Self building your own extension

depends how quickly you want it done....

Anyone decent will be booked up for a year. But when they do get around to it should be done quickly.

If you do it yourself it will take you years of "spare time". The place will be a mess all that time.

All the info is out there freely available on the internet, nothing is "hard" but the tradesman will know all the tricks to a better quality and faster job without googling every little bit of the job.

Is any of it masonry, especially exposed external brickwork? have you ever done masonry laying before?

If yes and no, prepare to cock this up in a big and expensive way.

but the tradesman will know all the tricks to a better quality and faster job

did you mean all the corners to cut to get finished quicker and increase their margin.

I'd look to get a bricky in for the masonry rather than lay it myself. I figure it should be easier to find a single trade at a time than try to get a builder, who do seem to be booked in advance.

This is my first experience - is it usual for builders to come round, look at a job, make the right noises and then not bother quoting. There is a fair amount of steelwork so I think it is not an 'easy' job, any maybe why no one wants to do the shell

Most have said between 3 and 4 months work. If I'm waiting a year, I can get an awful lot done in that time. And where I can't I'd sub out.

Luckily I can board out the back of the house so the disruption would be minimal, just the lose of easy access to the garden.

I'm not expecting it to be an easy route, just exploring other options - so anyone done their own build?

Unless you are a builder, and have mates in the trades, this sounds like a phenomenally bad idea.

We're currently in the middle of having an extension built. Builder turns up with his apprentice and cracks on for the full day knowing exactly what they are doing. In the month they've been working on it, if I had started at the same time I'd probably now be at the stage they were at after about 3 days. And the quality of their work is far far higher than mine given that I've never done any brickwork before.

And where I can’t I’d sub out.

But isn't that essentially your problem in the first place?

My Dad did it, doubled the size of the house. The extension is probably 5mx10m. Never laid a brick in his life, was an electrical engineer and enjoyed working with wood. Home made wardrobes/tables etc. He bought a load of books on the subject, signed up for a monthly magazine (Golden Homes if I remember) and then built the garage as a test run. He did the foundations, brickwork, roof, plumbing, drains and electrics.
He then started on the house extension. Every night he'd come home from work at 6pm. Mum would have a mix on for him (he bought a cement mixer) and he'd lay about two rows of bricks per night. Weekends he could do more. From start to completion took about 6 years. That includes fitting a kitchen and a bathroom, floorboards downstairs and upstairs. Plastering, painting and decorating the finished building.
How quickly do you want it done?

Teach yourself!... 🙂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0bxb1fj/brickies

I started two weeks ago with the idea of doing it myself and buying as much second-hand stuff as possible. I reckon a couple of years for the structure and a year to equip it.

I so far have 2/3 of the foundation trench dug with a pick and spade, the gravel part sieved for re-use in the concrete and the rest taken to the tip. About half of the insulated bricks/ lentil bricks/seismic bricks (the Terreal Calibric range) bought from "fin de chantier" and some aches.

I did my own plans and got planning permission.

I've borrowed a concrete mixer and I'm picking up what the car will carry in sand and cement on the return from the tip.

Next job is to find out how to stop the seat belt warning sounding when I take the passenger seat out and disconnect the sensor. That'll give me over 3m for the seismic reinforcing metal work.

What could go wrong?

I’d look to get a bricky in for the masonry rather than lay it myself. I figure it should be easier to find a single trade at a time than try to get a builder, who do seem to be booked in advance.

This is what we did with the workshop - I did all the footings - hired a neighbour and a mate to help out. Then hired trades to build it - doing a lot of grunt work myself.

At some point I intend to do the same with an attic extension, although need a few months of work as I'd like to work on it full time.

It's a lot of planning, followed by a lot of work, and of course the inspections against the building regs approval, mates been doing one and it looks like a complete pain, even bringing in professionals for certain parts is hard work with getting their availability and having what's needed finished for them.

If you were building a 20k extension i'd say it's worth a shot, but pricing of 90-100k sounds almost like a 2 bed bungalow build cost, ok maybe a couple of years ago, but still sounds like a good 30-40 square metres at the higher end costing, that's a lot of groundwork, followed by a lot of structure work, followed by a lot of connections and internal work, and everything planned and inspected to make sure it's in the right place for the right thing, and in line with building regs.

