Going round in circles.

pukkamum

We have money to spend on the house, it's 12K.
We must have spent this money in our heads a thousand times over and still keep changing our minds.
The crux is we need somewhere to comfortably sit around the dining table.
At the moment we eat in the kitchen which is a bit of a squash and leaves no room to walk around the table etc.
We have 2 rooms downstairs a big living room and a fairly decent size kitchen.
The kitchen at the moment is set out very badly and with some rejigging, fitting a patio door moving various cupboards etc it could fit a table which we could comfortably sit around.
This means we could use some of the money on some outstanding debts (about 3K would make us totally debt free, though we are comfortably paying them off, most is interest free).
Redecorate the living room, this includes new flooring, gas fire, skirting boards, plaster work and some new furniture.
Also tiling the bathroom, a new bathroom sink, having the front block paved making the drive much more usable and re-flagging the garden.

However, we have seriously considered an extension, our best friend is a builder and has told us he can build it for 11K, the idea then being that we have a living room in the extension and use the current living room as a dining room, possibly opening it up to the kitchen.
This however, wouldn't leave much for doing the rest of the house, decorating and furnishing the new room and dining room.

My argument is that we would be spending most of the money just to gain somewhere to eat, that is achievable in the kitchen and would leave money for other stuff.

Dh and I are going round in circles, he is leaning towards an extension, I am pushing to the other side.

Some impartial advice very much needed!

Ames

I'd say that all the other jobs can be saved up for and/or done a bit at a time. Are you likely to have enough cash for an extension again? You don't say where the money came from, I'm assuming it was a windfall of some kind.

Also, an extension would be an investment and add value to your house, much more than some bathroom tiles or living room flooring.

Just my thoughts.

peachyprice

It depends where this money is coming from really.

If it's money you wouldn't otherwise have had I would spend it on the extension, if it really is going to be 'only' £11k it's too good a deal to miss out on.

All the other jobs will still have have to be done eventually, you would have saved the money and got them done one at a time if you hadn't come by this £12k, so that would still remain the same.

mgdavid

Ames wrote: »

I'd say that all the other jobs can be saved up for and/or done a bit at a time. ........

Also, an extension would be an investment and add value to your house, much more than some bathroom tiles or living room flooring.
Just my thoughts.

My thoughts too!

growler834

Have you factored in how much extra the new dining room will cost above the building cost - flooring, curtains, lighting, decorating? If so & you can afford it then go for it, however don't necessarily expect it to put extra value on your house - usually extensions that provide extra bedrooms, bathrooms, bigger & new kitchen enhance the value but not necessarily a dining room.

tea_lover

Personally I would prioritise paying off debts over everything else. Building work ALWAYS costs more than you think it will. There are so many extras to consider. You could well end up owing even more than you do now if you went down the extension route.

onlyroz

An extension for £11k sounds incredibly cheap. Does this include carpets, electrics, windows, doors, central heating etc? Before committing to this I'd want to see a full breakdown of the costs.

fairy_lights

I would be a bit wary of your friends claim he can do it for 11k, I'd want to get several quotes to get a more definite idea of price.
Your friend might be quoting you a cheaper "mates rate", but what if the extension ends up being a more expensive project that he thought? It could cause friction in your friendship if he had to ask you for more money or something goes wrong.

Caroline_a

£11k sounds ridiculously cheap. Does that include the plans, the finishing off (painting, flooring, light fittings, etc). When I had my extension done it ended up costing almost double the original estimate when I added all the extras as per above, plus one or two things didn't happen as the builder and architect thought they would.

Personally, I would do some stuff as you have listed and do them with top quality items, plus pay off your debts. There's nothing like not owing anybody anything!

kingfisherblue

£11k does sound very cheap. To put it into perspective, we had a wet room extension built about eleven years ago. It has three outside walls, a ridged roof, and small loft space with trapdoor (you can poke your head through the trapdoor, but the loft space isn't big enough to get inside). The floor is tiled, the walls are tiled around the shower and basin splash back. The toilet is a Closomat (disabled toilet, cost was £2500 with no VAT back then). There are two very small windows (double glazed with tiny top opener), and a sliding door. There is an electric shower and a standard washbasin. The walls, where not tiled, we're painted white, and a rail for the shower curtain was fitted. Including all fittings listed, building, plumbing, electrics, etc, the total cost was £17,000. We needed a pump because of water pressure, which cost an additional £300.

We live in the North West, so not a particularly expensive area. You can see why £11,000 sounds very cheap.

maman

I'd go for a proper extension every time.


Some years ago we had an large conservatory put on the back of the house. It's lovely but I've always regretted not going for a large, dining kitchen instead. We still have a formal dining room or the conservatory to eat in but a large roomy kitchen is the way to go I think.