Extension and renovation thread 2026

[needmorespace2026]

Looks like we are finally starting building on our extension in Feb. I’ve been mentally planning it ever since we met bed in over 10 years ago, and first met our architect in autumn 2024 so it’s been a long time coming

Wondered if there are others out there who want a space to share the highs and lows? Ours is supposed to be an 8 month build so maybe done by Christmas (famous last words!)

My builder was saying that affordability is becoming a bit of an issue but there's a massive labour shortage -even labourers are well over NMW because why would you do that job when there are a lot easier jobs (not cold, not physically ruinous) around for the same money?- and also materials are a lot more expensive due to energy costs. Brexit exacerbated it but as wages rose in E Europe and unemployment rates fell, a lot of European builders had started to go home anyway - when Poland joined the EU unemployment was 20%-30% (area dependent) and now its 3%. There was a golden age of cheap building driven by cheaper labour from new EU states but that was not sustainable and its presence meant that established builders just hired them and didn't take on apprentices/ build local talent. It's a bit of a structural mess. I wonder if the government should reduce VAT on construction to give it a bit of a boost.

Talking of structural messes...... I'm at the "I wish we'd never started" point. Just too many moving parts. We knew it would be something of a voyage of discovery (old house with 100 years of other people's renovations, mostly pre building regs) but I thought it would be like "75% planned/ 25% unplanned" and I reckon we're now about 50/50 and we'll end up 40/60 in terms of cost and scope. That also means a LOT of people - if anyone wants to meet men, come to my house - there's between 8-12 of them at any one time and some of them are single!

Yes absolutely us too! It's been difficult not ever having a downstairs toilet with 3 littles ones constantly needing a wee and a poo at the weekends.
I'm in the northwest I can't imagine the prices down south 😳

Hello can I join? We just picked up the keys to our detached 4 bed earlier this week and the whole place needs to be renovated while we live in it with 2 young kids and #3 on the way. Wish us luck 🤣

Ah yes @Suchardchoccywe staggered through that phase too (also three kids, primary age).

@AllJoyAndNoFunsorry to hear it is all so much- I hope the May men are all getting along at least.

@needmorespace2026 yeah they’re all friends but unclear if they’re now just trauma bonded 😂

How is it going @needmorespace2026 ? I have calmed down slightly since my last post but still have slight feelings of dread every time I drive up the drive and not helped by DD having a hissy because the big cupboard she was expecting is not structurally feasible (I mean it is but I'm not knocking supporting walls down and paying $$$$ so she can house her shoe collection).

I now have a contract for a portaloo and a skip - I feel like a proper construction professional

@EllieWales - what are you planning for your new house? Is there a lot of structural stuff or mainly cosmetic/ updating?

@AllJoyAndNoFunwell end of week 1, they have removed the garage and concrete driveway and patio slab, so on schedule despite being messed around by the skip company and consequent emergency session with a grab lorry emptying the skip as the builders filled it from the other side- they looked a bit knackered afterwards but they succeeded. So far I’m impressed, schedule could easily have slipped already but the went the extra mile to avoid that.

Im feeling much happier now things are rolling but also now urgently need to move out- we are moving to the vacant house of a family member which is free (hurrah!) but has a cluster fly infestation I have to sort (boo…)

I hope we will face not too may unexpected issues as our house is not old. Sounds stressful. How does it work, you pop in every day and the many men update you? Do you have someone managing it all or is that on you?

I can tell I’m in a more positive mood as have felt the urge to browse light fittings, cupboards etc instead of stressed thoughts about planning all the move, DIY etc.

@AllJoyAndNoFun there’s a random second staircase going from the kitchen to the main bedroom which will be removed and an ensuite put in and a load bearing 2ft thick solid stone wall to be removed to open up the kitchen and dining room. The rest of the rooms will be rewired, insulation put in, ceilings to be reboarded (they currently have hideous wood panels) and then full replaster. Baby is due in July so we’re taking a phased approach but haven’t figured out where to start…

UPDATE -

The electrician has found that the wiring is 70 years old from when the house was built in the 50s and it's all rubber so the whole house needs a rewire which is happening next Monday and tuesday. The extension has all the electrics tapped into the rubber wiring when it was done in 2019/20 so that was illegal. No wonder there was no paperwork on the extension. Good news is that the downstairs toilet is finished and the UFH in the living room is finished but we are going to have to reject the delivery of the sofa today because I don't want it to get ruined next week (the electrician finished in the living room last night but he told the builders to hold off plastering and painting the living room just incase he needs to go back in there). As soon as the rewire is done they will replaster and paint. Thankfully the previous owner left all the paint and labelled it for us!! What a nightmare.

We have just had a first quote in for our kitchen extension (it took the first builder 2 weeks and a reminder 🙄) and it is utterly baffling. Cost includes kitchen price, but there is no info on what materials cost and what trades are priced at. And so much waffle too. The price is OK, but we can't compare to any other quote like this.

And we are still waiting on the second quote too...

We’re waiting for costs from our builder and electrician. Found out the house needs to be rewired and the joists are rotting under our bedroom floor 😆 17 window panes have blown and need replacing which we’ve been quoted £1.3k for which is not as bad as I was expecting so that’s one positive

@OotontheRandan You mean the cost includes fitting the kitchen or the actual kitchen itself? If the kitchen itself, I might be tempted to source that independently just so you know what you're getting in terms of aesthetic/ quality. Otherwise it's a bit of a black hole. Definitely at least ask them to split into labour and materials as then when there are changes you've got some transparency on the basis for it.

