Looking to extend. What to do first.

[Sandals12]

In the position to extend 1960s bungalow. What to do first? Architect, structural engineer? Anybody with any experience of doing this?

Architect. You need plans to then go
to a structural engineer. Then planning permission.

Save up a lot more that you think its going to cost!!

We thought we could do a 3x6m single story extension for 100k.

Nope...quotes ranged from 130 to 165.

We have a 1960's bungalow that we're looking to extend. We've had the architect do the drawing, submitted them to the council and obtained planning permission. Next step is to get a Structural Engineer's Report and then apply for a Building Warrant. You'll need the engineers report to get proper quotes. We got ballpark quotes based on the architects drawings and they're coming in at between 50 - 100% more than we'd anticipated!

Unless you are sure you have the money I would cost it up first, without an architect as that will cost a bomb. Ify you have say earmarked £150,000 and it's gonna cost £300,000 and you can't afford it at least you have lost nothing

@MisanthropicMe what sort of figures were you quoted if you dont mind me asking. We dont want anything too fancy, just change to some open plan and more space, prob need to add on 3 bedrooms and extend kitchen. We are thinking of doubling size as its 90metres squared house. We will have inherited house. When I sell mine we will have 150000 cash but willing to get mortgage for more if needed. Still a lot cheaper than buying the same.

@Doggymummar is there a way to vost up first without architect?

Cost

If you don't want anything fancy, try an architectural technician as it will be cheaper. Sadly, at the moment, you'll struggle to get even ballpark figures without proper drawings as prices are still changing so much.

@FuglyHouse thanks for this advice.

Get a friendly builder to give you a rough quote before you engage an architect. Architects are often very out of touch with current prices.

@Sandals12 our is roughly the same size and we are also looking to double it. We were quoted between £220k - £260k 🤯

We used an architectural technician for our build as it wasn't going to be anything too out there and we knew what we wanted. I drew up the design myself very roughly, then the AT turned it into working drawings. It saved us an absolute fortune. This is only an option if your design is straightforward as ours was.

Yes getna builder round. Otpr drawbit yourself and work out the size and multiply that by the cost per metre

@MisanthropicMe that seems about right in my experience unfortunately, expensive and time consuming process to get right

Yeah a lot of expense and hassle. The thought of it!!!

I hired an architectural designer and they gave me a quote for the design, planning, structural and build. They had a recommended builder who then quoted for the build properly when I finished my design with them. I paid £140k for a ground floor side return and loft in London (Wimbledon) but it was in 2019. The company were fab www.hometales.co.uk

Have you thought about a modular extension - there was an interesting thread going a couple of months ago on here. It looked very interesting. The frames are constructed off-site and it looked like on-site work was fairly quick compared to a traditional build. From memory, the insulation looked great as well.

I did sneak a look at the company’s website for pricing and can remember that a 72sqm extension was around £120k which includes everything from planning permission, electrics, painting and VAT.