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?

Hey Sweetkitty, welcome back to the thread! How is the (not so) newborn? I was worried too about small kids / babies V builders but TBH it's been fine here. Mine are nearly 3 and just turned 1, they were interested in the builders at first but now don't bat an eyelid. All the work has been outside so far though so not quite sure what it will be like once they break through...

PS Just uploaded a latest pic of the extension on my profile if anyone wants a peek :)

Welcome Jules! Yes your plans sound a lot like what we are doing, there are some pics on my profile if you want a too see what we are doing.

...and £8k for an architect!!!! That's waaaaaay too much IMO. We paid £1895 for our architect although he isn't project managing or anything. We are in Scotland which may have cheaper rates, but still. Where are you?

Good luck with everything :)

Hi, am in Cambridge, renowned hotbed of crazy living costs and property prices :-(

Yikes. Even so, it's worth shopping around for architect quotes. We had some going into the region of £4-5k which I thought was crazy. And if you get a decent builder you don't need to project manage, we are using a building company with the main bloke who doesn't actually do much hands on work but sorts all the stuff out. He employs some staff and subcontracts others and has been pretty good.

Morning

Welcome Jules. I would agree with Sleeves and shop around some more for architect quotes. We're also doing a double and single storey extension, and our architect was much closer to the £2K mark rather than £8K. He's not project managing though either. We're in the south east so also got some crazy property pricing.

sleeves, the well sounds worse than it is! It's been covered over now with lintels and concrete, before the building inspector had a chance to hear about it! I like your pictures BTW

I've just ordered our bathroom stuff, got it from a place in London because we could get trade prices from our builders. Still not as cheap as bathstore.com so you could try there. I haven't heard that many good things about their customer service though, apparently it's very difficult to change things when you receive the wrong items (which is fairly common).

Sweet Kitty I reckon you can manage. Of course it will be a bit stressful, but since you're a long way off you could start specing out as much as possible now. I've found the most stressful bit is having to decide quickly e.g. choosing the acutual sanitary ware.

ILYS ... the knockthrough is definitely messy! if you can hermetically seal the doorway(s) between there and the rest of your house, do so! Else, as someone said up the thread, you'll be tasting a dusting of brick on your breakfast cereal for quite a while!

2nd architect is coming in at a third of the original one's quote. Not got building firm's all-in quote yet. Hope to have decided by end of week.

Hello. I'm new!
Lexi sent me this way.

Just really marking my spot, as I am about to project manage an extension/renovation of my current home. Am utterly terrified at the prospect of it all, someone tearing my house to bits (boo hoo) then hopefully sticking around to put it all back together again.

We did a mini-renovation 4 years ago, just after moving in to get the place kind of sorted. Now feel ready to push on and make the next steps.. We are looking at 20+ weeks build and then finishing. Builders should start in November, we have to move out, but i can't find anywhere to live, so we may end up making do (though god, I don't know how).

Anyway, just a quick hello, and I will be back!

hi all,

we are definitely still on track - plasterers did most of the walls, UFH and screed went down, and we can walk on it now. had the PM and site mgr around today to assess what extras we had incurred with the small hiccups and what was still emerging...

the upshot is that we have to pay an extra... nothing at all!! the problems had balanced out, in a way - the extra plumbing, a couple of further electric sockets, crap plasterwork that needs to be chipped off before the surface can be made good, big hole where a fireplace used to be... but on the other hand, we don't need one of the internal doorways, they're not doing tumble drer venting (too long a distance, we're having to get a condenser), and, er, we've provided the odd cup of tea. I also asked for them to dig holes and cement in the posts for the decking we'll be doing later.

I think this shows a benefit of signing a contract. These variations to the plan are measureable against what we wrote and agreed on, so you can make an objective amendment to value of the work. There the strait-laced-ness ends: the upshot will actually be that we make a couple of the payment stages in cash, but that's no biggie to us.

In an entirely unrelated bit of random good fortune, I secured the purchase of a 3-year-old Bosch condensing tumble drier and 3-year-old Bosch dishwasher from someone at work for £100 each. we'll go pick them up on Thursday.

