hamidtaxi wrote:
I know its nothing to do with tdo but was wondering on peoples opinion.
Thinking of getting my 3bedroom semi extended from the front, side and back and front brick driveway and walls.
I don't know the diamention yet but extenstion will be to bring the front living room abit more out in line with a porch, on the side the extenstion will cover 1 and half of the house making it go out throu the back.
On the side downstairs will be 1 living room and a bathroom and upstairs 2 bedrooms 1 with ensuite.
the back kitchen and dining room will go out the back of the house in line with the side extenstion.
So in total the house will end up 2 large living rooms, kitchen diner, seperate dining room, downstairs bathroom and 5 double bedroom 1 ensuite, bathroom.
Was quoted £100k total for everything inc labour, parts, planning desighn, new kitchen, new bathroom. Decorating. All for 100k.
So is that a good quote?
Sounds similar to an extension I had built in 1995/6, but for £25K in Brum.
Some advice;
Never extend a property unless you can't or don't want to live anywhere else and plan to die there.
Moving house to somewhere that is the right size for you is by far the best option in all respects. I made the mistake of extending instead of moving.
Extending involves a lot of time, dirt and dust everywhere that is impossible to keep out for months on end and difficult to shift even months after the work has been completed.
If there are unforseen problems that's more money to fork out.
Get plenty of quotations, especially in this econnomic climate. I had 14 quotes and then I played the best two quotes, which were not the cheapest, against one another and ended up with the builder I wanted at a lower price.
If you go ahead with the job make sure that the builder you have chosen gives you references from his previous jobs and go to see those people to see what they thought of his workmanship.
Give your chosen builder a small test job before giving him the go ahead on the full extension. My builder did a loft conversion first; I found out that we 'spoke the same language' as far as building work is concerned and we have remained good friends to this day.
And the most important thing is, if your raw building work is £xxx,000, then allow exactly the same amount for internal finishing, something I mis-budgeted for.
Good luck if you go ahead, you'll need it and plenty of patience too.
But my advice would be to move house instead of having an extension built.