@EllieWales I feel like we are living parallel renovations. Ours also full of rotted joists and dodgy wiring. That is a good price for 17 windows- are they just replacing the glass/ resealing as opposed to frames as well? Makes sense if the frames are still in good condition.

Latest is that the roofers have discovered that the existing clay tiles have been cemented together in blocks (presumably to help prevent slippage) so they are not reusable. This is actually quite a disaster as the quote only allowed for 30% "wastage". They are hoping it might just be one section of the roof and the whole thing isn't like that but I'm not optimistic. There's also the question of where we can source that many reclaimed clay tiles in one go. I have spent the day rescheduling about 4 other trades as we are getting really far behind.

The whole roof is, in fact, all like that..... fuckity fuckity fuck.

I am distracting myself looking at coving- turns out the "original" coving that I was desperate to save and lost sleep over is in fact 80's polystyrene. Gotta love "period features".

Oh no @AllJoyAndNoFunis it a big roof? Ouch

@needmorespace2026 yeah it is weirdly massive as it’s an L shaped house and the big bit of the L is single storey so the roof is big relative to the floor space if you see what I mean and then on the other bit of the house it’s a double ridge. The roofer has messaged to say he’s found a supplier who has new but “aged” tiles that he can mix in with the reclaimed ones so at least we will have enough tiles.

Oh dear! On the plus side it sounds like a charming period house. Ours is unlikely to yield too many surprises 🤞 but that’s because it’s a big builder 1970s job (nice neighbourhood though). The challenge in my case is somehow getting a house that is big enough for the family out of a tiny original house. And then getting it to look visually pleasing without adding inauthentic features (already kyboshed by the planners refusing my period-authentic flat roof dormer grrr)

The electrician has finished doing the rewire today. Now the builders need to come back in and tidy up!

Hurrah @Suchardchoccythat was quick (I think?). Now they can start making it nicer rather than worse.

we had our first concrete pour for the foundations today. First thing that has happened that wasn’t just destruction! Next door’s cat has left footprints in it which is cute.

I’m feeling a bit emotional - this is our last night in the the “old house”- we’re moving out tomorrow to make way for builders and when we return it will be different. After 15 years, gone from young and broke to Middle Aged with three kids, it’s odd to think we’ll never sleep in our old bedroom again.

im weirdly wishing we had all put our foot prints in the foundation to bring luck to our family home! Although that would not make the builders happy I dare say so he cat prints will have to do!

That’s exciting @needmorespace2026 must be lovely to see if starting to take shape! And the cat prints are cute wonder if there’s a way to save them as a feature 😂

@Suchardchoccy the rewiring done must be a relief, I have to admit that’s the part I’m dreading most because they’ll make a mess in every room. Our original plan was to do the house up room by room but that’s now gone out the window.

We’re waiting for the builder to come back and fix the joists before anything else can start. I’m slowly making my way through taking off all the wallpaper in the meantime, there’s so many layers of the stuff and it’s in every single room

@needmorespace2026how exciting! It will all be worth it.
Yeah the rewire was done in less than 2 days. The builders have filled and plastered where the electricians made a mess (the wall damage was minimal TBF but then I don't have experience) however the carpets upstairs they have ripped up and now they need refitting 🙄 the builders are coming on Monday to paint over where they have plastered and then Hammonds are coming on Wednesday to fit bespoke shelving for all our dvds and CDs! The sofa has been delivered but it's still in its plastic. At least the downstairs toilet is finished and functioning, Ive painted the door and skirting boards for that.

Hey all. I'm still alive. Now at that permi-anxious stage where everything is starting to get put back but I have constant fear that something has been missed and we will have to undo something structural to fix it and we do not have that time to spare. The plastering has been done downstairs, I am running dehumidifiers 24/7 and the decorator is basically chasing the plasterer around. We are hoping to start the underfloor next week and the tiling the week after. The roofers are about halfway through stripping, insulating and battening but that is gonna take at least another 4 weeks. Feels like it will never end. Why why why didnt I just buy a firkin' new build?? I am going over tomorrow to do a massive clean up and take a few remaining carpets out but that's basically just to make me feel like I'm doing something and quell the panic.

@AllJoyAndNoFunIt must be nice seeing actual painted walls. How come you could run out of time? Do you have a fixed move in date?

Here we have foundations and most of the block work done for the extension. I went round and stood in the “dining room” yesterday and had that weird experience where the footprint of a house looks tiny, it makes you think “why are we bothering adding this tiny extension?”. However, once it is built it will feel huge I’m sure, as the extension is bigger than the existing house!

how is everyone else doing? @Suchardchoccysounds like your might be nearly finished?

@needmorespace2026 it’s lining up timings for the kitchen fitter so kitchen and utility floors need tiling. We’ve delayed him once but if we don’t take this next slot then he’s busy until September so I’ll need to find someone else! plus we really need to get out off the Airbnb. We live somewhere with no winter season so it’s been pretty reasonable but from Easter onwards it gets pricey so I don’t ideally want to extend beyond end of May. End of June is my hard stop.

its so weird how it looks really small when it’s just blocks but then really big when its done isn’t it? I had the same thing on our last house when we did a GF extension. Glad you’re making progress.

How’s everyone else getting on?

Ah I see. I’ve (perhaps foolishly) decided to do the fit out myself to save money and because I like DIY. I think most of it can be done gradually but I will need to paint and do floors before we move in. If I can get some done in August or September that will be great but if it’s October or November I’m doomed as way too busy at work from Oct to March to do any DIY (I’m a university lecturer so my workload is very seasonal)