It’s a lot of planning, followed by a lot of work, and of course the inspections against the building regs approval,

BC inspections are few and far between and not exactly arduous - managed one extension and a workshop build and they were very easy to deal with. Also the normal pass standard will be way below anything you DIY as pros only care about scraping through as cheaply as possible, whereas if its your house, you do care about it...

I mentioned it several times on here but when the inspector saw I'd actually taped the insulation so there were no gaps he said he'd never seen that done before (even though you're supposed to). They just shove stuff in the gaps, vaguely the right size and board over it hoping no one notices the gaping holes...

It will take a lot longer! But understand the thinking. I would do groundworks. Get brickie in for the shell. Then do most of the rest getting it signed off where needed. Apart from plumbing - I hate plumbing.

it's just a kitchen. removal of 3 load bearing walls, replace conservatory, demolish garage, relocate existing kitchen to new location (not included) and move downstairs cloak. no 2 bed room extension. at the end of it the house will actually be smaller....but not behind a massive garage.

actual footings / new masonry will be one 5.5m wall and another 3m wall.

4.5m bifolds and 1.5 x 3m lantern.

other than the steels it really shouldn't be that hard....

over 90k for that seems like piss taking territory, but as I've only had one builder bother to quote I am in the dark. if I add kitchen and flooring we are going to be getting on for £120k which we simply don't have

So you're planning to spend a shittonne of money getting rid of your garage and making your house smaller???

Ah right, i just read over 90k and thought it was bigger, not been near quotes for extensions in a few years, if that's coming in at around 100k then i'll be doing my own next year!

The folk across the road had something that sounds similar, but they had a prefabricated extension put on, builders came in and demolished, then did the structural work, and the prefab went on, looks nice with the bifolds and skylight.

Good luck with whatever direction, builders are just too busy and quoting daft, with the upcoming recession a 12 month delay could mean a bit more of a chance of builders having cancellations?

It sounds to me like you just need a cheap but good builder.
In the absence of that, have a go. But definitely think first and act later!
Look on the bright side. At the end of it all, there'll only be yourself to blame.

Two considerations:
Get a quote for a SIPS extension
Get a team in from a slightly more sensibly-priced part of the country. Even paying for accommodation on top could be cheaper

Dad extended his house in lockdown. It was hard work he is 75 and we wanted him to get a builder but he is too tight/belligerent!🤣
Don’t underestimate how crap BC can be! They wanted some ridiculous stuff done! Going 600mm into bedrock for foundations! It would have needed TNT and would have destroyed the house foundations in the progress (see seat post/frame thread!) Worth challenging BC if they do get silly, have alternatives!
DIY, break it down into smaller chunks get help when needed. Spend your savings on a Chiropractor 😂

I’ve done it. A two storey side extension and single storey rear extension. It’s added on 95m2 to the house adding two new bedrooms and a bathroom as well as downstairs rooms and going open plan with the kitchen/dining room.
I did every trade myself including drawings and planning permission right up to and including the roof. Exceptions were getting a digger driver in early on and having the exterior rendered. My FIL is an electrician so did the connecting and replacement of the consumer unit and I have a friendly plumber who gave advice on uf heating and replaced my boiler and water tank. I had completed a number of house renovations prior to this and am willing to take the time to learn how to do things. I also for some of the block laying used a Bricky guide, facing bricks on the front were just laid very carefully ie slow.
Building control were easy to deal with, gave helpful advice and on all visits complimented me on the standard of the work and rule compliance.
However…. I started at the beginning of 2017 and the bedrooms were ready two years later. Due to cash flow I only really properly finished the kitchen and downstairs at the start of this year. I also don’t have a proper job so had lots of time.
For the side extension there was very little internal disruption until the knocking through. With the kitchen extension and opening up there was far more but it was carefully managed and completed much faster, still messy.
It’s very satisfying to have completed such a big task by myself, but there’s no way I’d do it again,
I have a very patient wife.

I did my own. And built a double garage. Partly down to a lack of trades, partly through cost and partly for fun. All went ok. The building inspector was quite helpful, pretty easy to get stuff signed off, in fact I usually did more than he asked for. It did take some time but I'm self employed and can take time off as required. Still worked out better financially. Brickwork was ok. Not perfect and I was way slower than a pro but got there in the end. The building inspector was very complimentary and said he'd seen plenty worse done by brickies. Some jobs need extra hands. The wife helped and I had mates over for concrete pours, steels, roofing, roof lights, and a couple of other things. Hard work but very rewarding. Would happily do it again.

