Side-return extension quote

Sanoffo

Wondered if anyone can advise on the following quote for a 1 story kitchen extension, 5x4m (20m sq). The original quote was around 38k so was a bit surprised when it came back at 54k.

The house is a typical 2 bed mid-terrace in North London. Full-rewire, new boiler, bifolds, rooflight, underfloor heating. Not including the kitchen, appliances, floor tiles or finished floor.

Phase one: Groundwork
includes, ground preperation, excavation, drainage, inspection chamber, concrete footings to 1.1m depth
estimated time: 3 weeks

£9,400.00

Phase two: Exterior build
includes complete rear addition, steel work, flat roof, glazing, patio doors and exterior drainage
estimated time: 5 weeks

£19,800.00

Phase three: Interior work
includes knock through to existing kitchen, existing floor removal, excavation, insulation, membrane, concrete base, underfloor heating, screed and latex - ready for finished floor, interior walls and ceilings plastered, plastered finish entrance from existing dining room to propsed kitchen, new kitchen installtion only - skirtings, walls/ceilings/wood work painted, installation of tiled floor or similar
estimated time: 4 weeks

£10,300.00

Electrical works
complete re-wire as per electrical drawing and specifcation, electrical safety certificate

£6,500.00

Plumbing works
includes supply and installation of boiler with 7 years parts and manufacturers waranty plus building regulations compliance certificate (£2,200), appliances plumbed and fitted, entire ground floor replumbed back to water meter

£7,500.00

TOTAL £53,500.00

somethingcorporate

Get a couple more quotes, you have a decent breakdown to compare it against.

I'd suggest it may look a little high but you're in London so may be the going rate.

ccjane

I nearly spat my tea out when I saw your prices, our extension is a just a little bigger, 4 x 5.4m we are doing most ourselves and just the ground work cost us....


Other half took all the concrete off, rented a jack hammer for £102
man with digger for footings £540, we had to move 3 drains so it was 3 new inspection chambers with new covers and stacks and whole new pipes under ground which cost us £890 materials and labour.. Concrete for footings £1600, then we did all the ground work with hard core, sand, celotex insulation and concrete £420 total £3,552

Halle71

We're in London and have just started a 4.5 x 5m extension and the builder's total quote is circa £50k (basic shell at £33k plus a suite of extras including boiler, decorating, under floor heating, kitchen fitting, refitting cloakroom....etc).

By the time we have added kitchen, bi-fold doors, flooring and skylights it is costing us about £70k.

We had three quotes which were between £50k and £59k so I would have thought your was about right.

Furts

It is probable that by careful design, or value engineering, or using your own input that this cost could be reduced. Good value building is possible, but I see no thanks tick against the post from ccjane so I am guessing that you do not approve of that contribution. That is a shame for it is valid.

I appreciate that you are in London and that a product will cost what market forces dictate. However it is usual to measure floor area internally, and your build cost may be as high as £3000 per metre squared. To this you add the kitchen, floors and finishes. This is outside, or at the top end, of accepted guidelines for building.

You are embarking on expensive building so you have to ask if it is justified by tangible returns. Certainly seek more quotes, but equally your original figure sounds keen. I wonder if this was obtained before the current increase in construction workloads?

Sanoffo

Sorry, I thought I thanked everyone. All advice is greatly appreciated!

The earlier quote I received being 38k threw me to be honest. The earlier quote was also more itemised than this one. I have asked for this latest one to be broken down. It's not clear where all the money is going - materials/vs labour.

If I can't recoup the 60k investment, then you do ask yourself is it worth doing at all. If building costs keep skyrocketing, where do we draw the line?!

Furts

Sanoffo wrote: »

Sorry, I thought I thanked everyone. All advice is greatly appreciated!

If I can't recoup the 60k investment, then you do ask yourself is it worth doing at all. If building costs keep skyrocketing, where do we draw the line?!

You are not looking at this in a commercial manner. If you buy a £60000 car you do not expect to recoup your investment. Why do you expect to do the same with an extension?

An extension is a very expensive means to add floor space. Think of the logistics, the buying of small quantities of materials, the co-ordination of trades, the incomplete days of working for everybody - the list goes on. There are no economies of scale, you are at the mercy of market forces, plus profit margins to suit each individual customer. On top of this comes 20%VAT which cannot be reclaimed.

If you are trying to recoup your investment then you are adopting the mindset of a property developer. One then picks the property, and potential extension, with care.

When all this is considered two factors emerge. First, many people buy a bigger house to gain more floor space. Second, many people undertake at least some of the work themselves. I happen to have followed the second route. With a clear strategy and commitment unbelievable savings are possible. That is why I thanked ccjane for stating the obvious!

Halle71

Furts wrote: »

You are not looking at this in a commercial manner. If you buy a £60000 car you do not expect to recoup your investment. Why do you expect to do the same with an extension?

An extension is a very expensive means to add floor space. Think of the logistics, the buying of small quantities of materials, the co-ordination of trades, the incomplete days of working for everybody - the list goes on. There are no economies of scale, you are at the mercy of market forces, plus profit margins to suit each individual customer. On top of this comes 20%VAT which cannot be reclaimed.

If you are trying to recoup your investment then you are adopting the mindset of a property developer. One then picks the property, and potential extension, with care.

When all this is considered two factors emerge. First, many people buy a bigger house to gain more floor space. Second, many people undertake at least some of the work themselves. I happen to have followed the second route. With a clear strategy and commitment unbelievable savings are possible. That is why I thanked ccjane for stating the obvious!

It's not necessarily cheaper to move to gain floor space. When we moved into our current house last summer we paid £10k in estate agent fees, £26k in stamp duty and about £4k in legal/misc costs. We will never get that £40k back.

Clive_Woody

Halle71 wrote: »

It's not necessarily cheaper to move to gain floor space. When we moved into our current house last summer we paid £10k in estate agent fees, £26k in stamp duty and about £4k in legal/misc costs. We will never get that £40k back.

That was exactly our thinking when we decided to have an extension built. The cost of moving involved a lot of money disappearing with nothing to show for it, while the same money meant we have a lovely new reception room built exactly as we wanted it.

Karensa

Hi ccjane

I'm so glad to see that an extension can be done much cheaper. I'm currently planning my side return extension and I have a relative who is coming to London to help with the build. I'm a bit worried about this as he builds outside of the UK so I want to make sure that whatever he does will be within regulations.

It seems like the foundations part of the build should be pretty straightforward and he will be able to do this.

I wanted to ask - are you based in London? If so would you be able to pass on the details of the labourers you used.

Thanks

ccjane

Hi Karensa


I'm in Suffolk so prices are more reasonable. Our groundwork was quite straight forward, we hit no problems and it was all soil and sand... Like I said we hired a man with a digger marked out what we wanted and the same day late morning we made the appointment with the building control to see if it was deep enough as we did not want to go back on ourselves, he just said we needed to go down another 150, in total we went down 850, he then said call me when your drains are done, and also told us we can get rid of the old drains, our plans our very in depth It tells us everything... Also we did not use skips for the dirt and concrete we use grab hire which cost us £170 for one truck (20 tones) and the bloke who done our drains took our concrete which we took off, for £80 (as he gets it grinded down to make hard core and gets it back for £15 a bag).. The only thing about self build is make sure you have everyone in place don't wait till the last min.... Goodluck