Struggling to get quotes for extension, am I approaching it wrong?

Hoploz

When I was looking for builders to do quotes I knocked on doors of houses I'd spotted in the local area who had had building work done recently. People were very happy to show me their beautiful newly extended homes and i was able to ask whether they would recommend their builder. I picked up 3 or 4 names and numbers and had a couple round to give me estimates when I was in the early stages, just from my own sketches. Some people said they could only give a price once technical drawings were available which is fair enough but as you say, it ought to be possible to give a ball park figure which will vary according to the finishes required.

Generally I think the design will determine how much the build will cost, then as the customer you can decide whether you want top price, high end finishes or you're skint and only want the most basic fittings.

BTW I'd expect builders not to be able to start straightaway as good people will have a couple of jobs, so maybe 3-6 months work, booked in. Which is why I wanted to get people in at an early stage, before planning was actually granted.

Furts

49IM wrote: »

This is a good point - but it's a bit of a catch 22, as without knowing the rough cost I can't decide which to go with. I'm having an architect draw up full BC plans for option number 1 (I got only one guy interested and he's taken a month so far with no plans, but that's for another thread!) in hope that I can go with that, but the first quote I've received is a good 40% more than I had been imagining (based on chats with architects etc.)

I would have thought experienced builders could have a quick look at a site and tell me how much, to within 10-15%, say, it might cost. It's worth noting that option number 2 has exactly the same ground floor as option number 1, they are kind of part of the same plan.

I hoped it would go like this:

1) Rough plans (e.g. those I got PP with)
2) Rough estimate
3) Detailed plans
4) Detailed quote

It is, as you say, a big waste of time for contractors to jump straight to point 3 and I don't expect them to.

I am a follower of Doozergirl's excellent post on this topic.

Builders are not a free of charge estimating service. Further, many will be paying quantity surveyors to price up jobs for them. Consequently it is unreasonable to expect commercial businesses to run around offering free advice.

Goodwill and future business can be factored in. However when a consumer does not know what they can afford, nor have Buildings Regulations, nor working drawings, nor a specification, nor a build over agreement, nor measured survey, nor details of any existing services, and so on, it is reasonable for any builder to consider giving an estimate as a futile exercise.

Hopefully OP will seek a competent, professional builder. In return such builders choose to work for competent, professional clients. This has never been more true as the market is buoyant for builders.

49IM

Furts wrote: »

I am a follower of Doozergirl's excellent post on this topic.

Builders are not a free of charge estimating service. Further, many will be paying quantity surveyors to price up jobs for them. Consequently it is unreasonable to expect commercial businesses to run around offering free advice.

Goodwill and future business can be factored in. However when a consumer does not know what they can afford, nor have Buildings Regulations, nor working drawings, nor a specification, nor a build over agreement, nor measured survey, nor details of any existing services, and so on, it is reasonable for any builder to consider giving an estimate as a futile exercise.

Hopefully OP will seek a competent, professional builder. In return such builders choose to work for competent, professional clients. This has never been more true as the market is buoyant for builders.

All very fair. Where, then, should an interested customer seek initial estimates from? How does someone not "in the business" first get any idea what something should cost, say to the nearest £5000 or so? It's got to be by asking someone, I suppose - maybe an architect instead? Most seem to explicitly offer a free initial consultation.

Doozergirl

Other people here may tell you how much they spent on similar sized extensions if you share some basic info.

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/calculator/

Have a go on that. This is for new build - which assumes larger footprints (economy of scale) and it can only be a rough estimate because even squares and rectangles have different perimeters when they consume the same floor area.

It does not account for VAT either so add 20%

Let us know what it says for sense check.

Furts

Doozergirl wrote: »

Other people here may tell you how much they spent on similar sized extensions if you share some basic info.

https://www.homebuilding.co.uk/calculator/

Have a go on that. This is for new build - which assumes larger footprints (economy of scale) and it can only be a rough estimate because even squares and rectangles have different perimeters when they consume the same floor area.

It does not account for VAT either so add 20%

Let us know what it says for sense check.

Again I am with Doozergirl and this too was to be my suggestion. Both Homebuilding and Buildit magazines do calculators, and it is possible that the the magazines give a better result than the web. I say this because these companies want you to buy their magazines, in preference to seeking web based freebies.

You could seek help from your designer, but many will be fairly clueless here - they are simply CAD players working on a laptop, without a lot of knowledge of the real world.

Paying a Quantity Surveyor is a good route to down. However 99% of consumers want services for little, or no expenditure. Hence very few will entertain this concept.

Kiran

You've already had good advice above, can you post your plans? I'd suggest you don't post a link to your online application though.


The more information you have the more serious you will be taken, as in not being used for estimating purposes and the more likely you are to get an estimate back.


This site might be of some use, it gives you a guide to what a quantity surveyor would be doing so you understand what you are paying for if you go down that route.
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Bill_of_quantities_BOQ