. If you see the above project plan, it's supposed to be next week....so we had a plan to get everything moved out in time.

There are four rooms across the width of the back of the house. One wall is being knocked down, one wall is having the window knocked out and bricked up, and one wall is having a doorway knocked through it. The 4th room has had to be emptied because the floor has been dug up and there's currently a huge trench running through the middle of it (for the new bathrooms).

We're playing Tetris with the furniture moving them from one room to another as and when the builders need access to each room. The room with the trench wasn't supposed to have a trench originally so the plan was to try and pile most things in there. But the pipework can't go around the outside as originally planned because of the fall, so had to go through the house. That room is currently out of action and there's nowhere else to put everything so we're moving them from one room to the next as the build progresses.

The builders are absolutely fine with letting us know and us having to move things around in advance - but something didn't turn up so they rejigged the order of work, hence the surprise knock-through today!

Oh no @Doggo34 - that sounds unbelievably frustrating!! I'd be so pissed off.

I originally got in touch with OffPOD when I realised that I just wasn't comfortable with the company who I'd been planning to use. OffPOD were really flexible in trying to help us out, so I would tell them what a shitty time you've had and see what they can do. Tom and Chris are the two directors, and they're the people you speak to. Website is here.

The extension to the main house is currently on target, if not a little bit ahead of schedule. The first fix electrics have been delayed by a couple of days but that's because we're using a traditional builder to fit the kitchen and liaising schedules for a site visit to plan the electrics took a few days. But the OffPOD guys just started work on the annexe while they were waiting for the first fix electrics plans to be finalised and did some of the other work on our main house extension instead so it hasn't set them back - they don't seem to like to waste any time!

I fully expect the main house extension to be finished on schedule.

The annexe extension is really complicated as they're having to re-roof it and there's a concern about previous building work. They warned from the start that the annexe build could go over by up to a week if the existing roof turns out to be a nightmare once they start to peel it back. So we'll see on that side -but I can't complain as they were very transparent about that. The timescales for the annexe were only an estimate really whereas the timescales for the main house were definite - and they're meeting those.

Watching the extension go up reminds me of a giant puzzle - everything just slots and screws together, and then it's built up in layers, all secured by those weird big screws which are buried in the ground.

I'll keep updating and will show the work as it unfolds 😊

@StalkedByASpider i just read this in the sustainability issue of Living etc - looks like Screw foundations are the eco friendly way forward!

Thanks for the update! Out of interest, why weren't the mega screws suitable for the annex?

I like the mega screw idea. With the relatively light weight of the building it makes perfect sense.

Hi @StalkedByASpider looks great. Thank you for the updates and explanations, very interesting.
Do the Big Screws take the place of concrete foundation?

Great thread. I am very interested in developments. The company you're using sound great and looks like you'll have a lovely space.

Any update OP?