Owning your own home

We do have a BC cert from 1998 but I get the point you are making about a new installation.

Taking this logic further I might be slightly fucked even if I just want a replacement of the existing structure as it will need new BC?

But taking this logic further I might be slightly fucked even if I just want a replacement of the existing structure as it will need new BC?

Possible you could repair it without needing BC. So strip off all the wood and fucked glass, replace with modern materials / glass, keeping the broadly the same overall dimensions / appearance etc.

repair

Boooring. All that cost just to get back to where I started?
Sounds like a next owner problem.

The F&B LFGSS Collab…

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Yes this is the point.
You may want to design an extension that looks like a conservatory. It will have some advantages, but it won't be efficient in many areas, construction cost in particular.
150k is crazy isn't it ? for under 10 sqm of surface. D&B companies have high management fees and the smaller the job, the higher the markup.

150k is crazy isn't it ? for under 10 sqm of surface

That figure includes the full kitchen job too. The area of the completed room would be just under 40 sqm

Haha. It's incredible how long this thing has been going.
Rental apartment in Berlin.
Every apartment has its own more or less ancient central heating/hot water system, like a lot of places.
Right now the owners plan the very expensive transition to heat pump for the whole building.
My suggestion to buy our place/a share to help with financing unfortunately wasn't met with enthusiasm.

It balancesd things a bit, but if we are talking about 40 sqm of surface, part of it being refurbishment, we still are at 3.75k per sqm. still very high

Objectively it is crazy, yes, but that appears to be what these things cost if you don't have the desire to self-manage.

Depends where you are & the spec you're after but we're in the middle of a D&B c3m x 5m extension, knock-through & new kitchen in London - 150k was the very punchiest quote we got which we took for them just not wanting to do it. Most of the others were in the 80-120 range.

Also despite having a project manager, you do also have to do a hell of a lot of project managing anyway - the building co PM essentially just buys the stuff & makes sure the labourers turn up.

Interesting datapoint, thanks. Hard to believe that the complexities of two party wall agreements and steels for the existing outrigger above would drive the entire difference. Perhaps I just need to get a couple more quotes.

Good plan.
Much like this https://b-vds.co.uk/projects/leytonstone-house/

I will post some pictures in due course but I have just finished a 6m x 3.5m brick built extension with 2 roof lanterns and a knock through for about 45k give or take. that included fitting the kitchen too.

What is the complexity of the party wall agreement? You fill it out they sign it. If they don't play ball and you need a party wall award (which is different to an agreement) then that will only add what, 3-6k at the most to the costings? The steels cost more than they did a few years back but the Rsj and 2 upstands for my extension were less than 2k.

If you read the comment in context that is exactly the point I am making.

Forgive me if I have missed it but you haven't said what the "cheaper" alternative would be have you? Perhaps you have and I missed it.

It's on the previous page. Slap an extension (orangery-style) on the end that doesn't touch the boundary and doesn't disturb any load-bearing walls, enlarging footprint of existing timber conservatory that needs replacing anyway.

45k give or take. that included fitting the kitchen too

£5k for the whole extension then??

:-)

Sorry, I didn't make myself clear - how much would that cost to do?

Don't have it costed but I suspect less than 50% of the full job, not least because we wouldn't need to rent somewhere else for 6 months (I have zero desire to live on a building site).

I suspect you might be disappointed if you think it'll come in at less than half if you want it done by someone with a flashy van and is part of the federation of master builders in your neck of the woods- but I hope not.

My neighbours have just been quoted 125 plus vat for an internal rejig of their house by an upmarket builder in wanstead. No extending.

My neighbours have just been quoted 125 plus vat for an internal rejig of their house by an upmarket builder in wanstead. No extending.

Have heard similar stories (our neighbours with an identical house reckon they spent £300k for side return, loft pod and interior-designed refurb). This is why I was prepared to believe the £150k quotes for a proper side return extension.

I know what my appetite and aptitude to get my hands dirty on this stuff is (low) so I am budgeting accordingly...

Get a modern unvented hot water tank if your mains pressure /flow is decent, if not get one of the power tanks, lots and lots of hot water at good pressure + flow. Cheapo electric showers are reasonable for a lot of misery in the UK.

Can I do that and heat it with electricity? That would be amazing, I’ll do some googling