I'm about to do this myself too, based on similar insane quotes and general lack of availability.

Advice from my housebuilder step-dad:

1. Get your datum and then make sure your initial setting out is **perfect**

2. When you're digging the foundations, take more than you think you need to out from where the ground floor will be because when you're building back up to finished floor level it's miles easier to add stuff back in than to take more out.

3. Once you're 'out of the ground' it gets better.

We're going timber frame because the local company are really helpful, really well priced and they'll come and erect the frame and get the structure weatherproof. I "just" need to put the roof tiles on and clad the external walls and then I can work on the inside at my leisure. I work a 28 day rotation so I have spells of a few weeks where I can work on it constantly, then I get to come back to work for a rest. I'm not sure I'd be so keen to tackle it if I had a "normal" job and it was just evenings and weekends I had available.

I've just finished my extension and it was probably 60% me and 40% trades.

Things like foundations are easy to do but require a lot of effort physically if access for diggers isn't possible. It's also amazing how much concrete you need. You look at the hole and think it's small, then 3 hours later you are still mixing concrete and the hole only looks half full.

I did the timber framing myself, insulating, flooring, some small brickwork etc. Then got trades in for electrics, large brick wall (which would have probably fallen down by now if I'd done it if my small wall is anything to go by) and the roof.
Windows were put in by the joiner but after seeing it done could probably do it myself.
Roofer also happened to be a fantastic plasterer so he did that too and a couple of the other trades mentioned how it was some of the best plastering they'd seen.

Buying the materials yourself is easier to keep track of and prevents any random mark ups from anyone.

I basically just then paid an hourly rate to the trades.

Materials are crazy expensive at the moment, timber especially. In the end B and Q was just as cheap as the timber merchants and I should have taken shares out in screwfix I've spent that much there.

Total cost for an attic conversion (bedroom and bathroom), extension and garage conversion (home office and spare room/kids room) has come in just north of 80k.

I spent about 18 months of my spare time being spent on the project but it's quite satisfying and I've learnt loads along the way and increased my tool collection massively?!

EDIT: just make sure any plans you get for building control etc are easy to read and understand. Also there is a place in Wales I think that does factory seconds Kingspan insulation for about 2/3 the price.
Also take photos all the time for building control so they don't come along wanting proof of the timber sizes or something later on.

Edit 2: turbo II screws with torx heads are a revelation, no more jumping drill bits on a cross headed screw.

@TheFlyingOx What timber frame company are you using? I think I’m near to you and also planning an extension at some point.

Laying bricks well isn't hard, laying bricks well at speed is. Like others I doubled the size of my garage, did everything. I maxed out at 100 bricks per day, a good brickie with labourer does 800 to 1200 a day. My brick work is pretty good, dead straight and vertical, but that was due to lots of checking with levels, including a torpedo level on every brick, side to side and back to front. Once you start to go wrong it's difficult to get it back straight. Other things is get you mortar mix right, mine was possibly too wet, easy to work with (added a plasticiser) but will leave mess on the facing bricks. That said some of what the builders did on my house build was no cleaner. Time is the main reason to sub things out, it's not just the actual work it's all the planning and sourcing of materials.

Messaged you about a possible option.

We have planning in for a roof raise loft conversion complete gut out.

I am quitting my job to to do the work my self and will try and get some part time work here and there for a little bit of cash to pay for food and fuel. This is however something I have wanted to do all my life, hate my job and need timeout. I have already replaced 2 roofs, joists and rotten floors, built my own multi source heating system including relay logic based control system. Looking back at some of the work I did is embarrassing for some of it but proud of other parts. My issue is always if I am trying to fit the work into a weekend that I make mistakes. Over the past two years I have managed a change of mindset and quality has become more consistent.

We can scarp by on my partner's wage. Cost wise I hope it ends up cheaper but you never know, but as I said I am only doing this as it is something I have always wanted to do, not sure how I would feel if it was something I had to do.

