Extension thread 2022 part III.. celebrations, crises and will it be finished for Christmas?!

[NewHouseNewMe]

3rd thread of 2022 - can't believe I'm still here!

Ugh just been to check on building progress at the house, bearing in mind we're at the flooring going in and final decorating being done.

There are no plumbing or electrics in the space for the dishwasher

The under unit kitchen lights are missing.

How's everyone else getting on?

Is the dishwasher next to the sink @RidingMyBike ? If so I had this exact panic and realised they come off the same plumbing and the electrics were under the sink

It is, and I've just checked with DH (who is the one who checks in with the builders) who said he's queried it with them and they said the same thing re the cupboard next to the sink.

So phew for that one. We think the under unit light may have been missed though.

And there's an internal cupboard thing missing but that may be a final stage thing to put in.

Also discovered that all the light fittings are the opposite of what we'd been told they'd be - bayonet rather than Edison screw. Not a disaster as we hadn't bought lightbulbs yet but good thing I checked!

Presumably it means you can unplug the dishwasher without having to pull it out should you need to?

Our old one (not near sink)!) had an isolation switch for this purpose.

My weekly visit to the house was mostly good with some frustrations. Timber frames being made for the extension. Finally something other than foundations there - which were done in august/ September. And frames up for the stud walls inside which starts to give a feeling of new space. Plumbing progressed a bit. Electrics - not a sniff of an electrician. This os the bit that is way behind!

Easter is fast approaching 😱 but we should hopefully be done with builders/contractors/carpenters etc in 2 weeks.

My question for those who have done extensive building work before/completed their major renovation work (extensions and modernisation throughout) how clean can I expect my builder to leave the house? Will I need to clean/hire a cleaner to get the house cleaned ahead of moving in?

Our builders have 'builders' clean' booked for next week as part of the project. It's about £300 which is what we paid for an end of tenancy clean at our old house so I was expecting something to a similar level.

Fingers crossed

we’ve found it depends on the builders. One set of ours are immaculate, clean up every evening before they leave and start tidy, the others…we had to do a lot ourselves.

Our builders have been really good and tidied up after themselves, brushed up and wiped down, etc. But don’t underestimate where dust will get to, so
I think you either need to book a deep clean, or be prepared to wipe down every room yourself afterwards.

We are def on the home straight, the joiners are in today hanging doors, and the plasterers are making good round the new windows. Landscaper arrives on wed, flooring is being done on Thurs and furniture arrives Thurs-Sat. We need electrician to come back and hang lighting and connect Quooker and under counter lighting. We should be finished in the next couple of weeks, all being well. And I am loving being able to use the new kitchen, after months of only a microwave and air fryer. Even bunging pizza in the oven seems like a luxury 😂
Anyone else with the finish in sight?

@RidingMyBike, you were close to finish at end feb. Are you at moving in stage?
Reno, I hope you get moved in two weeks.

We're in last few weeks now! The time is getting quite tight and there are some things that won't get finished until after we've moved in but they're mostly external so shouldn't affect that.

Glass for patio railings saga continues. More got delivered, lots damaged. Boss guy is dealing with it, I haven’t got the energy any more.

To Do List:

Security cameras - have a new number to contact

Patio glass balustrade - just waiting for glass to arrive, again! and be installed Ongoing issues

Downstairs loo: pick a mirror. Long bare walls atm - thinking maybe a large wallpaper sort of mural thing?

I keep adding bits
Including:
Broken tile in upstairs bathroom to be repaired

Broken edge of tile in kitchen to be repaired

couple of broken kitchen bits/edges of shelves type thing
missed bit of painting by front doors

Deep clean post build, need to find a company - have a recommendation,not contacted yet, may wait until an unknown point in the future!

• the very full skip is still out the front, we may need another one or several trips to the tip ourselves to finally get rid of all the shed bits. But the trampoline fits perfectly on the old shed concrete base so that’s progress.

I am v worried about making 1 April

I am insisting we will move in, the builders are absolutely insistent we don't till 21 April which is too late. I'm not renting anymore because we have already said we are out end of March.

we are doing an inspection Friday - as far as I'm concerned as long as a loo is in and the floors are done, we are moving back in with just a bed and a suitcase. I work full time out the house anyway so will be gone before they arrive and my partner works from home but can get an office space for those few weeks. The big issue is the dog but he already goes to daycare so we will just have to put him in daycare (which picks him up pre builders arriving) and we will have to sort out his drop off to be later. Things are going well but they really need to pick up quickly. What really worries me is that the boiler is not in yet and they've realised they need to change the gas inflow pipe.

only good news is that neighbours have stopped sending shitty letters which is a blessed relief!

