How do I bathroom / kitchen / extension? etc.

You know he’s my trigger.

I think he’s actually cheaper but to be honest it irks me a little people claiming lofts are 45k when what they should be saying is - “I got a loft done 7 years ago by the cheapest company I could find run by a guy who’s so hard to work with his whole family have disowned him”.

Also larger companies have bigger overheads and level of service, both costs that need to be passed on to turn a profit.

Perspective and context.

Not meaning to have a pop at you, I made my choices…

I think also, to be fair, stagnation of the customers wages are also an issue here.

As an in house lawyer, (and ok I dont have a massively stressful job, I cant do maths, i dont have to work long hours or have to manage anyone) I earn about 80k. I know i could sell my soul and double that but I cannot be bothered.

I read on another forum I go on the other day that some plasterers are earning more than that a year (albeit without a pension and sick pay etc).

Tbf every member of bespoke turned up in a nice new Audi.

I wouldn't mind an audi tbf.

I got a loft done 7 years ago by the cheapest company I could find run by a guy who’s so hard to work with his whole family have disowned him

But they are doing something useful, to be fair.

Agreed

There has definitely be a realignment. I think covid was the impetus for trades to truly understand how much headroom there was for fee increases.

I know i could sell my soul and double that but I cannot be bothered.

I mean... that sounds to me as though wage stagnation in your sector is voluntary. You'll be more familiar with the industry than me, but the anecdotes I hear is that since the US firms price hikes fees and wages have jumped. Obvs that's going to be practice dependent tho.

But yeah it does seem crazy that at a bare minimum you'd need to spend what, 8yrs? studying, training, work experience to get to your knowledge level, vs 2yrs as a plasterer.

Although you're talking about a physically tough job with health risks.

Youre comparing apples and oranges comparing the stuff/easy life i have to the poor bastards in the city who have no evenings and weekends.

I could work elsewhere and get a significant pay rise but that would bring with it a load of aggro and grief which is why i got out of private practice in the first place.

But the end point of my logic is extensions are going to only be available to the very, very wealthy if this carries on. Will an L shaped dormer be 125k in 5 years time? Will it cost 20k to fit a kitchen?

Construction inflation does seem relentless and something has to give i think at some point.

20k kitchen? Bargain!

It's only a half kitchen at that price.

It does make me a bit prang tbh.

We want to do a loft, and it makes financal sense to. But ideally we want to get our savings, etc. topped up and stop paying nursery fees before we do.

At this rate Idk if it'll be affordable. Although our main requirement right now is an office. So I can't help but think possibly getting the structure before we can afford the whole thing. Then DIYing the rest as we go could be a sensible route.

Currently I can "buy" holiday. I wonder how 2wks off to do the interior works would stack up.

Aye but you can guarantee that a plasterer is working harder for his money than your 80k your getting in house (just using your words) another thing people seem to forget is that trades have a shorter life span.

Plasterers end up with knackered elbows for a kick off and are working in cold wet conditions allot of the year.

20k kitchen is already here and that's not something super fancy either.

Cheers for the throughts on loft cost.

It's a property we're planning to be in long term so it probably is worth doing the loft sooner rather than later but do wonder whether costs will come down in real terms at some point (and whether it will be by a material amount).

Going to partly depend on what mortgage rates are looking like when we come to renew next year, if we get a big jump there then that's going to wipe out a chance of being able to pay for it.

Currently I can "buy" holiday. I wonder how 2wks off to do the interior works would stack up.

When I considered this in the past the answer was always "not that well". You can probably hire someone for a similar amount who will do it much faster.

This. I weighed up taking unpaid leave to take on a chunk of our building work, but it just would not have made financial sense.

Interesting, so it's a fan that runs continuously at low speed/noise and can ramp up to deal with heavy moisture, etc?

Feels like the kind of thing that could help with mould in the bathroom but how silent it is would be the big deal-breaker.

It's exactly this.

There are many products in this genre (dMEV). The Greenwood CV2GIP is genuinely almost-silent when in background ventilation mode; I've experienced it operating. It's a good idea to have continuous ventilation in a bathroom regardless, but it hugely helps to control mould.

The Greenwood often comes up on Ebay in new condition for very cheap.

have we done doormat chat here?

I'm getting new flooring in my hallway (solid wood) and want a door mat flush. Fitter has confirmed he's happy to make that work. Just need to find a mat that works. Does anyone have strong opinions about doormats?

The cost of doing a loft isn't just what the input costs are but what the market is willing to sustain. With interest rates where they are, selling and paying all the fees + moving with a much bigger mortgage, is probably going to cost more than figuring out how to get more space in your property through an extension or loft.

Make sure it doesn't foul the front door!
previous place we had a coir mat which worked well. When it gets tatty, take it out and fit a new one. I don't like the beading which some people fit around theres, if you get a good fit you shouldn't need it.

In our current place we got a mat made to size

aye, that's why we will get it flush/inset into the floor - so the door (plus draft excluder) can open over it.

Cheers. Will have a look at the existing fan and wiring to see how easy it is to slot one of these in.

Checking in here - started two days ago and already gained an outdoor toilet and pool. Basic bitch extension + knock through so hoping it all goes smoothly.

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