Laying bricks properly IE accurate and tidy is hard for anyone who hasn't done much of it and as for 800 to 1200 bricks per day will be a thick retaining wall with common brick chucking them down. A bit like a cyclist can ride 80/100 miles but then need easy days to recover
Get your datum and if possible someone with an optical level to give you many datum points that are fixed securely like ordnance survey marks . Spend £60 on a new stabila level rather than the old thing lying about in the garage for years
A laser level can easily be out a good few mm if the staff is held incorrectly
Your mortar is good if it's workable and can hold on the trowel above your head without falling off

We have planning in for a roof raise loft conversion complete gut out.

I am quitting my job to to do the work my self and will try and get some part time work here and there for a little bit of cash to pay for food and fuel.

That is pretty much my plan, just waiting for the company to go bust again!

Lol hoping for a redundancy package!

If you've to ask on a cycling forum about cracking on with a circa £90k extension, then no don't even attempt it - a dwarf wall though, I'd have a go at that 🙂

Thanks all for your comments, Nick - have responded to your message

redundancy probably isn't on the cards for me! least I hope not!

I'll be honest I'm not massively keen on doing all the work myself its more of a potential necessity. I've done plenty of internal stuff before, wiring, plumbing, fitting bathrooms, floors, ceilings. My plastering is a bit crap! But nothing structural, the steels is where I worry I don't really know what I'm doing - I have the plans from the structural engineer, but the still look complex ! I wouldn't know which one to put in first as they need to create a frame to support the walls (looks a bit like a H)

I think the best option to be able to move forward is I hire someone to do the shell and I crack on with the rest.

Oh and I know what you mean about spending at screwfix....I've spent so much with them already they moved me onto a trade account!!!

I've got a tiler starting in 2 weeks to do a fair bit of work (retiling 3 floors and the whole family bathroom). Been waiting 4 months for him - as he (and a number of other guys we had around at the time) all said, if you want a decent tradesman at the minute, you're unlikely to get one quickly. Anyone who can fit you in within a few weeks likely isn't that good!

Also, (TL:DR so apologies if anyone else has suggested this but...) I'd suggest going on a brick laying course at a local college. Would set you on the right track than just ploughing ahead and messing stuff up.

the steels is where I worry I don’t really know what I’m doing – I have the plans from the structural engineer, but the still look complex ! I wouldn’t know which one to put in first as they need to create a frame to support the walls (looks a bit like a H)

Find yourself a local steel fabricator. They will be able to fabricate the steels for you from the SE plans ( are they dimensioned ??). If you get the builder to supply this , then they will be adding anything from 10% to 30% mark-up. If the steel frame is "free standing" and not sitting on new walls etc , then you could get the fabricator to install as well.

@robola we've gone with Claymore Timber Frame over in Ladybank, Fife. Really good to talk to and they can arrange everything from just drawings through to turn-key property build. You can pick and choose what services you need from them. We already had plans and structural engineers calcs so they're building the frame and erecting, but we could have just gone to them with a idea and ended up with a complete build if we'd wanted.

the steels is where I worry I don’t really know what I’m doing – I have the plans from the structural engineer, but the still look complex ! I wouldn’t know which one to put in first as they need to create a frame to support the walls (looks a bit like a H)

It was fairly obvious with ours, the lowest one, onto which the rest sat on, I just lifted into place with the brickie..

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/8063/8176595928_5b2971158a.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/8063/8176595928_5b2971158a.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dsxc6S ]Lifting the RSJ into position[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

The steel fabricators fitted the rest on site inc drilling holes in situ and packing them out with steel shims to get it all level.

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[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/8068/8189648787_50dd149c5b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/8068/8189648787_50dd149c5b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dtG6ga ]Dave marking out the holes for the ridge beam[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/8490/8189649885_b0701e25d7.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/8490/8189649885_b0701e25d7.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/dtG6A6 ]Magnetic drill[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/brf/ ]Ben Freeman[/url], on Flickr

But nothing structural, the steels is where I worry I don’t really know what I’m doing

If you've got 3 x structural walls to remove and [goalpost] steels to fit then I'm not really sure this is DIY territory.
The potential for getting it wrong is pretty high.

It ain't rocket science but it's easy to make mistakes, my mate has just had an extension built by a builder and rookie type errors have been made. Getting the levels and measurements correct are key.
I built a 8m x 12m extension, bigger than the main building, planning and building control were pretty good apart from telling me i needed fire doors when i didn't. It's just the physical effort needed to keep going even when you have had enough. I saved an absolute fortune turning a one bedroom bungalow into a five bedroom four bathroom property.

