What's new
By:
Pinball info

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Project DELTA - Pin area - Yet another extension on the house!

Moonbus said:
That was quick
Click to expand...

I don't agree :D - for something that should take maybe days, the fact that it took weeks is shocking. Yes its quick to what they promise which makes us all feel the council did a good job.

anyway its done now looking forward to the build photos!
 
Neil McRae said:
I don't agree :D - for something that should take maybe days, the fact that it took weeks is shocking. Yes its quick to what they promise which makes us all feel the council did a good job.

anyway its done now looking forward to the build photos!
Click to expand...

I agree it should only take days, was comparing it to people in London I know who have been waiting months just to have their proposals viewed.
 
Congratulations, who would think it hey, you need to get planning permission on a bit of land you legally own...

What a world!
 
I'm in the horrid phase of trying to obtain quotes from Builders. Anyhow made progress today with some good recommendations. One guy has quoted from the plans but wants to visit next week to firm up after a full site survey. 2nd builder has visited and has then sent his sparky and then his plumber to take a look - quote expected soon. I've then got 4 other builders looking at the plans with a view to site survey and quote.

I've got a better idea of what I want now and this is all written down and will be part of the spec I use to contract a builder to.

No one is free to start this year - all indicating 2019 start. Looks like I'll have to hold off buying any more pins until late next year!
 
If you have the time and inclination see how much you can get materials for.
My brother just built an extension and he worked it with the building firm that he would do the logistics and the firm would provide the 'floating' labor. It meant he could start sooner as the firm didn't have to commit people full time.

A longer project from start to finish but he only paid for time people were onsite.

Downside is guarantee is only on works done not materials used so if anything goes belly up in future it's a face off over who's responsible.
 
Update: Summer got in the way, but I have now had 5 builders quotes. I quickly relaised that builders just assume stuff without really communicating it back to you. Each quote I have got is very different in terms of the scope and materials. I realised weeks ago that this just wasn't going to work, so now I have engaged a professional who will help level the playing field by producing a detailed spec of what's required, covering both the building aspects, the M&E spec, and all the finishes. This should then allow me to get a set of builders quotes that are comparable.

I was amazed to get a quote from a builder that only covered the building work - he didnt want to do any of the heating or electrical work - I would have preferred him to just tell me he didnt want the job!
 
Progressing slowly on this. We now have got the detailed building regs spec done. Very thorough - I've used an Architects technician to do this work for me. He's done a thorough job for not a lot of £££. He's submitting that to building control and now we're working on the next phase - the full spec for the builders. The stuff for building control is a lot more detailed than the planning permission drawings etc, BUT it is not nearly detailed enough for builders - I really want them all to quote for the same level of spec & finish as well as technical design. Hopefully we will have this completed by end Nov.
 
AlanJ said:
Progressing slowly on this. We now have got the detailed building regs spec done. Very thorough - I've used an Architects technician to do this work for me. He's done a thorough job for not a lot of £££. He's submitting that to building control and now we're working on the next phase - the full spec for the builders. The stuff for building control is a lot more detailed than the planning permission drawings etc, BUT it is not nearly detailed enough for builders - I really want them all to quote for the same level of spec & finish as well as technical design. Hopefully we will have this completed by end Nov.
Click to expand...
It all takes a long time @AlanJ. Mine was only internals from bare brick and was hard enough! Worth it though.
 
This is why I went for the shed in the end. Trying to get all the details to extend the house would have meant I probably would only just be moving in. Eventually I’ll find a house that’s right that has it all included and then move.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
newdos said:
Nice one !!!!! makes my very little shed look crap!!!!!

keep us informed of the build bud.


EDIT - just thought Alan are you going to control it all with an arduino like my crappy little shed?


Cheers

Kev
Click to expand...
Hi Kev - yes I may well do that - I'm planning on having all the wiring for the sockets and lights running back to a cupboard nearby with it's own distribution board - so I should be able to do whatever I like.
 
Alan,
The home brew stuff is cool if you like to tinker but if you want something that works when you want it to work - take a look at control4, its not too cheap but in my view good value.

Neil.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
AlanJ said:
Hi Kev - yes I may well do that - I'm planning on having all the wiring for the sockets and lights running back to a cupboard nearby with it's own distribution board - so I should be able to do whatever I like.
Click to expand...
Nice one bud that's exactly what I did so then you can bung your arduino in but also easily revert back to conventional if required
 
Neil McRae said:
Alan,
The home brew stuff is cool if you like to tinker but if you want something that works when you want it to work - take a look at control4, its not too cheap but in my view good value.

