Support thread for those crazy enough to be extending their homes this year!

[ilikeyoursleeves]

Hiya, after hijacking another thread about massive extensions (not massive erections LOL) there seems to be a few of us who are about to embark on building projects this year. So if you are one of them come join in so we can share all the excitement, nervousness and bewilderment at everything that needs done!

We are currently awaiting quotes from builders for a two storey side extension plus a single storey at the rear. We had our first quote in today which is £64k. Not sure if this is good or bad, it will be interesting to compare the quotes when they are all in. We are also awaiting planning permission but should get it fine as our house already has planning for the extension that came with the sale of the house (but we had to resubmit as we have changed it a bit). Awaiting a building warrant too.

I'm very excited but frankly crapping it re the costs as we are going to have to remortgage plus DS2 will start nursery so we will have 2 lots of chilcare costs too.

ARGH!!!

So I for one need my hand held throughout all this process I just keep thinking of the end product and hoping it will all be fine.

What's everyone else doing and when?

Oooh loads happening here!

I came back to say - we have the money! The remortgage has gone through and I have a huge pile of cash in my bank account

We did get some other builders in and are waiting for our 3 quotes (which will all be huge) and for building regs to be approved by the council. All of the builders seemed to think they could start as soon as the council gives the go ahead...

FMAO, we had exactly the same thing - neighbour wouldn't even let party wall surveyor in to do a condition thingy (photos, survey) and we ended up delayed by 2-3 weeks. That said, the party wall surveyors weren't too quick off the mark when it came to paperwork - if you have a fast one, it shouldn't take that long.

What are they asking for, an independent surveyor? Are they likely to want to call in a structural engineer's report? You poor love, I do feel for you - its utterly infuriating. Hold on to this: if you have planning permission, they can't stop you - only slow you down a little.

Anything you want to discuss on party wall stuff, feel free to contact me - I'm no expert, but have reluctantly learnt a lot!

mooki and ISNT, hurray!

Elibean thanks for the reassurance. We have the surveyors coming out tomorrow to look. Our surveyor reckoned it would be delayed by a couple of weeks, depending on how straightforward it is.
I fear it is going to be a bit complicated. It turns out I sent the neighbours the wrong notice in the first place which doesn't help. I guess we'll know more tomorrow.

ISNT that's great news that things are moving now. Our architect said that builders can start before regs are approved as long as the application is submitted and builders get site inspections at each stage (including kick-off)

Sleeves I would tell all the neighbours if you can. I think they'd appreciate it coming from you rather than via another neighbour if they mention it in passing. I think I'd probably wait until post build for a gift unless it's a real pain for them and then give them intermediate peace offerings along the way

Mooki and brightwell sounds like things are going well but the mention of all that dust and dirt makes me a little nervous

Lexi hope you're making progress on the quotes - good luck with it all

Freeze, our former neighbours served us with the wrong party wall award (we only noticed a few weeks in that they'd put their other neighbours' details instead of ours!) but it took very little time to sort that out. Fingers crossed for straightforwardness, and a good surveyor's visit. If your neighbour cooperates with the surveyor, it helps a lot with speed - though nothing helps with the cost, which is unavoidably gutting

Hope everyone else's plans are going well, dust and dirt bearable (good weather has to help a bit, I suppose!) and finances holding up

We are in a lull, waiting for kitchen to be fitted in about ten days (apart from fridge/freezer, which is delayed apparently till end of month). But meantime, skirting boards are going on...frosted glass between tiny cloakroom bit and study going in...decorator busy painting ceilings.

And I'm trying to keep our house tidy (ha) so new tenants can come and see it. Sadly unmotivated, as we're not the ones trying to sell it

wow Elibean sounds like things are going well (apart from the kitchen delay) painting things must mean it's nearly there

Surveyors came to visit this afternoon, they seem fairly reasonable so I'm feeling more positive. However I am also preparing for the neighbours themselves to be less cooperative and make us wait for longer than necessary. If all goes well we could be starting in 10 days time, but more likely to be another 2 weeks after that

Oh good! 2 weeks sounds and feels like such a lot from this side of it all, but once you start work you wo'nt care two hoots

As for us...yes, you'd think, huh...but when I look at the loo-less downstairs loo, the plasterboard still to plaster in the cloakroom, the bathroom floor that needs re-covering and tiles that need fixing, the kitchen that isn't in yet, I do wonder

I have two quotes...

one is 24k without my bifold doors, kitchen units and Velux (did I describe that one last time I posted?)

and the other is [hang on, getting calculator out] 32800+VAT with a benchmarx kitchen included and bifolds and velux.

eek!

