Project Managing a house Extension - HELP

avenida

Hi

I want to put a 2 storey side extension onto my home and have a had a few builders out for a quote and still cant afford what they are asking.

A guy across the road is a plumber and project managed the whole thing himself and saved himself thousands!!

Just wondering how difficult it is to project manage ourselves (my husband and I are not in any trade)

I really need this extension just finding it difficult to finance!

Thanks

00ec25

its all about knowing what order things are done in and most importantly having a set of trades who can be relied on to actually turn up when you want them to, not when they feel like fitting you in and thus throwing out your schedule and preventing the next trade starting

if you have such contacts then do you have the konwledge how to schedule? some of the more obvious jobs are ...
- dig hole and lay foundations (goundworker/labourer)
- buiild walls (skilled bricklayer)
- scaffolder
- fit windows (carpenter or plastics worker)
- roofer
- 1st and 2nd fix electrics (qualified electrcian able to self certifciate the work)
- 1st and 2nd fix plumbing
- plasterer
- decorator
- project manager to call in Building Control inspectors at correct times and get thier sign off
- skip hire/waste removal

As ever domestic building works are fraught with risk, I have friends who got through 3 builders before their extension was finished - their BIL (a plumber) had to finsih it off after the last builder simply disappeared from the site for 2 months

avenida

00ec25 wrote: »

its all about knowing what order things are done in and most importantly having a set of trades who can be relied on to actually turn up when you want them to, not when they feel like fitting you in and thus throwing out your schedule and preventing the next trade starting

if you have such contacts then do you have the konwledge how to schedule? some of the more obvious jobs are ...
- dig hole and lay foundations (goundworker/labourer)
- buiild walls (skilled bricklayer)
- scaffolder
- fit windows (carpenter or plastics worker)
- roofer
- 1st and 2nd fix electrics (qualified electrcian able to self certifciate the work)
- 1st and 2nd fix plumbing
- plasterer
- decorator
- project manager to call in Building Control inspectors at correct times and get thier sign off
- skip hire/waste removal

As ever domestic building works are fraught with risk, I have friends who got through 3 builders before their extension was finished - their BIL (a plumber) had to finsih it off after the last builder simply disappeared from the site for 2 months

Sounds like a mare doing it myself, not sure where to go from here, maybe no point in getting more quotes, will have just do without the extra space and make do unfortunately

markdavey

We have just completed an extension. TBH, you would be better off finding a reputable builder that will manage the whole process. Our's came accross a number of things that would have had me (had I been managing it) completely stumped however, as he was managing the process, all that happened was that, with my consent to the cost, he worked around it and adjusted the other trades accordingly.

If you are cutting costs around the planning/management then I would suggest you really cant afford it.

Get many recommendations. Our builder never advertises and has work right up to the end of this year and beyond. We waited almost 10 months for him to fit us in but it was well worth it.

avenida

markdavey wrote: »

We have just completed an extension. TBH, you would be better off finding a reputable builder that will manage the whole process. Our's came accross a number of things that would have had me (had I been managing it) completely stumped however, as he was managing the process, all that happened was that, with my consent to the cost, he worked around it and adjusted the other trades accordingly.

If you are cutting costs around the planning/management then I would suggest you really cant afford it.

Get many recommendations. Our builder never advertises and has work right up to the end of this year and beyond. We waited almost 10 months for him to fit us in but it was well worth it.

I guess I will just really have to make do, as you say might end up too much of a stretch as we are talking 35K for a shell so will end up furnished about 50K, an extra £300 a month on our mortgage not to mention the extra it would be a month when the interest rates go up -how wick!

designtent

Where are you guys based? £35k seems excessive......
If you have a good builder on board they will manage the build and all the aspects that go along with it, all i would recommend is that you hold a weekly meeting / walkaround with the builder to establish any possible problems / extras. A good building can also organise your plans for Planning Approval & Building Control Approval (you must have these approvals in place prior to commencement).

Tucker

I organised my own, with no past experience, but with a half decent DIY background and some research. You will need to get to grips with the current building regs for a start.

You need to have some spare time, so if you have busy lives, it won't be practical. I took the first 10 days off work to get everything moving and the right materials on site.

You also need a few good tradesman that you can trust and who's work is good quality.

The savings on the other hand are massive. Almost 50% for me on the quotes I got for a complete job. Not bad for a few grey hairs!