Prefabricated Extension

TELLIT01

Some of the terminology used by the company in the link is vague to say the least.  They talk about assisting in planning permission, building regs etc.  Also that somebody will take 'a few measurements'.  Nothing in those to build my confidence in them.

TELLIT01

aoleks said:

 the whole myth around "today's prices" is just that, an exaggeration. did materials get more expensive? absolutely, significantly more expensive.

I don't know if the buildings material market has calmed down but it had my brother-in-law, who is a builder, tearing out what little hair he has remaining over the past year or so.  Timber prices in particular seemed to be increasing on a weekly basis.  We wanted landscaping work done in our garden, and the people we spoke to couldn't guarantee the timber prices as they wouldn't be doing the work for about 3 months.  They did however provide me with a list of the current prices of the main items e.g. sleepers and fence posts at the time of the estimate.  I agreed that I would pay any increases.  Those increases varied from about 15% to 50% in that 3 month period.  "Today's price" certainly wasn't a myth then.

SJW1510

aoleks said:

a 30sqm extension doesn't sound right at £100k. the whole myth around "today's prices" is just that, an exaggeration. did materials get more expensive? absolutely, significantly more expensive. but that won't triple the price of an extension several years ago, as most of the price is labour.

find some reputable local builders and see what they say.

We had 3 quotes for a 51 sq metre extension (we're in the south west) - they were all in the region of £140-£160k to second fix. That's without budgeting for the bathroom and kitchen fitting. 

I think £100k for a 30 sqm extension including a kitchen is bang on the money. 

SJW1510

TELLIT01 said:

Some of the terminology used by the company in the link is vague to say the least.  They talk about assisting in planning permission, building regs etc.  Also that somebody will take 'a few measurements'.  Nothing in those to build my confidence in them.

In fairness to them, this might just be typical waffly sales speak which is fairly typical for a website. I spoke to them extensively over email and they were very specific and detailed. They have their own fully accredited architect and they carry out a survey before doing the planning application, and also applying for building regs too. I can't vouch for the finished product as we didn't go with them but out of all the companies I spoke to, they were impressive with their attention to detail and how specific they were over the process and what was included. 

smithj82

SJW1510 said:

Hi there - we've actually just started a project to add an extension which is along the lines that @Doozergirl describes. Really excellent thermal values. From what I understand, these methods of construction are really common in Europe/the US - it's just us who are a bit behind in insisting on traditional brick builds!

Our project is only just beginning - we've just had the pull tests and the ground team out to check for the prep etc. We are knocking through one wall and keeping two others. We're extending a main house and creating an annexe. 

I actually spoke at length to the company you mentioned and I was really impressed by them. There are a number of others in the market but compared to them, VM seemed thorough and professional. They're happy to either use your existing CAD drawings or create their own, but they handle the full building control process. 

As it happens, after all of that I didn't end up using them! I think they would have done a good job but I was slightly concerned that they'd only been in business for about a year. The directors also seemed to have a few companies listed under their names on Companies House., some of which had closed down. What can I say, I'm a super-cautious person haha! 

We've ended up using another company and although I was actually really happy with VM, I feel that the company we've picked are even more thorough. VM sent me an email with figures on whereas this other company pulled together a full polished quote with a breakdown of what was included. One of their directors is also an engineer, which pleased me. They've been operating about 2.5 years so still relatively newish but have a six-month waiting list and have exhibited at Grand Designs etc. Just seemed a bit more professional. Similar price. Also, they had lots of good reviews on Google - reviews seemed to be authentic as they had photos of finished projects etc. VM didn't really have any reviews, again a concern. 

The engineer for the company we've chosen came out to look at the property before the groundscrew team and he was really attentive, gave us advice on other elements too. It took me 6 months+ to choose a company while we were waiting for planning, and I feel really confident that we've made a good choice. I suspect that VM  would also have done a good job but I just had a couple of little niggling doubts. if they had more checkable reviews I probably would have gone with them because they were really thorough and seemed to have good attention to detail in the many emails I received from them. 

The reason we picked a modular build is because a) it's cheaper than a traditional brick build (about £30k) difference - even though we haven't chosen the cheapest modular supplier b) the thermal performance is better and the build quality has the same guarantees c) the price won't increase - lots of people saying allowing 10-15% extra for traditional build - the modular price is fixed  d) the build time and hassle is reduced. For us d) was really important as I have disabled kids and I could really do with as least disruption as possible. 

Happy to answer any questions you have - also happy to keep you updated with how the build goes if that helps. We're schdeuled to be built in Dec/Jan. 

Hi, what was the company you ended up using and how did it go? 

WendyJo

SJW1510 said:

Hi there - we've actually just started a project to add an extension which is along the lines that @Doozergirl describes. Really excellent thermal values. From what I understand, these methods of construction are really common in Europe/the US - it's just us who are a bit behind in insisting on traditional brick builds!

Our project is only just beginning - we've just had the pull tests and the ground team out to check for the prep etc. We are knocking through one wall and keeping two others. We're extending a main house and creating an annexe. 

I actually spoke at length to the company you mentioned and I was really impressed by them. There are a number of others in the market but compared to them, VM seemed thorough and professional. They're happy to either use your existing CAD drawings or create their own, but they handle the full building control process. 

As it happens, after all of that I didn't end up using them! I think they would have done a good job but I was slightly concerned that they'd only been in business for about a year. The directors also seemed to have a few companies listed under their names on Companies House., some of which had closed down. What can I say, I'm a super-cautious person haha! 

We've ended up using another company and although I was actually really happy with VM, I feel that the company we've picked are even more thorough. VM sent me an email with figures on whereas this other company pulled together a full polished quote with a breakdown of what was included. One of their directors is also an engineer, which pleased me. They've been operating about 2.5 years so still relatively newish but have a six-month waiting list and have exhibited at Grand Designs etc. Just seemed a bit more professional. Similar price. Also, they had lots of good reviews on Google - reviews seemed to be authentic as they had photos of finished projects etc. VM didn't really have any reviews, again a concern. 

The engineer for the company we've chosen came out to look at the property before the groundscrew team and he was really attentive, gave us advice on other elements too. It took me 6 months+ to choose a company while we were waiting for planning, and I feel really confident that we've made a good choice. I suspect that VM  would also have done a good job but I just had a couple of little niggling doubts. if they had more checkable reviews I probably would have gone with them because they were really thorough and seemed to have good attention to detail in the many emails I received from them. 

The reason we picked a modular build is because a) it's cheaper than a traditional brick build (about £30k) difference - even though we haven't chosen the cheapest modular supplier b) the thermal performance is better and the build quality has the same guarantees c) the price won't increase - lots of people saying allowing 10-15% extra for traditional build - the modular price is fixed  d) the build time and hassle is reduced. For us d) was really important as I have disabled kids and I could really do with as least disruption as possible. 

Happy to answer any questions you have - also happy to keep you updated with how the build goes if that helps. We're schdeuled to be built in Dec/Jan. 

Hi, I am looking into this at the minute, I'd be interested to know the company you used and how it went..