Been having a horrendous time here with school and ds so not really been on here even though you would have thought the house and extension would be top of my stresses and excitment!!

Anyway, there has been another delay that I didn't really understand but didn't really listen tbh. But the exciting news is they started knocking big holes in the wall at 8am this morning . Dust everywhere the otherside of the taped up doors and I now have no kitchen but right now this seems like a minor stress and I've decided to dump ourselves on a friend after school to get the kids friends and me and dh are on takeaway.

I have a sink again... but no lighting in the kitchen/extension so can't do the big pile of washing up until the morning. DH is away staying overnight with friends so he can make an early start in the office. so I will have little handful child tomorrow morning when trying to do it (hmmm, should I find a lamp and just get a head start now...)

Three other things happened today. UFH was tested and works. WC was installed and works. Electric shower in upstairs bathroom (which will be the next project) died a pretty terminal-sounding death as I was running DS's bath. I had to turn it off with a screwdriver on the valve.

I am quite ready to NOT be living in squalor, please. Any time soon? This is only a 2 bed terrace, it's not like you can get far away from the site of the issues without completely decamping...

Lexilicous Glad you have sink back. Sounds like its all progressing.

My life just feels like I'm jumping from 1 huge problem to the next. We have 2 lovely holes in the side of the house. They today starting taking out the apparently, according to the structural engineer, load free internal wall and discovered that it is in fact load bearing . So I'm now under strict instructions that I'm not allowed into half of the house downstairs (which is my kitchen basically) and I'm not allowed upstairs either. They have no free strong boys to hold it all up. So they're working like mad to get an RSJ into another wall so they can release those strong boys to get them onto this other wall. Architect and structural engineer are coming round this afternoon. I'm trying to find somewhere to go after school as clearly can't bring kids back here when they're not allowed upstairs. Builder is hoping we'll be able to get upstairs this evening otherwise I need to find somewhere for us all to stay.

Rebl!

how dreadful! you really need to have a stern conversation with your engineer/surveyor as you will incur extra costs. That is awful! check the small print of his advice on what beams/etc were required and mention going to RICS and questioning his professionalism if he doesn't make you a very good offer!

I really hope you are able to sleep in your own beds tonight. good luck!

OMG Rebl! Surely your SE / architect should have known that the wall was a supporting wall?! Will they meet the extra costs if it's their fault that they didn't notice it before now? How awful for you, hope you get somewhere safe to sleep tonight.

Things here seem to be going so slooooow. The roof tiles are sitting on the roof but not in place as yet and the bricks aren't laid yet as the usual brickie is 'on another job' So we have a brickie coming out on Saturdays instead doing a little bit, DH thinks our builder is doing a cash in hand job...

On a positive note, the plumbing and electrical work has started inside and today the floor was laid on the ground floor (just some basic wooden / chipboard sheets). I am about to order all the bathroom stuff too, good sales are on just now so I'm going to order it tomorrow once I clarify a few things with the buider.

Oh Rebl, hope it has all been sorted by now and you are sleeping safely. Keep us updated

Sleeves sounds like your at about the same stage as us. Roof is halfway slated but it seems to have been going for a while.

Plumbers have been busy, and our sparky was delayed - he was meant to start today but now starting on Monday. I'm a bit relieved because we haven't quite worked out all our lighting.

Well our PM has yet again shown us why we're paying for him. Its all sorted . Structural engineer redid his job for free yesterday afternoon and steel was ordered and was put in today . So every bit of steel is in . We have no kitchen, oven is in the middle of the empty space. The electrician is coming Tuesday for 1st fixing, the plasterer starts on Thursday for a week. Kitchen is being delivered in 2 weeks time. We're very definatly on the home straight now . PM promised me that everyone will be off site by half-term .

4th and final quote/discussion happening early next week then we have to make a decision and get the ball rolling...

Phew, fab news Rebl! Your PM sounds worth the money :o

Good luck for your next quote Jules!

Well I have just been on a major online shopping spree at Bathstore and bought the following:

Bath & waste, bath panel, shower tray & waste, ensuite sink & waste, ensuite loo (back to wall one with concealed cistern), cloakroom loo, cloakroom basin & waste and a fancy towel rail that attaches to the sink.

