Upcoming house extension and renovation - I have lots of questions!

[Stevie77]

Fairly experienced in doing both to previous properties but have some questions about a few things. I'm hoping people on this board will have some useful advice/opinions!

• Storage solutions while building work is being done - obviously storage units are a common option, but I wonder if anyone has used a shipping container or something similar and kept it on site? What are the advantages/disadvantages of that? I think security could possibly be an issue as well as insuring the items inside. Has anyone used something else?

• DIY Kitchens - any good/bad feedback? They're so far the best, in terms of exact look of what we want, quality and price. We've been to their showroom a few months ago and were impressed.

• LVT tiles in bathrooms - we don't want tiles for various reasons so are thinking LVT tiles/click system instead. We've had click laminate previously and assume installation is similar? Anything specific to look out for? Any recommendations (or criticism) for specific brands?

• Good appliance and bathroom showrooms in G Manchester? Seems impossible to find somewhere big enough nowadays with everything being online.

I'm sure I have lots more but can't think right now. TIA!

DIY kitchens were great. Still in love with my kitchen after 3 years. I visited the showroom too and was in heaven but apparently they are moving their showroom across the road very soon and it will be 3 times bigger! I think the biggest one in the UK. Might go, just for a nosey :-) If you can do most of the diy in your house then try and do it. My hubby did most of our house bar the electrics, which scares him to death :-)

Good luck with the extension!

We have just finished our renovation (just a few snags to sort) we had LVT installed in the kitchen and it lasted all of 24 hours before being ripped out and replaced with tiles. I wouldn't recommend it at all. Installation was boarding on the existing flooring, then some underlay stuff (that came with the LVT) and then the LVT.

Storage solutions - we lived on site with minimal stuff to get us through (with 2 kids under 3). The big stuff and rest of our things the builders stored for us - they have shipping containers in nearby fields with surveillance and everything is covered by their own insurance. Is something like that an option?

No idea what happened with the formatting of my post😱

That's good to hear, thanks @Ramona75 . I need to call DIY Kitchens to get an idea of lead times, might need to put our skates on finalising our plans. And decide on which shade of off-white I want 😀

@Margo34 why did you rip out the LVT? I really can't bear tiles in the bathrooms. Previous owner put tiles in the bathroom and it's horrible. Cold and the tiles are all cracking. Might have to re-look at laminate.

We didnt really have issues with storage too much, just put the dining table in the living room and smaller things like the contents of the kitchen in boxes under the beds!

We are very happy with our DIY Kitchen. I think the lead time was about 10 weeks when we did ours but that was 2022. Its a bit awkward as they give you a week slot, then narrow it down to a day with 24 hours notice. You need lots of room to store it as it all comes complete made up.

We have LVT all through the ground floor of our house including kitchen and are very happy with it. No experience of it in a bathroom though as we have concrete tiles. They are matt so less cold that ceramic. Tiles shouldnt crack if they are properly laid on the correct substrate, could you consider underfloor heating in bathrooms with tiles?

Fit underfloor heating
If they are cracking then they were not installed on the correct sub base.

We bought a cheap marque type thing, frame with a roof and walls and put a tarp on the floor. We have a pretty private rear garden and the things in there were bulky and not very pinchable, didn't bother with insurance. More desirable stuff was jammed into rooms not affected by the works (which wasn't many!) or in the garage.

Tiles really shouldn't be cracking, sounds like they weren't installed correctly?

We took it out due to wear and tear!!!! It was awful and damaged so easily, with just us and fitters walking on it. In 24 hrs it was so scuffed and not really durable or family friendly. We were refunded in full after the sellers inspected it and agreed it wasn't fit for purpose. That was the new stuff, gone within 24hrs.

We had LVT in our bathroom before recent renovation and it went warped around the edges, even the trim. And we got leaks as a result.

So we've gone for tiles this time in both kitchen and bathroom with boiler-fed underfloor heating: if a tile gets damaged - replace that single tile. If the LVT gets damaged - because it's all clicked together you either live with the damage or replace the lot.

The key question is whether you’re living in the house during the work?

DH has a renovation/ building company and uses DIY kitchens all them time as they are fab, some customers have gone to the showroom as unsure at first and come back raving.
I did have a DIY kitchen that I loved then we moved, now waiting as we are mid Reno!
If you are staying and not selling on for 10+ years put the best appliances that you can afford and finishes you can afford, remember you are the one living with it.
LVT yuck hated it and another who ripped it out, we have tiles in bathrooms with underfloor heating, real wood ( but waterproof up to 48/72 hours) in all other rooms, expensive but worth it.

Thanks everyone. Yes, the tiles currently in the bathroom have probably not been installed correctly. Like everything the previous owner's builder did here, it is cheap, rubbish materials and fitted badly. Either way, it's going and that room won't even be a bathroom in the new layout.

We've had laminate in the bathroom in our previous house, and never had any issues with it in the 12+ years it's been in place, even with two children using that room. Hence thinking LVT tiles would be similar, but just that bit better. Interesting that so many here dislike it or had issues with it. Will price up UFH for the bathrooms but I'm still not sure. Just not a fan of tiles and how they feel underfoot.

@BadCovers yes, we'll be living onsite. The work includes a first floor side and rear extension on top of existing, and a small rear infill. Most of the house won't be affected for a while, so we can stay, and where it is we can mitigate with clever boarding etc. There is no spare space to cram belongings into, so we need a storage solution.

Is Karndean LVT? If so, have had it in kitchen and two bathrooms and absolutely love it. Much more forgiving than tiles if you drop things! Wouldn’t have tiles unless I could also have UFH.