I built mine during lockdown. I'm a bit of an eco/efficiency geek and wanted to push the performance of the building with increased insulation and airtightness. Very rewarding, but I had the time.

I'm watching Grand Designs - The Street atm. Notice who is building in the traditional brick and block method....
Worth a watch.

Ask the wife of the self builder and the neighbours what they think.

I paid for my extension, £70k including all the kitchen and glazing finished. took 4-5 months.

My neighbour started his at least 2 years ago, he has no skills, his dad has the skills but will only work on it 1 day in 7 if that. It has a kitchen in it but is still miles off being finished.

the actual new walls and roof are pretty small, approx 5x3m

the rest is all knocking through lots of internal rooms to make a bigger space approx 5x8m.

Good suggestion on talking to a fabricator direct. found one, but looks like assembly is only if its a clean site. so they won't do stuff like prop up the ceiling whilst the beams are put in.

definitely agree the steels need to be done by a team that know what they are doing.

I'm quite up for a bricklaying course!

I've also found these guys who are local(ish) who provide training.

4 day course sounds like it covers what I would need, but at £585 probably not a huge saving over getting an actual brickie in to do the job. Though there are plenty of future projects (such as a new garage)

Good suggestion on talking to a fabricator direct. found one, but looks like assembly is only if its a clean site. so they won’t do stuff like prop up the ceiling whilst the beams are put in.

definitely agree the steels need to be done by a team that know what they are doing.

If you wanted to PM the drawings I could give you a rough idea of what you should be paying ( and an idea of where you are in the country as prices vary)

My Dad also did an extension but with help where it was needed. Architect did the design, we put it through planning, and he had a mate who did the external bricks whilst my dad did the blocks on the inside. He did the electrics (qualified), the water, the windows and the roofing, but had someone else do the gas.

This is probably a good way to do it - mix and match, do what you can and have others in for specific bits you can't. It only took about 6 months or so.

Also I've been laying my first few bricks on a tiny thing in the garden, so I'll amend this:

Laying bricks properly IE accurate and tidy and quickly is hard

Builders that do their own extensions seem to fall in to 2 camps, those that complete the work quickly and to a high standard, and those that never finish.

If you’ve got 3 x structural walls to remove and [goalpost] steels to fit then I’m not really sure this is DIY territory.
The potential for getting it wrong is pretty high.

The hard part, doing all the calcs and making the steels to spec is done for you - all you have to do is bolt it together and sit it on pad stones / set in concrete etc as per the spec. The structural engineers drawings will details all that for you.

4 day course sounds like it covers what I would need, but at £585 probably not a huge saving

I think you may be *vastly* underestimating the cost of a bricklayer.

The hard part, doing all the calcs and making the steels to spec is done for you – all you have to do is bolt it together and sit it on pad stones / set in concrete etc as per the spec.

That's not true is it.....and you know it's not.

The bit laying the beams on the pad stones where the beam could be the width of the room and right up to ceiling height easy aye right
Sometimes the pad stones have to be built in last
The spec of the steel will tell you how many kg/m and when it's 5 or 6m long you need to know what your doing manoeuvring it into place and your standing on trestles and batons, better to use kwikstage scaffolding to work off and to rest the beams if needed
Metal cutting holesaw as some engineers insist on bolting cavity wall horizontal beams together
All easy safe work if it's your first time ?

I can confirm it is a very awkward job. I had to put the beam inside the house on the inside of the wall that was coming out, install all the akrows around it, dig out the pad stone foundations, install steel reinforced concrete, knock down exterior wall - then finally lift steel in, mount the columns, cement in the column bases then chemset in the ties and bolts to existing brickwork
Simples.......
Picture

The hard part, doing all the calcs and making the steels to spec is done for you – all you have to do is bolt it together and sit it on pad stones / set in concrete etc as per the spec. The structural engineers drawings will details all that for you.

Yes and no, the calcs and spec are done but typically in my experience you, or your builder, will have to check and record the final measurements (i.e. span) to ensure any beam is the correct size for the location, the SE will only give a 'ballpark' dimension.