@LivingInaBuildingSite is this the same glass that was problematic last time? @RidingMyBike I have my fingers crossed for you!

We basically told the builders we had no choice and would be moving in on x date! It's certainly focussed their minds!

Jealous of those nearing the end! I am still peak building site.

@reno22 we have 2 cleans in the plan, one at the end of decorating phase and then one just before move in after all the furniture/ curtains been installed and snagging done.

The extension is progressing, frame is up, steel up and the roof being shaped. We averted disaster with the garden rooms. The builders have made a mistake although hell may freeze over before they admit to that. We ended up losing some of our ceiling height and at one point I thought the building would need to be knocked down, dug out and the started again.

Everyone must be v busy with their builds, as there hasn’t been a new post in a while. We were buried on page 4, or maybe even 5.

Very little left to do here now. Flooring is in and looks amazing imo. Just need skirting done in the open plan space, all other joinery work is done. Electrician needs to pop back to hang lights, and connect up under counter lighting and Quooker. And rear paving/landscaping will be finished this week. All the tradesmen are v curious about our automist system, and we have to do a demonstration of it whenever someone new arrives.

The furniture has arrived, and my fears about the dining table and chairs were unfounded, they fit in fine. Just need to get some slimline barstools, and play about with furniture placement.

Hi all, I'm experiencing renovation fatigue and would like at least one room finished! Too many decisions and afraid I'm going to mess up 🙄

I posted this on the forum, thought I would post it here, hopefully to receive some more replies! I know a few on here have had kitchens from HMKOC!

We will be having our HMKOC kitchen delivered in the next few weeks. My understanding is that all items will need to be checked immediately and any faults will need to be reported to the delivery men, who will take the damaged/faulty items away.

-were any of the items damaged/faulty?
-did you have enough time to check the units?
-if there were any faults, how long after did you receive the replacement items.
-if you found any faults after the delivery, did HMKOC replace the items?

TIA

@Willitbeworthit you need to tag @poshwatchshitshoes as she had hmk, it was stunning.
Looking gorgeous @SheriffCallie !
We are done, just waiting for the kitchen units to be painted (lots of fuck ups with the kitchen) and that starts Thursday. It is worth it but not sure I’d want to do it again!

Thanks @Martinisarebetterdirty, any information would be gratefully received @poshwatchshitshoes!

Looks amazing @SheriffCallie, you must be so pleased with the results!

@SheriffCallie I'm also curious! What is your automist system? Looks amazing and really coming together.

Our first fix electrics has got started today, finally. So a tonne more mess and dust for a while yet.

@Willitbeworthit , we absolutely love it. All our time is spent in there now. Now I’m out the other side, I can say it’s all been worth it.

@Littlemissweepy its a pain in the arse, is what it is! Building control insisted on it, due to the open plan layout. It’s a smart sensor and camera combo, if the sensor detects smoke or heat, the cameras scam the room looking for a flame. If they detect it, the system pumps a fine mist of water to put out the fire, if no flame then the camera recedes and the system resets. It’s many thousands of pounds buried in the walls, that we hope never to see in use basically.

Hello! Can I join please? I might be a bit premature but we have planning permission and building warrant for our garden and double side extension. We are creating the tender documents now with the architect and due to go out to tender “soon”. It’s taken nearly a year to get to this point so I’m nervous of how far our £250k budget is going to go…I suspect I’m going to be horrified when the quotes come back and start having to cut back. Has anyone got quotes recently? I’m wondering if prices are still out of control?

@TheGaffer I am about 2 months ahead of you, tender came back at the start of the year and (all being well) we start the work at the end of April! We also took a year to get to the tender process, so very excited that it is all finally happening. However, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but our tender response was a big shock in terms of price. Our architect did warn us just as we sent the tender out, too late imo, but we got some shocking prices back. Couldn't afford any of them (and there was quite a range, which is worrying in itself as they were supposed to be quoting for the same work!). We have gone with the cheapest and are still cutting bits out in order to afford it. The positive take is that we are going ahead with the work, and (so far) most of the things we've cut have been extras and not core elements of the build. Good luck, maybe you'll have a different experience when you get the prices back!

@HopelessOptimistism that’s what I’m worried about! We have spec’d it to the preferred quality (triple glazing, Amtico flooring, UFH, V&B bathroom suites etc) so there are some obvious places to make savings if we need to (double glazing, builders preferred LVT, radiators, plumbworld own brand! etc) so I’m kind of prepared to be disappointed but have backup plans for most things. It’s just all so painfully slow and I’m horribly impatient!