All the studwork for the downstairs extension is finished. Plasterers in all this week, so more dust heading our way. The new downstairs loo, utility room and study are all light and airy, although I wish we had chosen a slightly bigger velux for the utility. DH is upstairs painting the ensuite as I type, collected the tiles today ready for the tiler next week. Our project manager reckons we'll be finished (construction wise) by the end of next week!

I feel like I've blinked and loads of people suddenly seem to be racing through their extensions, how did that happen?!

Lex that's quite a difference on your quotes, what one will you go with or are you getting some more quotes?

News from here is that the electric stuff will be done on the 14th July (moving the meter and consumer unit) and then the actual building work won't start til the 26th as the builder is going on hols. Quite glad he is taking his hols before the work starts so we don't have a big delay in the middle of it while he suns himself!

I went to my mates house yesterday who is nearing the end of her extension (she is using the same builder, that's how I got his name). Wow, it is amazing. He and his team have done a great job, on time and on budget. My mate said she has found them to be absolutely amazing, so much that she is wanting to give them a big fat tip! The builder is also so impressed with the outcome that he wants to submit it for a building competition! I got to meet the builders team yesterday too and they seem nice lads so that's good. They seem 'normal' unlike the boke who was fitting our loft insulation yesterday who insisted calling me 'darlin' and honked of B.O.

ILYS I'm still waiting for two more quotes.

The higher one of these two is a bit of a joke really, it's set out by room rather than by phase of work, so he has itemised £3,400 for the utility room but the appliances, WC and basin, doors and 'decorative' items are 'customer to supply'. Er, so you want 3.4k for a couple of stud walls, two double sockets and plumbing? I don't think so sunshine.

One of the guys who hasn't yet sent a quote came for a re-visit with his electrician to check a couple of things, which is a great sign. They're recommending that we'll have to replace the consumer unit (DH and I expected this, and it gives us a chance to get some other re-wiring done) and it's the builder who did a colleague's extension recently, so he comes recommended. Likely to use sub-VAT specialists too, and he isn't pushing any particular kitchen or bifold manufacturer.

Just signing in, am so of all you actually in the process of building work. All very exciting.

We are still in the depths of planning permission, phoned architect on Monday who phoned the guy from the council who said he had recommended it for approval but it was still to be signed off by his boss who was on hols for 2 weeks still they have to teh 23rd apparently although architect was trying to speed it up.

Next stage I think is the detailed drawings for the building warrant (?) I think, architect says that should take about a month, he says not to talk to builders until we have the detailed drawings for them to quote from.

In an ideal world I would want to start Sept so it will be finished by Christmas, think I am being a bit naive and hopeful.

The property we are selling to partly fund the extension is just about to go on the market so I think we will be borrowing the money now.

Better go will try and catch up better later DS is crying for a feed.

We are covered in dust and have only half a downstairs to live in. It's very exciting! But also quite tiring...

OMG!!! We go on holiday for a week and get back on Saturday and find out the builder would like to start a week earlier!!! So starting on Monday. Cue me panicing and I have to say I'm feeling rather proud of myself. I've organised the whole house into storaging and keeping in the weekend. Got removal men coming on Friday to take it all and put into storage. Sold the conservatory for twice as much as we thought on ebay in less than 24hrs. Thats going on Saturday which is perfect because I'm using that to store our stuff for storage in it right now. Builder been over this morning for 2 hours and finalised all the finer details. Asked for a couple more small things which he's not adding onto the price which is fab. Rung the building inspector and notified them of commmencement of work and found out that we're missing a bit of paper from them but thats apparently ok because its their fault not mine. And its only just gone lunchtime!!! Very pleased with myself!