When you can't use a genie lift cut the beams in two and bolt together
https://postimg.cc/gallery/Vvjk9TC

thanks for all your comments. I've gone through the breakdown on the one quote we have had

To get to a watertight shell, no electrics, plumbing, heating or plastering is £60k + VAT. Adding in everything takes it to £91k + VAT. Biggest ticket item is UFH for the kitchen, new boiler and tank at £9k + VAT

Honestly think the only way we can stretch the budget is to do as much as I can myself and just accept it will take a long time. We are lucky that most of the work is the basically in what is our double garage so it the rest of the house can be largely untouched during work

Still having the debate with my wife whether we go ahead or not. Frankly its really put me off talking to any more builders, wasting an hour showing them round and talking them through the plans only to be likely ghosted

@revs1972 I sent you a pm with the breakdown for the steels - can't see a way to pm you the diagram

We are lucky that most of the work is the basically in what is our double garage so it the rest of the house can be largely untouched during work

Still having the debate with my wife whether we go ahead or not.

I think this will make a big difference. Mine was similar. The new kitchen is in an extension and the old kitchen became the utility. That meant all the building work was external. That could all be done with minimal disruption. The final knock through only took a week or so and we always had a working kitchen. Made it pretty pain free.

My hole in the ground is slowly getting bigger and I've managed to source all the steel reinforcing to go in it. Most common reply was "that comes from the steel works in the Ukraine and we have no idea when we'll next get any".

We fell out with our builder - he walked off our ground floor extension with the entire back of the house on acrkows, footings poured, steels in and us out of pocket. To get back on budget we did a lot of the basic work ourselves and managed the trades.

It nearly broke me I wouldn't recommend it. Looking back it was 18 months of my life wasted living in a building site and I would happily move somewhere else. 8 years on I can't face any DIY or finishing the outstanding bits.

Bought a brick glue applicator for 48e second-hand and made teh hole a bit bigger. That'll do for today.

Still having the debate with my wife whether we go ahead or not. Frankly its really put me off talking to any more builders, wasting an hour showing them round and talking them through the plans only to be likely ghosted

Now imagine how much time a builder has to "waste" to provide you a quote for an extension you can't afford, but you will hold them to...

The hard part, doing all the calcs and making the steels to spec is done for you – all you have to do is bolt it together and sit it on pad stones / set in concrete etc as per the spec.

Yeah.... I didn't really mean that bit! Before you get to that point you've got to remove the [structural] wall above the new steel without it dropping even a few mm.

Definitely easier said than some in some cases and not something I'd be doing personally.

When you can’t use a genie lift cut the beams in two and bolt together

Weird! Why didn't they put it in as a single piece?

There are times when you just can't get the beams through the acros,scaffold and a forklift/JCB can get access so two thick, deep beams can be cut into two and bolted together again
It maybe looks easy on an engineers drawing. Choose your engineer carefully, some get too carried away with their calcs and think we live on the San Andreas fault rather than St Andrews

I'm in seismic zone 4. Euro code 8 and the corresponding national documents are my guide. It's pretty easy really, all the steel reinforcing I buy is available in three different grades: zone 1/2, zone 3 and zone 4.

It took us two years to find a good builder, at times we didn’t think it would ever happen and I think we snook in at the right time. We have converted a small garage into a new entrance hall for the house with the rest of the extension having a bathroom with shower, lounge and stairs going up to a really nice bedroom. They also put a big skylight in the roof of the main house. The builders worked like demons, went above and beyond and came in on time at bang on 33k. We are still scratching our heads at the price as it really is a lovely job. We’ve had it for nearly two years and the builders have gone on to do extensions for several of our friends… good builders that don’t cost the Earth can occasionally be found! 🙂 we had a lot of builders turn up and not quote before that…

About to push go on an extension, single floor, 4x5m internal with some groundwork’s/retaining elements. It will be a good finish with reclaimed stone, stone pitched roof and high spec windows… £70k excluding the kitchen. I’m fairly handy DIY-wise and I know there will be mark up on materials, but for the ‘convenience’ of having it done in a matter of months rather than years, plus the risk of it going pear shaped I’m some form or other… that’s potentially a good way to lose a lot of money. Get the pros in, everyday.

