This is pretty much directly opposed to on-topic as it involves getting
builders in but I thought people here would be knowledgeable on such
matters.

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone has a
rough idea how much it's likely to cost.
I was thinking of a fairly lengthy 2 car long single width garage on the
ground floor , then an extra bedroom above part of the garage on the first
floor. That's probably about 8ft*30ft ground floor and 8ft*15ft first floor.

Obviously it's impossible to give anything like exact figures but it would
be nice to have an idea of if I'm talking 10 , 20 , 30 , 40k etc

Yes I realise I could phone a couple of builders but in my experience they
don't like to give even rough guesstimates on the phone and I don't want to
waste their time getting them to visit as this isn't something I'd be
getting done for a long while.
Oh, and it's in the west midlands as that will obviously affect the price.

--
Alex - posting using all 64 bits in widescreen :0)

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk
www.ebayfaq.co.uk

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:25:01 +0100, Dr Zoidberg wrote:

This is pretty much directly opposed to on-topic as it involves getting
builders in but I thought people here would be knowledgeable on such
matters.

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone has a
rough idea how much it's likely to cost.

A *very* long time since I did the same, and TBH, I really can't remember
what the bottom line total was, all I would say is when you come up with a
ball-park figure, double it and you won't be too far out from the final
cost. :-(

As an aside, having lived through the experience once, I vowed I'd never do
the same again. The aggravation and hassle just ain't worth it. I'd move
every time to get more room.

--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net

The Wanderer wrote:
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:25:01 +0100, Dr Zoidberg wrote:

This is pretty much directly opposed to on-topic as it involves
getting builders in but I thought people here would be knowledgeable
on such matters.

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone
has a rough idea how much it's likely to cost.

A *very* long time since I did the same, and TBH, I really can't
remember what the bottom line total was, all I would say is when you
come up with a ball-park figure, double it and you won't be too far
out from the final cost. :-(

As an aside, having lived through the experience once, I vowed I'd
never do the same again. The aggravation and hassle just ain't worth
it. I'd move every time to get more room.

Theoretically , what I have in mind shouldn't cause too much disruption or
mess in the rest of the house as the extension would start behind the
existing front door and the only access would be converting a window on the
landing at the side of the house into a doorway to the new bedroom , but I
do know how building works can find themselves taking a very different
course to plans.

Moving house means a lot of "wasted" money in stamp duty , estate agent and
solicitors fees and other costs and isn't exactly hassle free either.

Still , I take your point and when this comes to a serious choice rather
than idle speculation I'd have to think long and hard about how much
potential saving there is by extending Vs moving.

Another factor would be the difference in value of my house before and after
extension compared to the cost.

I think in general a good extension adds more value than it costs , but I
know that isn't always the case.

--
Alex

Piece by piece the penguins have taken my sanity
www.drzoidberg.co.uk www.ebayfaq.co.uk

Dr Zoidberg wrote:
The Wanderer wrote:
On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:25:01 +0100, Dr Zoidberg wrote:

This is pretty much directly opposed to on-topic as it involves
getting builders in but I thought people here would be knowledgeable
on such matters.

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone
has a rough idea how much it's likely to cost.

A *very* long time since I did the same, and TBH, I really can't
remember what the bottom line total was, all I would say is when you
come up with a ball-park figure, double it and you won't be too far
out from the final cost. :-(

As an aside, having lived through the experience once, I vowed I'd
never do the same again. The aggravation and hassle just ain't worth
it. I'd move every time to get more room.

Theoretically , what I have in mind shouldn't cause too much
disruption or mess in the rest of the house as the extension would
start behind the existing front door and the only access would be
converting a window on the landing at the side of the house into a
doorway to the new bedroom , but I do know how building works can
find themselves taking a very different course to plans.

Moving house means a lot of "wasted" money in stamp duty , estate
agent and solicitors fees and other costs and isn't exactly hassle
free either.
Still , I take your point and when this comes to a serious choice
rather than idle speculation I'd have to think long and hard about
how much potential saving there is by extending Vs moving.

Another factor would be the difference in value of my house before
and after extension compared to the cost.

I think in general a good extension adds more value than it costs ,
but I know that isn't always the case.

here's a gift to you and the other diy'ers who ought to know better.

get a copy of UK building costs blackbook from Franklin + Andrews
http://www.franklinandrews.com/publications/hutchins/ it's not THE bible
but it's what quite a few tradespeople use to generate /estimates/ from.

estimates, mind. not quotes, but it will give you your ball park figure
from which to gauge your opponents. it will also help you to think
clearly about exactly what you want by way of building works.

hth

"Dr Zoidberg" wrote in message
...
This is pretty much directly opposed to on-topic as it involves getting
builders in but I thought people here would be knowledgeable on such
matters.

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone has a
rough idea how much it's likely to cost.
I was thinking of a fairly lengthy 2 car long single width garage on the
ground floor , then an extra bedroom above part of the garage on the first
floor. That's probably about 8ft*30ft ground floor and 8ft*15ft first
floor.

I've heard the current figures are about £1000 - £1500 per square metre, the
lower figure for basic rooms with electrics & plumbing - the upper for
'ready to live in' standards of finish. If you go for quality flooring and
high standard fittings, you can be looking at £2000 per square metre and
above.

Obviously it's impossible to give anything like exact figures but it would
be nice to have an idea of if I'm talking 10 , 20 , 30 , 40k etc

I would estimate about 50 - 60k.

Yes I realise I could phone a couple of builders but in my experience they
don't like to give even rough guesstimates on the phone and I don't want
to waste their time getting them to visit as this isn't something I'd be
getting done for a long while.
Oh, and it's in the west midlands as that will obviously affect the price.

