The builders are in.....share the ups and downs here.....

[nappyzonecantrunfortoffee]

Been as though a few of us have the builders in i thought we could share our fun and try and get through the mire together (even though pavlos stories scared me half to shit).

SO were getting an extension built and they started Wednesday - they seem canny and we have a digger in our garden, guinea pigs at the back of the garedn i have to risk life and limb for to get too to feed and mud - loads of mud - my wellies are caked in the stuff from my guinea pig feeding missions!

Our foundations are all dug out now and most excitingly a mixy truck load of cement was barrowed round the back in to them. Wheres everyone else at?

Sweetkitty, that sounds a possible budget for the work. Be aware that moving the ensuite might end up costing lots - we have to move ours but the plumber is pretty doubtful that we will be able to reuse the fittings, so we've had to budget for new toilet sink shower etc.

Sweetkitty sounds feasable.... can you get a builder round for a ball park figure before you go ahed and get plans n stuf then you will know if its in the realms of possibility.... You cant beat a good utility room!

Id love to cake - i was talking to him today and he was saying hes 60 in feb which no way doe she look but is more winding down in prep for moving out to Spain

Well its freezing here today and just starting to snow ... so the brickie is not working, apparently its too cold for the cement to set. I normally love snow but today I'm just meh

Thanks there's one around the corner that has been extended that used to be the same as ours and they have went out the way we want (without the back extension part though) so it can be done. I know they moved out their house for 3 months whilst the work was being done and moved their stair case etc plus they are childless so were wanting the best of fittings etc so neighbour tells me, I don't know them but may have to go round and quiz them.

Our house is only 6 years old so a new build which my Dad informs me is a basic shell with most interior walls being plyboard or something.

If we could get it all done for 50K for the building work plus another 10-15K for redecorating etc would be happy, still cheaper than moving.

Think we would need new en-suite fittins anyway toilet is cracked and shower is a bit dodgy too, not too worried about that as my Dad is a plumber.

our man had a panic on about snow and put our last roof ridging tiles on yesterday then covered them with metres of hessian to protect which was bazarre so maybe there is some truth in it i dont know?

Swwet kitty just be brash and go hammer there door down under the guise of can you recommend your builder,, oyu never know they might invite you in for a nosy! .

Im glad im not home today as all that business yesterday proper stressed me.

It is true. If it's colder than 2 degrees the cement won't cure then it will just crumble. I've already had enough of the snow now and I usually love it My roof was supposed to be felted this week but now it's next week and of course it may be still snowing by then. GAWD the novelty of this building lark has worn off. Am thoroughly fed up with it and my house being SO DAMN COLD . Roll on Christmas away with my family

Oh dear carrott you sound a tadge ermm peeved off. Hows long has yourproject been on for?

Carrot you sound exactly like me. I understand that they can't lay cement when its v cold like this, but its made me think of all the days when they left early or arrived late, or didn't turn up altogether for various personal crisies, or deliveries were late. If they'd got on with it then, we'd have the roof on by now as planned and they could be doing nice indoor jobs.

Just got a missed call from the builder on my mobile - I'm guessing that's him telling me that nothing will be happening

We are 2 1/2 months in. We still have another 2 1/2 months to go Have had enough of the wrangling about money, had enough of choosing stuff (never thought I'd say that).
I can't WAIT to get these builders (who btw, apart from the boss man who is getting on my nerve - are all very nice, friendly, polite, hard working in the main) away from my house.
I don't want to have to play musical cars everytime I want to leave
I don't want to have to walk through a mudfest akin to glastonbury to reach my tumble drier
I don't want to be worrying about the thickness of the wood layer on engineered oak flooring and whether it will work with underfloor heating
I don't want to have to put an electric heater on for 5 mins before I can bath the children/go for a poo because my bathroom has no heating/is adjacent to the extension and is fucking freezing

aaah, that's better.

oh god yes musical cars - i am so bored of musical cars and the glastonbury put on my wellys treck just to feed my guinea pigs and turning off a radio thats blaring with my kitchen wondow open freezing us all half to death.

This all sounds fun - not!

repeat after me "IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT x x10"

I am due no4 in May and hopefully work might start Sept and be finished for Xmas ha ha ha ha

Mine tried to attach guttering and fachia boards in a blizzard this afternoon then gave up - i came home to two of them huddled in my garage - they had moved my guinea pigs hutch into the extension for shelter then volunteered a big hessian blanket to wrap around the hutch - then i sent em home as it was -2. He is finishing my fachia then tidying up rmoving scaffolding etc and winding down - said when comes back on 4th Jan they will be ripping out my bathroom that very day and knocking through dd bedroom and the bathroom [crapping myself smiley]

Well mine were here when I left (8.30am) by the time I came back (12.30pm) they were gone. It's pouring with rain (in and outside the extension) and there was nothing they could do. Roofers aren't coming until the new year Will this EVER be finished?

