New build homes and extras

hunte78

We have bought a new build off plan and will soon be sitting down with sales rep to choose extras. Having had a look at their brochure I can't believe the price for some of the things, I appreciate you pay a premium when buying a new build but some of the prices are ridiculous.

Anyway to my questions. How simple is it to DIY? I don't really want to pay near £1000 for a shower over bath, this does include full tiling in bath area if we buy it, but it seems so overpriced when the shower they supply can be bought for a quarter of the price. If we do buy from developer and choose to source an independent do you think it would be a lot cheaper?

One of the biggest negatives (after price) is the tiling, which would be hard to match as they do half tile the rest of bathroom. Is the premium price worth it for continuity in the room?

AJGuy

We paid £1200 in labour to fit an entire 3x3 bathroom 2 weeks ago. £1000 for a shower and some tiles whilst trades are building the house is a complete rip off!

I honestly thought that this would be your time to make alterations and get a decent price for it as everyone is already there and 1st/2nd fix can be done properly.

hunte78

You would think so, but they seem to be out to bleed as much money from you as possible! Don't really want to rip tiling off to install a new shower just after new bathroom has been completed, but the price sticks in my throat.

keith969

hunte78 wrote: »

We have bought a new build off plan

So you are paying 20% extra for the developer's profit.

hunte78 wrote: »

Anyway to my questions. How simple is it to DIY? I don't really want to pay near £1000 for a shower over bath

Then ask them to do what you want as a condition of purchase, and it they won't, walk away.

AJGuy

It seems such a shame you will be paying all that money and yet they want more, maybe you could try and haggle them, pop a separate thread up and ask for advice directly for hints and tips on getting work done by a developer.

Have you seen a sample of the tiles that are going to be used? You may be able to source them yourself so you get that match you need.

I’m assuming you have paid a deposit? If so I wouldn’t walk away as your would lose that and end up costing yourself more than if you were to get the developer to do it or sourcing your own work.

hunte78

Yes we have almost exchanged, not quite over the line but don't want to walk away. We'll see how it goes, we meet to choose everything this week so don't know who supplies tiles. We will probably just have to suck up the cost as we don't want to be ripping walls open of a newly decorated room.

Says a lot about the developer when they also charge £650 to install 10 spotlights in the kitchen, which seems madness when they are there doing work anyway.

Risteard

hunte78 wrote: »

Says a lot about the developer when they also charge £650 to install 10 spotlights in the kitchen, which seems madness when they are there doing work anyway.

That's the cost of the work so there's little cause to complain.

Hannah2

Yes, they charge a fortune for all the extras!

One piece of advice, check carefully the number of plug sockets in each room and make sure you identify which are just single plugs - they will put the minimum number in and usually just singles - they then charge to switch them for double sockets. The show homes will have way more sockets in than the actual plans! Make sure you have enough, especially in the kitchen for kettle/microwave (where you are going to put it)/gadgets/phone chargers etc. Also in rooms where you might want TV/router/sky box etc. Especially if you are using a bedroom as a study, you will need more sockets.

Sometimes you don't think about this until you move in and then it is harder to add them and you are limited as to where you can put electric devices!

AJGuy

I echo Hannah2’s comments, we went into a show home last year and every room had a list about where they deviated from the normal plan, it included moved doors, higher ceilings, more sockets so pay a lot attention.

If you order a few options then I most certainly expect the developer to shave off a pound here and there. £650 is not to bad for 10 spot lights, it should be considerably cheaper for the developer however if you were to do it later it’s a nightmare in new builds as they don’t use traditional floorboards and access is sometimes easier from below, this causes a lot of damage to the ceiling which adds to the cost in repair.

I suppose it’s a bit like options on a car, good income for the developer but convenient and improves the product for the customer.