Now imagine how much time a builder has to “waste” to provide you a quote for an extension you can’t afford, but you will hold them to…

bit of a dick comment, so far only one builder has "wasted time" quoting, and actually they haven't as we might go with them for the shell if we can cut back on other areas.

simple customer service from the other 5 builders would be to say sorry mate not interested rather than ignoring (1 did answer his phone and say now booked for 2 years, which I'm sure is code for bugger off). what is the point of looking at a job if you have no intention of quoting for it?

I'm 6+ months into this, and several k spent already. Struggling to get a quote wasn;t one of the things I thought would be an issue

but for the ‘convenience’ of having it done in a matter of months rather than years, plus the risk of it going pear shaped I’m some form or other… that’s potentially a good way to lose a lot of money. Get the pros in, everyday.

Getting the "pros" in is no guarantee of getting it done quickly or not losing a lot of money. One reason to DIY can be better control over the timing and money.

I have done a few extensions myself and the main driver was to cut cost which it did by lots.

Reflecting back on it the important things and difficulties were:
Dust and mess and mud
Motivation to progress it every day, and know when to rest and have some family/other half time.
Picking up materials/accepting deliveries if at work.
Lighting in the winter and the cold stopping work
It takes time but is rewarding and you get exactly what you want. I found suppliers, building control, structural engineers... all very nice helpful people, just treat them right.

Sometimes it is best to just pay a contractor, especially if it needs a certification, other times for speed ( I'm thinking a brickie)

My kids helped me lots and now have a great work ethic from it and live in a big house. They have seen me graft, stop to eat, carry on with a head torch on and then repeat.

It won't be easy but so rewarding mentally and financially.

Getting the “pros” in is no guarantee of getting it done quickly or not losing a lot of money

Correct, but the guy building it is local, a master craftsman concerning stone built buildings, and ‘gets’ the style of the buildings round here. Plus I’ve spoken to three of his recent projects (as well as inspecting them myself) who have all given a glowing recommendation on his general building work and attention to detail. Eyes wide open.

Six weeks in I have some foundations and have sourced enough materials to keep me busy for a few months:

Given the terrain (I'm a geologist remember) and climate I decided 50cm deep and just wide enough to accomodate 20x35 reinforcing with the required clearance would do. Raised 5cm so the bricks don't sit in damp ground.

Well good news from our project, found a builder who was free immediately and quoted a sensible, rather than take the piss price. They started this week. by day 3 we already have the footings and first 2 courses of block work in, with BC sayign the ok. Would have taken me weeks to get to this stage.

Downside of this guy is they will have a 3 week break in august due to leave, but compare that to the builders saying they can't start until the following year....

So far the drainage is turning out to be fun, as expected with a 100 year old house that has been hacked around at least twice before. Guys are doing a great job keeping the house habitable whilst they work.

So far very very impressed. I'm sure there will be some other hiccups along the way, but so far big progress. They did break one of my coffee mugs though

found a builder who was free immediately

Normally a bit of an eyebrow-raiser, but glad it's working out for you so far.

Had a break when relatives visited but back in action now. The bricks are R1.18 Terreal. The first row goes on a couple of cms of waterproof mortar then the are glued. Cutting them is dusty and a pain but it's much easier to keep everything even and vertical than with normal bricks.

I'm thinking we might be seeing more availability as customers get cold feet about escalating prices. this chap was free because someone decided to not go ahead with the work due to escalating prices.

got to say I am nervous about that too. we are fixed price on most stages, but the steels and wall removal is t&m as he said he couldn't guarantee a price on materials. which I think is fair enough

he is a friend of my current boss and has done several jobs for him, so slight personal connection. and seems a great guy.

fingers crossed

I’m thinking we might be seeing more availability as customers get cold feet about escalating prices. this chap was free because someone decided to not go ahead with the work due to escalating prices.

This.

Towards the end of last year myself and the missus planned a rear extension to the last screw. It was effectively a 4m x 8m (ish), living area extension with a small side entrance/utility room to shove the dirty hounds. Really straightforward build, no kitchen, services all really accessible, no weird angles and myself doing a lot of the final fix. Thinking a 50k-ish max job.

Nope.

All 4 quotes came in at about the 90k mark and that didn't include flooring and outside ground work etc. At the time we were flabbergasted and looking back now pleased we didn't add what would have probably been another 100k+ on the mortgage.

Hoping prices might eventually come down too as it's something we would still like to do so we'll see how it pans out over the next year or so.