Just waiting for the major problem because so far everything has been plain sailing with no problems. Building extensions are meant to be harder than this!!!

Rebl that's fab! I will be only a week behind you then, we start on the 26 th although I had a workie out all day today digging a massive trench in our garden for the mains cable to be rerouted on wed. He dug solidly for 7 hours without a break! Wouldn't even take a cuppa although he did have some biscuits & 7 up. So it feels like its actually started here, exciting!

sleeves Wow, thats brilliant for you as well. I knew we were running roughly together, have been the whole way through haven't we! Your digger man sounds almost like slave labour .

It was like slave labour! It was peeing down at one point as well and he just kept on digging. The trench isn't finished yet tho so he will be back tmo to do it, it's massive, really deep and across two sides of the house. Are we not getting a similar extension too rebl? Remind me again what you are doing? We are double side and single rear extension.

Yes very similar although we're now not doing the 2 storey side as thanks to dh being made redundant earlier in the year we can't apply for a larger mortgage even though he has a better job now. So we're doing the single storey back and side bit. So we're getting a large family room out the back and a large kitchen diner. Not getting the pantry, downstairs toilet and utility room or the 4th bedroom right now. That'll have to wait for a couple of years when we can get out of our mortgage cheaply unless the mortgage company change their minds in a months time when we call them back.

Ah OK, all still exciting though eh? It was weird seeing the workie guy here today, finally all seems real! We just got our loft topped up with insulation last week too so that's another home improvement ticked, and we put loads of stuff up there out the way while the extension is being done. I still need to clear the utility room that's being knoced down- the builder is going to temporarily plumb our washing machine under the stairs and I'm wondering if we can just sit our tumble drier in the living room and still use it if we hang the vent out the window?

Our fusebox is getting moved this Wed too so it will be a day of no leccy in the house- eeek! Sarnies and card games all day LOL.

Don't know if anyone in London is still looking for builders but I can't recommend ours highly enough. Happy to pass on the contact details if anyone would like them.

Oooh, rebl and sleeves, exciting times! Its going to go so fast now, you wait...

I'm getting nervous and excited too, because moving in is looming and the kitchen is being fitted this week. Downstairs loo/coat room is plastered, window in, sliding pocket door fitted. The extension itself is just gorgeous - I can't believe our luck every time I go in there (especially minus all our clutter, it looks so spacious!).

Horton, its great you've had good experience with builders - us too, we're going to have a BBQ the week after we move in and invite the lot of them, plus my brother who project managed, plus the plumber who is lovely and is telling dh all about keeping chickens , plus my nephew-in-law the joiner who made all the wardrobes/shelving units etc. Makes such a difference having people you like and trust helping it all happen.

sweetkitty, good luck with the selling. How's ds doing?

FMAO, how's the party wall side of things?

sleeves Definatly can put tumble drier in living room and run hose out of the window, exactly what we're doing.

Elibean How exciting to be nearly finished. Sounds like you'll be moving in very soon.

Does anyone know where to buy those vacuum storage bags from other than argos? My argos is out of stock.

I was thinking of inviting ours to the party we are planning to have when it's all done, too, Elibean. They are SO nice. And incredibly hard working. Sometimes I go and offer them a coffee and they say 'sorry, we've got too much to do, we can't stop for coffee!'

Hey

Thanks Elibean for asking. I haven't been on here for a few days as I'm so pissed off about the party wall thing. Don't want to rant too much.
We've now had to move our start date again to 9th August - grr.
Party wall is getting sorted but I won't believe it until I have a signed piece of paper in front of me. Plus we're still wrangling over access for deliveries etc. I guess it was never going to be easy since I've got to deal with a diocese and county council but now the county council lady is away on holiday so can't do anymore until she gets back. But they say no deliveries between 9am and 4pm and no skips or spoil over their land

Rebl sounds like you're done with the organising - can you come over here and help me?!
Okay rant over

Sounds like things are moving well with everyone else. I'm a bit about your kitchen being fitted Elibean
Have fun with the "back to the olden days" tomorrow Sleeves