Neil.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
How very dare you Neil!!!!

My rig works perfectly and has done 365 !!! Only time it won't work is if the broadband/wifi connection to the house fails which would take any IoT kit out.
 
newdos said:
How very dare you Neil!!!!

My rig works perfectly and has done 365 !!! Only time it won't work is if the broadband/wifi connection to the house fails which would take any IoT kit out.
Click to expand...

Sorry I wasn’t having a pop - some of the solutions are great and do a good job, Ive been writing open source code for twenty years and love it.

I had a lot of home brew like yours and it works to a extent, but it doesn’t scale well, I now have over 1000 home control elements and trying to manage the interaction between them yourself is really hard. I call this making it wife proof! :)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Neil McRae said:
Sorry I wasn’t having a pop - some of the solutions are great and do a good job, Ive been writing open source code for twenty years and love it.

I had a lot of home brew like yours and it works to a extent, but it doesn’t scale well, I now have over 1000 home control elements and trying to manage the interaction between them yourself is really hard. I call this making it wife proof! :)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...
Dont worry I was just having a giggle, but I know exactly what you mean - especially the last bit !!!
 
Jesus - First builder's quote back - not including flooring, decoration, or landscaping (all things I asked them TO quote for btw!) - £134,000 + VAT - ffs
 
The extension is about 55 sq m and then there is the existing sun room that's to be demolished and rebuilt 30 sq m, so 85 in total.
 
So that's quite large.
When we were building ours we were told to expect £1k to £1.5k per metre square, depending on finish. And that would include vat. So 134k + vat is at the very top end.
 
It’s interesting the range of quotes you get.

In my current house I experimented after hearing one of the builders comment. We had the upstairs re-configured. I got 6 quotes, 2 with my cars in the drive, 2 with no cars in the drive and 2 with my daughters Ibiza in the drive. Can you guess how they came out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Plenty of work about so they’re mostly picking and choosing - you’ll get a few opportunistic quote.

Build prices have risen massively in the last 5-10yrs too.

Find someone with the reputation and waiting list, but fair prices, then wait.
 
If they don’t really want the job they will over price. If you look minted they will over price it too. You really need to know somebody that’s knows somebody if you know what I mean.
Builders can be a nightmare, good luck. Good ones are out there. Watch them like a hawk and pull them on anything you are not happy with, you have to live with it.
I have refurbished (mainly managed) a couple of houses recently, one went smoothly the other not but got there in the end.
 
Just thought it might be helpful to share this info as it’s a general rule of thumb I use when working out costs on development sites my company buy to see if the figures add up on purchase price, construction cost, potential profit

Lower spec £125 + vat per sq foot
Mid spec £150 +
Top spec £175 +

This is generally for the core construction and it does fluctuate a bit where it is not typical construction. For example trench foundations are considered typical but if you need to do piling it is more expensive or if your concrete floor slab needs to be constructed as a raft with steel reinforcement.

The above prices don’t include specialist fitout ie bathrooms kitchens etc as they are very much driven by the client. I’ve had clients spend 10k on a kitchen and another spend 100k. Also things like underfloor heating might effect the price slightly depending on what system you use and if you want it to be fully compatible with a smart system that runs everything from one device. I use Nu-Heat regularly for underfloor heating as they are fully clued up on smart technology and do a range of systems to suit many situations.

I agree with Neil above regarding Control 4. I put it into our house and it is very user friendly and runs everything - Lighting, PIRs for lights, cctv, alarm, WiFi access points, underfloor heating, upstairs radiators, Sonos zones, all the AV surround sound sky etc. Everything runs back to our plant room.
Here is an example of the screens dotted around our house. They can also be used to video call each other so your wife can tell you to leave the pins alone and come for dinner instead of shouting room to room!

79249

It’s also great being able to program buttons to do a list of tasks. my son in the morning can press a button on way into kitchen and it turns tv on changes channel to CBeebies etc. Or going into my tv room I have a button for football that puts on tv, sky sp 1 and sets the lighting and surround sound to suit. The movie night button therefore sets it up for that etc
79247

Finally also worth remembering
that the lowest quote isn’t necessarily the best. I would always go with an established company who have all the insurances including Contractors All Risk as opposed to a smaller one man band type operation. They may be cheaper but it can be a struggle getting them back to resolve any issues if it is costing them money and they already had a tight price during the works.

Feel free to pm me if I can be of any help

Jon
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom