How much stress is a MASSIVE extension?

[assumetheposition]

We are looking at a house which is a small 3 bed but has planning permission for a 2 storey extension on the side which would double its size. Garden is very big so it would all be in proportion.

How hideous will it be? We are renting at the moment so conceivably could work an extra 6 months rent into the budget. Will it take longer than that?

It is a lot cheaper than other houses we have looked at but, once we've added in the cost of the work, we'd be looking at the same money we have been offering on up until now.

We have 2 small children. Will it send me into an early grave?

No, it's horrible but if you don't have to live in it, it will be FINE!

We had an extension to similar degree - two storey to the side and single storey out the back. Took 5 months.

i second what koalastar says about not living there whilst it is being done! We built our extension and completely knocked the inside down to an empty shell and rebuilt it all completely differntly!

We love the house now and would do it again but i would MOVE OUT . our work took 7 months to complete but we went from 3 bed 1 bath 2 reception rooms to 5 beds 2 baths and 5 reception rooms! so you can imagine what it was like here!

We are in the middle of a big extension and I would agree that the only way is to move out - we are living in the middle of a building site and it is pretty hellish.

When costing it out make sure you include a huge continguency - 10% would be the minimum but 20% is probably safer. And add an extra month or two to the predicted time scale - our extension should have taken 14wks but it's been 5month so far and there is probably still another month to go.

Assumethe position...Hi! We are about to do an extension that will be two thirds of the size of our existing house. We cannot move out (for various reasons) and every one of the six rooms in our house will be affected at some point or other.

We have bought a 4 berth touring caravan which we will use at critical points when the new build breaks through to the existing building. Estimated time is 16 weeks with a mid-summer start - to weather delays ought to be minimal. Also makes using our outdoor space to escape much easier.

I have no doubt that it will be hideous (have a 2yo and a 3yo)and EVERYONE i speak to says if they knew the deal before they started, they would not have. But I am an optomist and I always have an eye on the finished article (despite my desparately and depressingly pessimistic DH....who will cause me way more stress than the build I am sure!)- I plan to be squared up by Xmas and i am packing stuff up now to leave at my parents for safekeeping. Winter clothes all pictures/books/excessive toys etc. My plan is to skip stuff as I go so.

Just wanted to let you know that there is someone out here doing it ...and doing it the hard way it seems. If you proceed and need any tips - give me a shout, happy to pass any ideas on.

Noooooooooo don't say it's hell!

We are about to do a 2 storey side and single storey rear ext, currently awaiting building warrant with hopes to proceed in May this year. We are going to live here the whole time. And have 2 very young kids.

Argh.

Sorry for hijack but Koala can I ask how much your extension was and when you did it? It sounds really similar to ours.

We had large extension done and it wasn't hell at all (well I'm not counting the neighbours)

Took 4 months , we did move out for the last 6weeks or so when they broke through.

We had a large extension last summer, didn't move out despite almost every room in the existing part being affected. It was fine!

Glad to hear you all survived

Haven't even made an offer on the house yet so may be getting over eager but it's good to check these things with you first

Ilikeyoursleeves (bizarre name, ) - looks like we are going to have a similar summer!

Perhaps we should start a "Massive Extension Support Group" thread?!

We had a big 2 storey jobby just done - we lived in it and it was dooable butif you have chance to not live in it it will be bliss. Cake hows it all going?

hey nappyzone, I was just about to update the other thread. Getting there slowly - we moved into our new bedroom yesterday , although there are still loads of tools in one corner of the room. The kitchen fitting starts this week, both bathrooms are half done. According to the builder it will be all done by the end of the week, I think end of April is more realistic. How are you? Are you all finished now?

All finished upstairs with tools in our bedroom too and downstairs dh has finished flooring right through and done all he can with kitchen so man coming week on fri to fit worktops and sink and were done - woo hoo! Its been worth it i think

Sleeves, we had it done in 2004 (it also began in May). The cost for the shell was £58k but our quotes ranged from £45k to £69k as far as I remember.

Everything else was extra - kitchen, granite, tiles, bathrooms, replacement windows to match, patio etc.

We had about £2k worth of steel included in the price because building regs said we needed it.

They trashed our garden - our friends had a similar experience and were gutted about it afterwards - if you are bothered about your plants, try to relocate them - and factor in the cost of making the garden tidy again afterwards. It might not happen but we had to completely re-turf ours.

Also - hire a portaloo - five builders using your toilet is not funny.

And make sure you think of every detail to be included in the quote - for example, exactly which light fittings you want (otherwise your kitchen will probably have a tasteful striplight...) and light switches, skirting boards etc. There are so many little extras to account for and our builders didn't point them out beforehand.

One last point - sell any reclamation yourselves. Our builders demolished a 1930 shed and (unbeknown to me) sold the bricks and roof tiles to reclamation for a small fortune (in the region of £600) which they pocketed. At one point, I came home from work to find our dining room radiator in the back of their van - one of them had assumed it was for scrappage when in fact we had removed it to paint the wall - they had tossed it into the back of the van and damaged it because they were looking to weigh it in for scrap.

(My father in law used to deliver kitchens and remove the old kitchens - he always weighed the taps and radiators in for scrap and used the money as his holiday funds!).

My builders weren't cowboys - I was pleased with the finished extension - hut had no idea of how they operate.

It depends what sort of thing stresses you out.

We had a big extension done last year, moved out for 7 months. The day we moved out was the day of the massive snow dump so no IL help as they were snowed in. Took our removal van an hour to turn round as it got stuck in the snow. Day before we moved back in DD (3) ended up in A and E and was admitted for the night with a nasty head injury.

When we did move back in, we lived upstairs for 6 weeks with no kitchen or carpets, which was pretty depressing. I was ill last year as a result of the stress, and despite having moved back in end of Aug, it took until Christmas to feel relatively normal again. There was no one particular thing that was stressful ( other than the moves, obv ), more a gradual build up of stress over time.

We now have the most gorgeous house. But I would never ever do it again.

Thanks Koala, good info to know! I would never have thought about selling stuff that's demolished (is that what you mean by 'reclamation'?). We will be demolishing our garage and a tiny existing side extension bit that has our front and back doors, radiators and a boiler in it. Could we get money for any of these things then?

We got our first quote in today for £64k for everything bar flooring, sanitaryware, decoration and landscaping. Still awaiting another 2 quotes. Starting to get cold feet a bit though cos our mortgage payments are going to be ££££££ plus we are about to double childcare costs when DS2 starts next month ARGH.

LittlePushka ooooo a support thread would be fab, I love chatting extensions and I'm starting to freak out a bit too re costs but it's still all exciting What you getting done? Maybe we shoudl start a new thread now so this one isn't hijacked?

BTW my name is a quote from the film 'Napoleon Dynamite', a fab geeky American film. 'I like your sleeves, they're real big'. You need to see it to appreciate!

Heh heh, I read that as being a 'massive erection' just for a second.
Never had an extension so can't offer any advice. Good luck with it though.

I'd imagine a MASSIVE erection may be quite stressful, if you get stressed by erections that is. Otherwise it would no doubt be most exciting

lololo

Hello all!

We are going for it this year too - hoping for a start around, well god knows when, but this year probably middle of summer.

Would be up for a support thread as well!

Ok I'' start a new thread in Property / DIY- come join!