Realistic costs for a full renovation in the SE

[vanillafudgecake]

We are purchasing a 2,000 sq ft detached house built in the 1920s.

Ideally want to add around 500 sq ft, if not more, with a double side extension and single rear extension. Full redesign both inside and outside (roof, windows, guttering etc) and not to mention updating electrics, boiler, plumbing and any unforeseen hidden issues.

Are the costs going to be ridiculous!?

£200,000? Depending on finish. Extensions are really expensive at the moment as are renovations and with a house that age it is likely that a lot could need doing.

I am interested to see this! I was given a "back of a fag packet" number for a very small double rear extension of £150k :-(

250-300k maybe

Friend did similar last year for just over 200k and A LOT of time spent sourcing materials for the cheapest price

We have a similar sized house but only 30 years old. We want to add a wrap around extension adding 1000sq ft. and we are budgeting £500k

300k

Whatever you think (or are told) it's going to cost - double it.
However long you think (or are told) it's going to take - triple it.

And be very careful about the trades you hire. Make sure and check, double-check, that they have full insurance in place and check their financials. Get references and speak to previous clients.

Recommend you also have regular conversations with your local planning department and building regs inspector.

Dealing with builders is a bloody nightmare.

Obviously some depends on level of finishes as you can pay anything you want for kitchens, flooring, bathrooms etc. - but I'd be amazed if you got change from £300k and not at all surprised if it was pushing £500k sadly.

Thanks everyone,

We have £500k but would like to spend far less depending on what we can do and the fittings and finish we go with.

So nervous about finding a good team of people to do the job.

If you have £500k, is it not worth just buying a house that’s already done to your size and taste? Avoid all the hassle, given you won’t make it back in this market. (Or won’t make profit, anyway)

Sadly no properties in our search area of a good standard come up and the odd one that does come close is out of our budget.

This is quite dated and the price reflects this, it's also in an extremely desirable location and should be worth more than the price and costs once renovated, going by what else does sell in the location.

If you want a specific area its not always that easy to just buy the house you want. I'm like OP, planning on doing a complete renovation and increase the house size by about 50% I know its financially not sensible. But there are not any houses the size I would like in the location I want. So I will over spend. Live there the rest of my life (hopefully) and how much I spent will be irrelevant to my kids when they inherit, they will have a nice nest egg whatever.

That’s fair enough. It’s not just the cost though, it’s the huge time and emotional drain. Getting quotes is hard enough. Then getting someone reliable and of good quality. The hassle of planning, building regs, neighbour disputes etc.

It’s a huge undertaking and will cost you years of your life as well as huge sums of money.

Im just making OP aware.

I’ve done one full house renovation and one extension in the past 10 years and I’d never do it again. It was bloody hard work and if I had the type of cash available OP has, I would seriously be looking to buy a house that already has the space, even if it needs a face lift.

Stamp duty difference might be £50-100k if in London, of buying a ‘ready made’ one.

And it shouldn’t take years of their life - I did it and it took about six months.

If you have time, patience and funds, then it sounds like a good option.

Having renovated and extended before kids (one taking the whole house back to brick) there’s no way I’d take on a project like that in this market, personally, but I wish you the best of luck. Getting the right builder will be the most important aspect to it going to plan.

It cost us 300K 15 years ago with a good builder and being very judicious on fittings, so I doubt you will get much change or luxurious fittings out of 500K with the inevitable delays and cost overruns.

I would not do this without a good builder who will project manage the whole thing. You still have to do frequent site visits and look at plans and make decisions on design constantly.

To state the obvious, make sure the quote includes VAT.

If you are doing such substantial work, it will go faster if you did not move in and let the builders get on with it. However, you will have to factor in the time taken to get the architect's plans and planning permission. This took us 6 months of the house lying empty. Then you have to book in the builders. It took 15 months end-to-end (we started planning even before completion) and we almost did not make it before our year-long rental ran out.

Factor in the cost of rental if you are not moving in until the works are done.

This is nail biting all consuming stuff on a relatively tight budget. I don't know if I have the stomach to do this again. Make sure you can borrow if you need to finish the work.

That said, we love the house now. To me, it will always be wow.

Obviously do get quotes but I’d say the extension alone will be 200k plus and the internal stuff could easily add on the same again. If you need new electrics, plumbing, new bathrooms, flooring, nice kitchen and redecorating you’ll not get change out of 200k just for the internal stuff. Windows/ roof/ guttering, probably at least another 50k.

Also have you factored in external costs like a new drive/ landscaping/ garage? No one wants a beautiful house with a garden which looks like a ploughed field! That could easily set you back between 20-50k depending on what you need.

So if I am honest I don’t think you’ll get any change from your 500k, in fact I’d be surprised if you didn’t spend more!

Thanks @blueshoes v helpful .

We are going to move in until plans approved and go into rented once the renovation starts which should hopefully allow for a smoother running project and less stress and mess for us as a family to have to endure 😅

Thanks @boomshaketheroom I'm trying not to underestimate how stressful this whole process is going to be and keep visualising the end result.

Time and cash I have.....patience levels are questionable though so it will be key to have the right team on the renovation.

Thank you, yes good point about the outside space. The garden is reasonably well established but will obviously need some work doing after the build.

The driveway we hope to have redone within the budget but it can wait as it's in reasonably good shape.

I'm hoping any areas where we go over/unforeseen we can claw back from other areas 🤞🏼

Yup this would be more likely given the current size X likely % of unlooked for problems and further extension.
Honestly there is no comparison regarding a renovation pre covid and post Covid prices.

It is never that simple. We are spending £500k, but for the location and what we are doing it will increase our house value by £925k. Plus this is our forever home so it is about making it what we want it to be.
We got architects plans and a budget drawn up- then we got a sense check from an estate agent as well as looking at local property sold prices.
Also a dated 1930s property that has previously been poorly extended and needs new roof, reword, re plumb, reorganisation and extension( no increase in footprint).

We have just finished a year's worth of building work, extending, converting our loft, adding new bathrooms, new roof, new windows throughout, some external works, remodelling inside. We're in a conservation area, so some restrictions but not too onerous. We're up north, but in a more expensive area. It's cost us the best part of £450k.
We have had builder-subcontracted trades do it all though, with architect as PM and contract manager.

I'm in the north so I know the south has different prices but:

Structural Engineer = £1000+
Planning permission applications = £600+
Extension = £1000 per square meter (so approx. £47k for 500 foot 2)
Plastering = £4000+
Roof = £5000 (new membrane/tiles) - £25,000 (full new roof)
Windows = estimate £600 per window
Electrical rewire = £5000+
New boiler = £2000+
Plumbing (I'm not sure tbh)

So estimate up here I would say about £90,000 (not including plumbing or things like kitchen, bathroom, decorating, removing/building walls etc...)

Based on our recent quotes for something not dissimilar in central London (work starting next month) I reckon you're looking at at least 500k inc VAT for the build, let alone fit out costs.