Where to start with extensions?

casper_gutman

Chickereeeee said:

Live in the house (assuming it IS liveable) get to know what works, what doesn't, how the light falls at different times of the day, how the house 'flows'.

Agree with this.

When we bought our house at least part of me would have thought this a load of hippy-dippy nonsense, along with feng shui. I'd have merrily put a two-storey side extension on.

Having lived there for a few years I realised one of the best things about the house was how light it was, and that a two-storey extension would spoil that, so we built a single storey extension. The downstairs still gets plenty of light thanks to Velux windows, the light to the upstairs windows on the side elevation hasn't been compromised, and the place still has its lovely light feel.

Perfect!

grumbler

casper_gutman said:

Chickereeeee said:

Live in the house (assuming it IS liveable) get to know what works, what doesn't, how the light falls at different times of the day, how the house 'flows'.

Having lived there for a few years I realised one of the best things about the house was how light it was, and that a two-storey extension would spoil that, so we built a single storey extension. 

IIRC, it's an extension to the side in this case. That's why a single-storey extension would be a 'wasted potential' IMO. I was in the market recently and saw far too many examples of this.

casper_gutman

grumbler said:

casper_gutman said:

Chickereeeee said:

Live in the house (assuming it IS liveable) get to know what works, what doesn't, how the light falls at different times of the day, how the house 'flows'.

Having lived there for a few years I realised one of the best things about the house was how light it was, and that a two-storey extension would spoil that, so we built a single storey extension. 

IIRC, it's an extension to the side in this case. That's why a single-storey extension would be a 'wasted potential' IMO. I was in the market recently and saw far too many examples of this.

Ours is a side extension too. A two-storey extension here would have lost light to the windows in the bathroom, landing, a bedroom and the stairs as all these windows were on the side of the house. Plus, the whole of the new extension could only have had natural light from the back of the house as the wall of the extension is right on the boundary, instead of having all the lovely rooflights.

I'm very glad we didn't have a two storey extension. You may think a single storey side extension is "wasted potential", and in one way it is, but there are considerations other than floor area. Not every plot needs to be absolutely maxed out for square footage if it means compromising in other areas. If we need more upstairs space, we'll just have to convert the loft instead.

SadieO

Section62 said:

The fact neighbours have made changes doesn't mean you'll automatically get planing consent to do the same.  The rules change over time, and some people don't necessarily get consent for what they build.

Oh yes, I totally appreciate that. Just thought it would be a good starting point to think about what might be likely or possible. 

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment!

jonnydeppiwish!

Can I recommend that you buy the Haynes guides to extensions - yes they’re the same people that do the car manuals but it’s a really useful guide!

ic

I'm in the final fortnight (fingers crossed) of a full renovation of the house - a rebuild of the roof with loft conversion, and demolition of existing extensions, and build of new side and rear extension.  It started in June.

• As other say, live there first.  We started planning after three months, and the first plans were too big and unaffordable.  I incurred a lot of cost having to rejig the plans and reapply for planning and building control.
• Look here to understand what you can do within permitted development: https://www.planningportal.co.uk/permission/interactive-guidance - if what you want to do is permitted, you can skip planning altogether.
• You'll still need building control no matter what.  It's better to have plans and get full plans approval - that way if the regs change during the work, you can continue building to what was agreed.
• When you get a builder, make sure they have liability insurance, and ensure your contract is decent (JCT is industry standard).
• For our work most home insurers refused to quote, I had to go to a specialist insurer and pay double the usual annual amount.
• Finding a builder is hard work - despite having planning permission and full plans with building control approval, most wouldn't give me the time of day.  The good people genuinely are very busy.
• Get to know your builder - my builder stuck with me through a second round of planning after the first turned out just too expensive.  During this time we built a good relationship and got to know each other.  I got to know his style, and was able to dig on a lot of the detail.  When the build is on, you'll effectively be living with these people!
• Check on references, I went with my builder when I realised he'd done work for others on the street - so went and got to know my neighbours.
• Living through a big build is hell on earth.  Don't do any decoration until the work is done.  Holes will be randomly smashed through walls where you least expect them, we had leaks from the rain which resulted in all upstairs ceilings being replastered. 
• You will need to exit spaces at short notice (we lost the garage, kitchen, dining room, living room and two bedrooms).  Luckily we had room to throw up a shed in the garden, and a friend had space to spare to store lots of stuff.
• Keep an eye on their work, and ask questions - I found my builder and his sub-contractors work excellent, however his apprentices often rushed and missed details (I often found insulation and pipe lagging insufficient for example).  Everything I highlighted was always promptly fixed.
• Tell your neighbours what you want to do.  We've had one problematic neighbour, the rest have been very supportive and have enjoyed watching the progress.
• Agree a payment schedule, and understand what happens if prices change.  My builder from the outset built in his own contingencies and padding for materials - and has stuck to it.  I haven't paid a penny more despite agreeing prices at the start of the year.  A good contract (see earlier) will ensure you both understand who covers what if things go wrong or stuff is uncovered along the way.
• No matter how good your plans are, things will crop up and design details will change.
• Try and arrange for the work to run over summer.  Ours started in summer, and is finishing in winter - thankfully we've gotten fully water tight just as the mild weather has come to an end.
• If you work from home, get good noise cancelling headphones!

SadieO

Wow thanks for taking the time to write all that @ic it's really helpful. Sounds epic! Hope you can relax and enjoy the fruits of all that labour soon! 

Bendy_House

Step one for us was to find a good architect. She's pretty much cornered the market around this area for extensions - it was almost funny; "that's one of mine...and that one...and that one...". On that point, perhaps a good way to find one is to drive around your new area, and have a chat with everyone who's having work done - see who they use and whether they come recommended.

Ours had her 'approved' list of builders she was happy to recommend - after they had properly proved themselves to her - and they all provided quotes. She also knew which ones to avoid (as when one got in touch with us following our plans being submitted, and told us they could start waaay before anyone else...). Wow, she had some stories about them, as she was asked to project-manage a job they were on. She took no BS - a formidable lady.

For speed, we had her do all the submitting of plans and stuff too.

Good advice above about a) being pretty sure you WILL have Permitted Dev or PP before buying, and b) give yourself time to work out what YOU want, and the Archi can then work with this. 

Most Planning depts will provide a 'pre-planning' assessment for around £100-ish. A "we would like an x-storey ext along the side and out t'back - does this sound ok?", and this may be worth doing before/as your house purchase gets under way.

MikeJXE

I'm an ex builder, the reason you have so few from so many is, 1 most good tradesmen have left the industry, 2 there is that much work about they can pick and choose, 3 main building contractors are paying high rates. Point to watch is some tradesmen will only work weekend as they are employed during the week. Watch out for cowboys, ask to see their work and speak to previous clients. 

SadieO

Bendy_House said:

On that point, perhaps a good way to find one is to drive around your new area, and have a chat with everyone who's having work done - see who they use and whether they come recommended.


Most Planning depts will provide a 'pre-planning' assessment for around £100-ish. A "we would like an x-storey ext along the side and out t'back - does this sound ok?", and this may be worth doing before/as your house purchase gets under way.

Great tips, thanks! Next door has a garage plus a storey on top of it on their side return, and there's scaffolding up over the road. looks like they might be getting a dormer put in the loft. I will attempt to overcome my double-whammy of being British and an introvert and ask around! Thanks for the info on "pre-planning" too - that sounds like exactly the kind of thing that would be useful at this point. (Also my northern heart loves the idea of submitting a formal request to extent "out t'back"  )