Redoing the home - big project, need your advice

bui

Doozergirl wrote: »

Which city are you in?

London (east)

Sandals70

OK - I suppose the point Im making is dont pay everything up front and have a bit kept back to make sure the job is completed propely. Exact percentages can be agreed, those are just the onese Ive experienced thats all.

bui

You're right. We should get a few quotes. After all the first time the house was altered many years ago, they had a terrible builder who cut a lot of corners and they have had to live with that all these years (although growing up I didnt notice anything. I lived in a warm, lovely house). The reason why they are keen on this guy (he's a lovely chine guy) is because he did lots of peoples houses we know and their houses are well done. He's not a expensive builder either in terms of comparing him to others, he throws in a lot of stuff but he basically gives a overall quote rather than a breakdown.

I guess I will get taking pictures and making a floor plan so you have more of a clue but I tell you it is not easy on the eye.

I totally give power to women but I didnt want people to read thinking I'm a tough guy who knows what he's talking about or someone experienced, and be tough with me. I really am just looking for real honest advice, which ypu have given

Sandals70 wrote: »

Hi Bui,

Ive got a couple of things which you may or may not know, in no particular order, to add to this.

1. Always always get three quotes, and dont be frightened of asking if and how costs can be reduced. When it comes to any payment normally you pay 25% up front, 50% at the end of a build and then 25% once you have had all the snagging addressed ( the little bits and bob you notice once you have a good chance to look over the work, without anyone breathing down your back, or you realise that the hot and cold water have been plumbed in the wrong way round, things like that)

2. Research things before and after the builders have discusssed things with you. Make notes all the time, and confirm everything in writting. Knowledge is power in this game. Believe you me as a 44 year old women doing up her flat, who actually works within the design industry, I have had some builders tell me all sorts rubbish. Perhaps because the dont know themselves or perhaps because they think they can get away with it.

3. Prioitise what needs to be done - the structure needs to be sound first. There is no point in putting in a lovely kitchen if you have damp. Your parents are getting on, they need to live somewhere healthy. The same with natural light, good ventilation, warmth etc.

4. To get any proper advise here you really need to do a plan - if your not sure how Im sure there will be thing on line that show you whats what. If you mark where the bathroom stuff is, water, gas etc is for existing bathroom and kitchen and where you think the waste pipes, drains (on the outside of the house) are, that should help, as these are the things that get expensive if you want to move them, but there may be ways that configurations can be altered but using the same pipe work, or adding to it.

5. You may need to get permission from the council for some of the work - to make sure that the builders do a safe job, so check that out to. There may additional charges on this as well.

6. Make sure you and your family are all agreed on what you want to achieve from a functional point of view. If you are all agreed then its easier not to be swayed by others.

7. This is a big project so break it down into bite size chunks, and bite size lumps of money, and keep a contigency fund. and then it wont feel quite so difficult. There will always be problems, and unforseen issue will arise so dont beat yourself up when this happens, its all part of a project like this.

8. Look on the web page DIYnot. Ive used this quite alot to read around particular things and to get a greater depth of knowledge.

9. The most important think I wanted to add - and I actually created my log on specifically so I could tell you this - never never never apologies for being young and female. You have been asking all the right questions, and seem to be pretty clued up on the things that need to be addressed. There are many people twice your age who wouldnt have gotten half as far as you with the understanding of this job. Gender has nothing to do this with either so dont go down that path in your head as its actually (in the nicest possibe way) irrelevent -Start channeling a bit of Sarah Beeny.

Hope that helps.

bui

I've come back after a long time as a lot has gone on but here is the downstairs floor plan. There is a lot that needs explaining and it is rough and not to scale but yellow indicates door and red is window.

Okay so I can't post links yet. Let me go make myself familiar with this forum and get back. It will be password protected as I havent got time to edit each setting for each picture I upload but if you're interested in seeing let me know and I'll send you the password.

bui

NICHOLAS_2

You live in London so compared to the rest of the country you will pay a premium.

You don't really describe what your parents are getting exactly, which makes it hard to even begin to estimate.

Are they getting a new bathroom in with this 30k?

If all they are doing is plastering the house, sorting your floor boards out and knocking a wall down then it is probably over the top.

bui

Sorry for the late reply. A lot has gone on in our families personal life so I wasn't online much.

Basically there is a major damp issue on some of the walls, especially the front room wall on the right. It is a detached house.

The builder will lower the ground outside the house to stop the rising damp issue. Then inside the house the walls are all going to be stripped and replastered. The floors will be stripped and redone. The stairs will be strengthened (? take away the squeek). All of that in itself is a lot of work (?).

Upstairs, one of the rooms will be made bigger because it is part of the extention, and there is a narrow passageway that leads to it, which is next to a narrow toilet/shower room (one end shower, one end toilet, door in the middle) which are lead off from the main passsage upstairs. The shower will move into the area of the main passage.

He is also 'throwing in' storage. The stairs go up, then there is a landing, then a few more steps going up the other way. So above that landing there is so much space. He wants to build storage there and add stairs from the main upstairs passage to it.

Our main bathroom downstairs is actually nice but he says he will push one wall in so the kitchen is bigger.

Anyway everything above would be £30,000 which is supposed to be a really good deal. However it doesn't solve some of our everyday living problems with the layout of the house. The layout is rubbish.

Doozergirl

So, you need to decide what you want from the house in temrs of rooms.

When you say the floors are being stripped, do you mean that they are replacing the joists underneath and the floor boards?

On the face of it, you'd want a corridor running down the left side to create a clear path to the bathroom and not weaving around to get into different rooms. Whether you open up between the rear reception and kitchen is down to whether one wants open plan living or not.

There are no dimensions so it's hard to know what would work.

bui

I'll have to get back to you on the floor.

I did write down dimensions but I need to go find that paper now.

I agree about the corridor. There is only one small window that side of the wall anyway which doesn't exactly bring in light so isn't needed for that room but apparently moving anything now is a lot of money or it is a bad idea because it will make the rest of the space look too small (personally I don't think it will look small).

Initially we were thinking of making the back part of the house open plan like the old days but there are mega cooks in this house so certain cuisines stink up the place and we'd rather have it separate but that would seem hard with trying to find where everything has to go (but mostly the cost). I guess dimensions would help with that.

The builder said he would make a wide door in between the kitchen space and the living room space (where a wall was added years ago) and there will be doors with large glass areas to let the light through but I don't think it is a good idea.

The ideal situation is to have access to the kitchen, bathroom and living area rather than what we have now which is only one access to them.

Anyway I need to find the dimensions so I will be back with that.

bui

Okay the answer is he will check everything including the joints and be doing them.