How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

I’d be making decisions like that based on my own research + phoning suppliers and installers. Architects will have a good overview but may not have worked with half of what they’re suggesting, or they're only suggest things they have used, potentially missing newer or alternative solutions. Builders even more so.

I don’t want to tar everyone with the same brush but architects often seem to have the budget pretty low on the radar when specifying too.

If you need more detailed build drawings you could look for an architectural technician rather than full architect. I designed our extension then had it drawn up by an AT. Can share the deets if you want.

Also in their defence, they are not a QS.

Pistonheads is good for this sort of stuff.

When I looked for an uninsulated shed (one day to be 2 season office) the concussion was those t&g chipboard floorboard things with insulation (I think you can get them as a combination), then something warm on top like lyno or cork. Also if you go round the big chain diy stores you'll often find laminate at a discount. We did what was our dressing room, now our youngest's room with some that when we first moved in. It's held up really well, and I think the underlay stuff and scotia beading cost something silly like double the cost of the laminate.

We've been in contact with 3 or 4 builders that have all fallen by the wayside for one reason or another.

There are some things we could probably do in stages, but it would just inflate the overall budget to do so. For example, we could get the existing roof redone, but some of the upstairs window sills need replacing, so the obvious time for that is while the scaffolding is up. Doing them at different times and getting the scaffolding done twice is the kind of thing that would put the overall build way out of budget by spending money really inefficiently.

overall build way out of budget by spending money really inefficiently.

Assuming you have income over the next 10yrs, yes it will be less efficient, but it won't be out of budget. It will just be more than your original budget.

Have a look at the numbers against taking on more debt. It may be worth borrowing now if the efficiency savings are that great.

Must be fairly fancy if its 240k. I'm genuinely shocked at the prices folk are getting these days and the actual value it really adds on after this.

Is the 240k work, going to add 240k value onto the house?

Hadn’t considered that, will double check if there is sufficient room below door to fit these

You can always have a cut out for the door opening and put down a mat - sort of like a recessed mat in a hall.

Practical and you should be able to make it look neat.

@DanS tikamoon stuff is really good quality. they will often have deals on as well that get you free delivery etc. And, their customer service is great. the only downside is that a lot of the stuff gets shipped from France and can - in my experience - turn up damaged. Which is why I know so much about their customer service.

I'm fairly sure this is a cashflow discussion.

Either you have the money now + the time the work takes to complete + longing out a bit of snagging.
or
Save until you do have the above or can borrow.
Or
Part the work out in bits over a longer period of time, accept that certain elements will be less than your ideal for periods of time and that the overall cost efficiency will be poorer.

Also if you're being quoted 240k this will be 300+ by the time all is said and done. If it's stressing you now then seeing the invoices roll in and your bank account run dry won't improve things. Especially if you're onsite (or what we did, live in the PiL's spare room with a 1yr old 2 hours from London and commuting 4 x per week). I can look back now and love our place. But even having a turnkey builder/architect and having most of the money in hand, it was still a lot.

I can only echo this having done similar a couple of years ago.

In short here's what I learned:

1. It will take twice as long and potentially twice as much as you think.

2. To mitigate the above if the builders will do it get quotes for labour only. You will want to choose your own materials for most of the finish I'm guessing. You will be quoted for what the builders can supply as standard. This was hard to disentangle for me.

3. Pay that 15k for the project management. Mine was a bit less on a similar costed project. I think I saved this easily on the whole cost and more importantly the stress

This was for a full renovation of a 3 story Victorian terrace (not on London) including side return extension. It was just over 240k.

I was also in the position to live with family for the duration (12 - 14 months)

Maybe not, but that's not really a question we care about.

We looked at around 30 houses in East London in 2021, all of which needed £200k plus work done to modernise them, and all of which sold for at least 10 to 15% over asking. Buyers either had very deep pockets, or unrealistic expectations of what it would take to do the work.

I am very relieved we didn't buy one of them, as we would now be living in penury in a grotty old house if we had.

So if you don’t care if it’s going to add value to the house (call me old fashioned but that’s insane) why you moaning then.

Like other have said,it seems like there is something else and if your stressing right now. Just wait till everyone after there money!

thank you very much for the reply - reassuring about customer service and (eventual!) quality: seems to hit a sweet spot of price/quality

Because you can do this wild thing called “living in a house” which doesn’t take into account how much money your house is or is not worth.

This. Obviously there are limits: don't install diamond floor tiles in a 2-bed semi. But we're removing a bedroom and making things to suit our lifestyle with our current work, and it would limit value to some families I suppose.

Our experience with Tikkamoon wasn't great; we were bought a set of teak garden chairs and table as a gift. All three chairs broke within a couple of months; customer service tried to claim "wear and tear". We had to fight to get replacements... which then also immediately broke, quite clearly a defective batch. They then refused to replace them any further, so we ended up scrapping them.

A year later, the table cracked and collapsed lol

Exactly this...

We've made some 'questionable' decisions with our refurb, which many people advised against mostly based on "adding value", such as not putting a bathroom in the loft conversion, no utility room, taking up an entire double bedroom with a new bathroom, spending big on fabric and insulation upgrades etc...

I've got zero qualms with doing this, as I want to enjoy living in a house that's exactly as we envisaged it, without compromises to suit some nebulous prospective future buyer.

taking up an entire double bedroom with a new bathroom

strong move, I like it.

diamond floor tiles

Good advice. Way too grand for a 2 bed.

I'm fairly sure this is a cashflow discussion.

How many people generate £100k of free cash after expenses from salary over a two to three-year period?

Well this is where the ‘adding value’ consideration falls into play a bit, if diverting from other saving/investment..

https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1771997733743693844