Please share any lessons you have learnt from having your house extended

[jaz2]

We're just about to sign up to having our kitchen (on 100 year old house) extended. Going with a local builder who is self-employed - have spoken to people he has done work for who were happy with his work. itchen itelf will be from Magnet.

What sort of things should be included in the contract, what insurance should we expect him to have. Whta alse should we be aware of? Also any advice on Magnet kitchens?

My addled brain (with toddler and newborn)can't think of what obvious (and not so obvious) things we should be aware of.

Any advice/lessons learnt would be much appreciated.

everything will get much dirtier than you imagine. Move out if you can.

builders always drink tea with two sugars

Does your architect project manage or is that you?

I think its a good idea to go and look at work which the builder has done, rather than simply talk to previous customers.
That way you can see for yoursefl what kind of finish was achieved.

Don't mean to sound patronising, but in your shoes, ie with a toddler and newborn to look after, I'd wait until the DCs were a little bit older and less demanding of you before doing such major work.

Are you going to be living there during building work? What sort of kitchen arrangements will you have while the work is done?

Thanks for the quick responses.

We're planning to move out for max 3 weeks. The builder has lots of experience of working for families with small children, so the schedule won't leave us kitchen-less for more than 10 days (one of the reasons we chose him was that he was so helpful in suggesting how to minimse disruption - some companies were crap at understanding our situation - their view was "move out for 3 months and rent a place" - which round here would add £5-10k+ to the cost).

We have wondered about postponing it for a year or 2, but it would be a 'mare to move out when I'm back at work, my small kitchen has been driving me crazy for a couple of years - it will be even worse when baby is mobile, and I am desperate to be able to "host" more than 3 people round our kitchen table. At the moment when my son has friends round they end up playing in the sitting room - which I would rather keep "mayhem free".

We're not having an architect, a structural engineer will do the plans.

I know it does sound a bit mad to do it know, but it will also allow us to turn one room into a playroom within sight of the kitchen, instead of "dead space" as it is now.

And I think the builder himself will do the project managing - he employs a couple of assistants, an electrician and plumber. What special things would a project manager need to do (clearly I'm missing something fundamental)!

I'll be around 7 days a week, and would expect to be quite involved in the project, which the builder is encouraging of (as opposed to a couple who seemed to want to "hold their cards very close to their chests").

Expect delays - no matter how good the builder is, things happen. Parts are delivered that are wrong. Human error happens.

Incidentally, i don't think your'e crazy at all - rather suck up the month or so of hell in exchange for hopefully the next few years of goodnews. And I agree it's easier to do when you're not at work. However, be prepared to find it absolutely tedious and exhausting as you stagger around trying to find somewhere clean and dust free to play with lo etc. If you have family nearby, ask them for the keys to their house so you can hang out there sometimes when you can't take the building any more.

Be as precise as you can with the initial costings.

Make it completely clear that no additional monies can be spent without your approval.

If you can - have a detailed contract with the builder so that everyone knows exactly what he is doing. This avoids arguments about things you thought were covered in his estimate and he argues are not.

Be sure that the project will come in over budget and allow for this when you cost it out initially.

Establish a good relationship with the builder early on and absolutely DO NOT be afraid to tell him that things are not as you wanted them.

watching with interest. should hopefully be getting planning permission through for ours tomorrow!

is 10 percent enough to put aside as contingency?

PLan your kitchen meticulously, what cupboards where,what you will put in them,where the kettle and toaster will be.

What about windows and sills.If you plan ahead and are ready with answers when the builder suddenly says,where do you want your plugs,or are you having the granite upt ot the sill bla bla.

Also think about lighting well in advance so all the decisions are made.Measure and plan.

Also I had extension across whole back of house double storey, ds was 2 ,he loved it.Used to walk around with a pencil behind his ear like the builder

We moved out for 6 weeks which helped ,but whole thing took 4 months.
Wish we'd done it years ago.

jaz
We had an extension done last year. i also had a toddler and newborn at the time and my logic was the same as yours - it would be harder with 2 mobile toddlers than it would be with one and a new baby who cant run round. Our builders were good and left the kitchen alone for as long as possible. We did not need to move out as we set up a temporary kitchen with a small portable electric hob and oven and I also filled the freezer before my kitchen was trashed.

It will be worth it in the end.

As for tips - defo plan everything in detail in the kitchen as ggirl said.

Try not to change your mind on things half way through as this will annoy the builders and could cost you more.

Consider what insurance cover you have if the worst happens. Our kitchen extension involved removing load bearing walls and putting in new supporting steels. By all accounts, the builders did nothing wrong, but the walls on the upstairs floors of the hours started to bulge and crack because the house is old and the bricks were loose, so moved with the disruption. We had to have expensive remedial work. It was only when we contacted our insurers to discuss the problem that we learnt that we should have contacted them before any structural work was carried out, so they could assess whether the risk on our buildings insurance had changed. They said they would have also offered insurance specifically to cover the building work.

Agree about planning as its costly to remedy later and there are always things you leave out in teh hope of curtailing the budget when really it makes little difference!I have done this with our kitchen/living space as I thought we may not stay in teh house long and I thought certain things were indulgent and am now about to start phase 2 to put it right! Set up one really comfy workable room with microwave kettle etc and hang a cheap pound shop pvc shower curtain over the door on a wire inside and out it is lovely to have one dust free zone in teh evenings.Buy a cheapish hoover and leave where the builders can see it Not cheeky mine said they loved it.If you last to the end without moving out treat yourself to a big clean from one of those companies that do rentals about £200 mand well worth every penny.

All very useful advice thankyou. As a result of which I've started a list of all the cupboards we will need for everything. Think we now need to extend the kitchen into the garden as well as the side return!

Also the need to address issues and problems that arise as they arise. I hate having to "challenge" people when things go wrong, and often end up the poorer because of it.

Meantime DH is off to check our house insurance policy.

I'd never have thought about how to keep rooms dust free.

Thanks everyone!

If you can, seal around all of the rest of the doors in your house with masking tape, even if people are using the rooms. It reduces the amount of dust getting into other rooms.

Have a detailed specification for the builder, including where you want power points. They will try to change this to where it is more convenient for them - agree if it's not really important. Think about where you will put microwave, toaster and plug in vacuum cleaner. I agree that sockets on every wall are worthwhile.

Builders do not think about dirt. Take up any carpets and take down curtains if you can. If you can't easily remove any floor covering put down that horrid looking plastic. Think about how dirty builders will get to your toilet and what towels they will wipe the dirt on. (Unless you are like my prissy neighbour who wouldn't let her builders use her toilet at all). Buy soemthing to help them get the dirt off their hands. I wish we'd thought of plastic shower curtains down the doors.

House insurance during building work may require an extra premium, if they will cover you at all.

A wet and dry vacuum cleaner may encourage the builder to clear up a bit - but as mine said you pay them a lot to be a cleaner. Expect to clean yourself. Even if a builder "cleans up" it's not anything most woemen would recognise as clean!

We employed an architect to manage our project - then had to sack him when he screwed up. Project managers are expensive and are not essential if you are nearby to deal with problems. They can be more trouble than help.

Think about - and specify in writing - heights of worksurface, kitchen cupboards, windows.

Chocolate biscuits and the odd bacon butty work wonders.

Don't keep changing your mind about stuff, but by the same token, if you are unhappy with the finish on something, speak up. They are doing a job for you, so you have to be 100% happy.