Flat layout ideas

TranceNRG

And do you think kitchen and Engineered Oak Wood flooring from Wickes are OK?

Doozergirl

The prices look fine. Some looks a bit high, some a bit low but it comes out in the wash for me.

Wickes is fine quality but you could probably do better on price. Be chmarx is the trade arm of Wickes, essentially (same parent company), and prices would be keener there for a tradesman. I wonder if he's using them already and just saying you're getting 10% off Wickes stuff.

Owain_Moneysaver

TranceNRG wrote: »

You guys are saying new layout 2 is more desirable than the current layout and layout 1?

New Layout 2 is superficially more attractive as the kitchen-lounge will appear more spacious, but:

Layout 1 with separate kitchen and lounge is more versatile. You can choose the purpose of 3 separate rooms. You might choose a bedroom at the back away from the road, or you might find a lodger who really wants that room and will pay a bit more for it.

You could even have three people in bed-sit rooms if you don't mind the squeeze.

Layout 1 keeps kitchen noise and smells away from the lounge. If you have a lodger it will be their noise and smells as well as yours. They might want the washing machine on when you want to relax and watch TV, or they are having friends round and you don't want to interrupt them but want to use the kitchen.

If you choose Layout 1 but the wall between the kitchen and the 'garden room' (whatever its purpose) is built to be non-load-bearing and you don't tie the kitchen units or plumbing into it, it will be easy enough to remove it and open it up at a later date if that is wanted.

Personally I'm not a fan of open plan kitchen-lounges and in flats they often appear to be just a run of kitchen units at the end of the lounge.

What is important to do however is get the kitchen/bathroom away from the end wall and release that premium space next to the garden for habitable use, whether it's lounge or bedroom.

The quotes look pretty good, especially for London prices. Are they including VAT?

TranceNRG

Hi guys,
I've finally got the flat after all this time and I'm now ready to renovate the flat. I created a new thread in the 'Is this quote fair' section but it seems to be a lot quieter than here so I thought I'd post here as well.

______________________________________________________

I would like to hear your opinion on my renovation plan and the costs. Previously I was thinking of going for an open plan living but I've changed my mind on this and have gone for a slightly different plan (new layout 3). This way I still have the living room opening in to the garden but I don't have to worry about knocking down the structural wall and I can keep the kitchen smells away from living.

Here's the current layout


New layout 2 (open plan living)


New layout 3 (similar to layout 2 but no knocking down structural wall)


I would like to carry out the following work:

1. Add a partition wall between the 2 bed rooms and remove the current door
   
2. Knock down the little partition wall in the hallway (next to the steps) so it’s open
   
3. Decorate throughout (re-plaster and paint where needed, replace skirting boards where needed)
   
4. Install carpets in bedrooms and engineered wood in the hallway, living and kitchen (I might go for tiles or laminate flooring in the kitchen because I’m worried about water spills)
   
5. Knock down the partition wall between current kitchen and bathroom and knock down the kitchen and bathroom. New Kitchen and bathroom will be created where the current living room is
   
6. French doors in the new living room, opening in to the garden
   
7. Block the door in current kitchen and also block the window in the bathroom. Create a new hole for a window in the middle (new living room)
   
8. New kitchen and bathroom where the current living room is
   
9. Create a new hole for a window in the new kitchen
   
10. Block part of the big window in the current living room to create a small window for the new bathroom
    
11. Remove water tank and current heater and install combi boiler (Worcester or Valliant) to make storage space under the stair case. Combi boiler to be installed in the new kitchen
    
12. Replace gas pipes and radiators (5)
    
13. Rewire switchboard
    
14. New front door
    
15. New uPVC door in the 2nd bed room (opening to the garden)
    
16. New internal door between the new kitchen and new living room
    
17. Replacing the vinyl on the floor in shared entrance

I had short listed 2 builders and I got a revised quote from one of the builders.
These are his quotes (labour only) for renovation under the 3 layouts (bear in mind he did the quotes for current layout and layout 2, 4 months ago):