All for £1277 eek! But hey we got loads for that price. BIL is a salesman for a tap company so we are getting taps, mirrors & the shower from him with a 70% discount :o

Will need to start looking at tiles and the likes now...

Hi all, it's quiet on here these days, how is everyone doing?

News from here- things still moving along steadily... The builders are at the stage of putting up the plasterboard walls inside, they have laid the chipboard flooring and the roof is all done now. Our velux is in in the single storey and looks great, there is so much light there as we also have 2 2x2m windows there too. Well, we will by Monday as they are fitting the windows and front door that day.

I'm just trying to work out costs for everything we need... we are going for laminate flooring to save costs and also cos of the 2 DS's. Need to get some carpets too. Tis quite a challenge on our limited budget!

Just checking in- windows and front door are in at last, but there is no letterbox on the front door! Builder siad he'll fit one though. Neighbours are starting to get pissed off about the scaffolding now, had words with me today, albeit polite words. I can see their point as the scaffolding has been in the garden for months now and the brickwork is still not complete, argh. Builder says he is on the brickies case, we will see what this week brings...

Where has everyone gone?

Hi
Not been around much as internet access here is rubbish, I can't wait to move back home. All is going really well with us. Underfloor heating down and screed done, they're plastering at the moment. Electrician done most of the sockets but not all and has now gone AWOL. our roof lantern for the kitchen was fitted today and looks fab. Windows coming tomorrow so it should be secure by the end of the week I hope. Floor tiles are due next week.

I've selected some bathroom tiles, managed to find a cheaper alternative to Fired Earth one I fell in love with so I'm very pleased about that. MN is ace.

I'm in the process of selecting wall paints and carpets which is pretty daunting. I can't believe how many off whites there are to choose from.

Sounds like things are going well for too sleeves
anyone else about?

Hi sleeves . Glad that you have doors and windows. Grrr about the brickies.

I'm around, just having horrendous times in other parts of our lives right now. The build is still moving along, just a bit slower than we want. We have no kitchen still but we should by the end of the week. The plasters have finished now, so on to floor being screed or whatever it is they do to make it the right height and then 2nd fixings for the electrics and plumbing and then we hope we're almost in. Having slight issue with BCO and his insistance over a soak away. Thing is the hole for the soak away is just filling up with water within 10mins so it'll never work. Waiting for BCO to come round and tell us what to do (we have no storm drains in the village).

Building inspector came today and took one look at our well aka soak away and said that there is no way we can have a soak away because the water table is too high (1m) which is what we were all telling him before he forced us to dig the hole! I mean, we all know what our footings looked like! Oh well, its all sorted now and we have a great big hole in the middle of our garden. Maybe we'll turn it into a pond or something!

Hi all,

It has been v long since I updated (and I never got round to making a web album either)

We have passed the 8 week point now and it is all still good. We are fully plastered, plumbed and electricked.

This weekend my parents came round and we installed the kitchen (mostly). It was delivered (mostly) on Friday from Wickes, but I had to do some to-ing and fro-ing to exchange units for the right sizes. Honestly, a six week lead time for delivery and then we just go to an industrial estate on the other side of Watford for replacement units right off the shelf. Ridic, as I'm told the kids say these days.

We are into 'snagging list' territory with the building company now. There are just the odd few things which are not quite right, and they'll send their general chippy/plumber guy in to do them. Yesterday I had a 6" diameter hole drilled through my kitchen wall for the extractor. (I hate cooker hoods, especially as we're not having wall cupboards there, so it's just a wall-mounted chrome-y extractor thing.) Slight problem with the architrave for the sliding door to the utility, which I think we'll undo and fix ourselves later. Once the extractor is in I think we can get the Building Inspector to do completion certificate.

I took 4 days off work to do this kitchen stuff, and it is the last of those days today, so I had better get on. I ordered my worktop yesterday (gave up on the granite idea - would be overkill on this half-ex-council estate - for solid oak) and they will deliver on Fri/Sat, as it's in stock. Today I'll be buying wood flooring for the hall, kitchen and extension, and that'll be here by middle of next week.