Yes it will carrot - this time come easter it will all be over with and it will it will it will be worth it (even if the ank is broke) . Ours dont ocme back till 4th, the scafolders didnt take scafolding away as was not good weather so its all still there - today we have moved out dd from her bedroom and stripped of her wallpaper and tomorow we will hoof the tiles of the bathroom. Tiler coming in am to quote for tiling. We flirted with idea of ordering new cupboard doors for kitchen inthe great 50% off b and q sale which wasnt it turns out of everything - only certian parts of a kitchen . So tomorow were back to picking tiles....... I have a wardrobe and a chest of drawers extra rammed into ds room, a chest of purple drawers and a trofast toy storage overfilled mountain as my bedside cabinet and a dd rammed up against my office chair - im having a bit of a space issue........

The skip will no doubt be back next week and i will be back to musical cars also.

Cake - you quiet ?? yours on hol too or dare i not ask ?

Oh good grief! Just read my last few posts, what a whinger
On the bright side, just ordered some LUSH mosaic tiles for the bathrooms from Fired Earth (IN THE SALE, just a border, they are so £££!) - just need to finds some plain tiles to go with them.

Oh and we are also owners of over-flowing trofast

ahh whinging is allowed on this thread ... off to google fired earth tiles......

Hello! Happy new year!

We've been in a gorgeous (and centrally heated ) cottage in Cornwall for the last week. Got back to find that nothing has happened, builder had said they would be working for a few days between xmas and new year. We've worked out that excluding the xmas period, the builders have been on site for 7 weeks so far. They're only just starting on the first floor. It's meant to be a 12 week build. Will we ever be finished FFS?????????? [wail emoticon]

Carrot - I'm v jealous if the fired earth tiles. I guess we should be choosing bathroom suites and tiles, but I can't bring myself to do it. We've probably got another 6 months until they'll be needed

Just seen the forecast for next week -

Monday - sunny 0 degrees c
Tuesday - sunny intervals 2 degrees c
Wednesday - light snow 0 degrees c

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Happy New Year Cake and fellow extension peeps

Tomorows our big tile shop . Its only coz our local place we like em at is on sale and we are all for bargains. To talk builder talk - i am shoyting bricks about this next week - not looking fwd to it at all.

Well my roof is allegedly going to be covered on Monday - hopefully with felt and batons not snow so that has me feeling more optimistic because once that is done the plumber and electrician can start the first fix.

I know my builder is as frustrated as I am by the lack of progress over the last few weeks (we have a fixed price contract so it doesn't do him any favours if things drag on)so hopefully there will be lots happening in the next few weeks once we are sealed up and not weather dependent. Oh builder also has to speak to the window company on Monday - hoping for good news on when they will deliver.

Oh and waaahaay ahead of myself but dh and I were looking at paints today. Can I recommend - having spent loads of money on differnt paint samples for the lounge - just go to the dulux mixing machine, find exactly the colour you want and have them mix it up. Don't waste your time trying hundreds of test pots that don't look the same as they do in the brochure

Did you get your tiles Nappy? What are you going for, any links?

Off to check the bbc 5 day weather for my area now Cake!

ooo carrot once your roof is one it should be all systems go then (least this is my thoughts and hopes)! Our roof took longer than i expected - are your roof trusses on as that seemed to take a fair while for us (like a week)? after that it took about 3 days to get the covery stuffon then the tiles went on in about 2 days but hampered on and off by snow. Our plumber has done some first fixing but no sparky yet only to get idea of what lights i wanted which we have now bought and have waiting (spots on a bar x 2 for kitchen and resessed for new downstairs room and bathroom). Tile wise we went a bit safe with a beigey lighter stoney effect in a matt finish - a kind of big tile but like a brick shape as oposed to square. Lucky the two we were humming and aring over gave us sample to take away and one looked green in the bathroom light so a worth while excersise. DH has decided he is going to do the job - he is an ok tiler so not to worried though it will drag on it means we can spend the £360 we save on flooring or more tiles when he cocks loads up .

What is your project going to bring you then carrot?

Optimism is gone! BBC forecasts sleet for Tuesday and snow Wednesday Our roof has a very steep pitch so the roofers are refusing to work in any adverse conditions
Our extension contains:

Upstairs - family bathroom (replacing original 3rd bedroom)
Spare Bedroom
Master Bedroom with ensuite

Downstairs:
Cloakroom/wc
Larder
Utility room
Large kitchen/family room (with room for lots of units and island, seating area/sofas and table)

It is a 50% increase in floor space. The biggest (and most expensive of course) project we've ever done.

IT WILL BE FAB IT WILL BE FAB it will be fab...

Oh and trusses etc all on - literally everyone hanging around twiddling thumbs waiting for roofers to put felt and batons (cover stuff) on. Builder hasn't got tiles yet - having problem sourcing them - but assures me once felt is on roof is water-tight so everything else can get a moving.

It's so farking frustrating (for everyone involved) but at the end of the day our builder goes home to his nice warm house and doesn't risk frostbite when he goes for a poo so not feeling that sorry for him

blardy nora that sounds like alot of new space . You should have some piccys on your profile so we can be nosey ! Are you building a hotel? . Ah yes them battonny things - they are what took forever i remember em well.