Current layout

Labour for flat 3820
Combi boiler labour 1200
New piping + radiators 750
Re wire new fuse board 600
All Labour 6670


Layout 2

Labour for flat 3820
Additional labour for layout 2 (Open plan living including knocking down structural wall) 2420
Remove water tank/boiler and install Combi boiler labour 1200
New piping + radiators 750
Re wire new fuse board 600
All Labour 8790

Layout 3

All Labour 9520

As you can see his latest quote for the new plan (layout 3) is about one grand more than previous layout 2 quote. I would have thought the quote for layout 3 would be cheaper than layout 2 quote as layout 3 doesn't need knocking down of a structural wall and inserting a meal beam.

I asked the builder about this and he said he'd made mistake with the quote for layout 2 and that it was too cheap. His quotes for renovations under current layout and layout 2 were cheaper than the quotes other builders gave me at the time (4 months ago) but I'm not entirely happy with the latest quote.

Anyway I've asked the other builder for a quote as well. What do you guys think about these prices? Do they seem reasonable?

Would love to hear your thoughts.

thanks.

Doozergirl

I'm a bit redundant today as my phome won't let me see the whole pictures.

A price breakdown on layout 3 would be useful.

Are you going to buy your own boiler? I'd be worried about things like that. Make them supply and fit and all liability is on them. Otherwise, the boiler breaks, the engineer blames the boiler, the boiler co blames the fitting. Not worth it for a bit of a mark up on the boiler (which they've probably added to the labour charge anyway)

With something that important and potentially unreliable, I think it's important.

Doozergirl

Has he given you a timescale? It's easiest to work it out from that based on average labour rates.

TranceNRG

Doozergirl wrote: »

I'm a bit redundant today as my phome won't let me see the whole pictures.

A price breakdown on layout 3 would be useful.

Are you going to buy your own boiler? I'd be worried about things like that. Make them supply and fit and all liability is on them. Otherwise, the boiler breaks, the engineer blames the boiler, the boiler co blames the fitting. Not worth it for a bit of a mark up on the boiler (which they've probably added to the labour charge anyway)

With something that important and potentially unreliable, I think it's important.

Hi Doozergirl! I remember you were really helpful last time

I have already asked the builder to give me a price breakdown and to see if he can bring the total price under 9K.

Thanks for making me aware of the potential problems with the boiler.

I told the builder I wanted to pay with my credit cards (about half of the funds are coming from interest free long payment credit cards!) for all the parts and materials.

The plumber/electrician is part of his team so if I pay for the boiler (they'll recommend me one) and they then install and do all the plumbing work, wouldn't they be responsible to fix any issues?

Did you think layout 2 quote was too cheap?

TranceNRG

Doozergirl wrote: »

Has he given you a timescale? It's easiest to work it out from that based on average labour rates.

Not really. Just a rough guide: 4 - 6 weeks.

princeofpounds

You are totally right to keep the living and kitchen areas separate. It's my pet hate, and you see it all the time in converted flats in London. Sometimes the 'developer' just sticks a row of kitchen units across one wall. It looks tacky and unless you live alone is very disruptive.


Even having a large archway opening only, is better than no division.

TranceNRG

princeofpounds wrote: »

You are totally right to keep the living and kitchen areas separate. It's my pet hate, and you see it all the time in converted flats in London. Sometimes the 'developer' just sticks a row of kitchen units across one wall. It looks tacky and unless you live alone is very disruptive.


Even having a large archway opening only, is better than no division.

Cheers. Yeah I mulled over all the layouts and thought layout 3 would give me living room next to the garden and bathroom away from living room. Also having kitchen and living separate, means we don't have to worry about food smells and noise from the kitchen too much. Also I don't have to worry about the structural wall coming down. So I think layout 3 is the best option

Only thing I'm worried about now is running out of money!