--
Alex - posting using all 64 bits in widescreen :0)

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk
www.ebayfaq.co.uk

Dr Zoidberg wrote:
This is pretty much directly opposed to on-topic as it involves getting
builders in but I thought people here would be knowledgeable on such
matters.

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone has a
rough idea how much it's likely to cost.
I was thinking of a fairly lengthy 2 car long single width garage on the
ground floor , then an extra bedroom above part of the garage on the first
floor. That's probably about 8ft*30ft ground floor and 8ft*15ft first floor.

Obviously it's impossible to give anything like exact figures but it would
be nice to have an idea of if I'm talking 10 , 20 , 30 , 40k etc

Yes I realise I could phone a couple of builders but in my experience they
don't like to give even rough guesstimates on the phone and I don't want to
waste their time getting them to visit as this isn't something I'd be
getting done for a long while.
Oh, and it's in the west midlands as that will obviously affect the price.

--
Alex - posting using all 64 bits in widescreen :0)

Hermes: "We can't afford that! Especially not Zoidberg!"
Zoidberg: "They took away my credit cards!"

www.drzoidberg.co.uk
www.ebayfaq.co.uk

Several of my clients have had quotes from £40k to £70k recently for
the same job - two storey side extensions. These were from builders in
the Birmingham area off the Quality Mark list or referred by the FMB.

A builder will need some plans and a specification to give you a
meaningful estimate. And this will change if you don't intend to build
in the short term.
Specific foundations. roof construction design and structural
alterations can have a big impact on any estimated price.

But your proposal is unlikely to be less than £30k from 'proper'
builders.

dg

In message , .
writes

Another factor would be the difference in value of my house before
and after extension compared to the cost.

I think in general a good extension adds more value than it costs ,
but I know that isn't always the case.

here's a gift to you and the other diy'ers who ought to know better.

A gift ?

pretentious **** - it costs £100



get a copy of UK building costs blackbook from Franklin + Andrews
http://www.franklinandrews.com/publications/hutchins/ it's not THE bible
but it's what quite a few tradespeople use to generate /estimates/ from.

estimates, mind. not quotes, but it will give you your ball park figure
from which to gauge your opponents. it will also help you to think
clearly about exactly what you want by way of building works.

hth



--
geoff

Dr Zoidberg wrote:

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone has a
rough idea how much it's likely to cost.
I was thinking of a fairly lengthy 2 car long single width garage on the
ground floor , then an extra bedroom above part of the garage on the first
floor. That's probably about 8ft*30ft ground floor and 8ft*15ft first floor.

Obviously it's impossible to give anything like exact figures but it would
be nice to have an idea of if I'm talking 10 , 20 , 30 , 40k etc

Flat roof or pitched?

I would guess that even with a flat roof you would be looking at the top
end of your scale there as a minimum figure. With a nice pitched roof
then you could easily run £60k+

You could however DIY for £20 - 25k I would have thought.

Yes I realise I could phone a couple of builders but in my experience they
don't like to give even rough guesstimates on the phone and I don't want to
waste their time getting them to visit as this isn't something I'd be
getting done for a long while.

To get a decent idea it would help to have a set of plans drawn (may
cost you £350) - may also cost as much again to get them submitted and
approved by building control.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

John Rumm wrote:
Dr Zoidberg wrote:

I'm idly considering an extension to my house and wondered if anyone
has a rough idea how much it's likely to cost.
I was thinking of a fairly lengthy 2 car long single width garage on
the ground floor , then an extra bedroom above part of the garage on
the first floor. That's probably about 8ft*30ft ground floor and
8ft*15ft first floor. Obviously it's impossible to give anything like
exact figures but it
would be nice to have an idea of if I'm talking 10 , 20 , 30 , 40k
etc

Flat roof or pitched?

Pitched for the first floor bedroom and flat for the section of garage roof
that would extend further back into the garden.

I would guess that even with a flat roof you would be looking at the
top end of your scale there as a minimum figure. With a nice pitched
roof then you could easily run £60k+

From what you and others have said , the average guesstimate could be 45-50k
and I suspect that it would work out easier and a similar cost to simply
move to a 4 bed house with garage.

You could however DIY for £20 - 25k I would have thought.

Some of the work I'd be more than happy to do myselft , but I'm sensible
enough to realise my limitations and wouldn't want to attempt the project
entirely without professional assistance.

Yes I realise I could phone a couple of builders but in my
experience they don't like to give even rough guesstimates on the
phone and I don't want to waste their time getting them to visit as
this isn't something I'd be getting done for a long while.

To get a decent idea it would help to have a set of plans drawn (may
cost you £350) - may also cost as much again to get them submitted and
approved by building control.

Proper plans are one thing that I would be happy to DIY - I may as well get
some use out of a civil engineering degree :0)



--
Alex

Piece by piece the penguins have taken my sanity
www.drzoidberg.co.uk www.ebayfaq.co.uk

On Sun, 13 Aug 2006 18:47:17 +0100, Dr Zoidberg wrote:

The Wanderer wrote:

snip

As an aside, having lived through the experience once, I vowed I'd
never do the same again. The aggravation and hassle just ain't worth
it. I'd move every time to get more room.

snip

Still , I take your point and when this comes to a serious choice rather
than idle speculation I'd have to think long and hard about how much
potential saving there is by extending Vs moving.

Another factor would be the difference in value of my house before and after
extension compared to the cost.

Doubtful

I think in general a good extension adds more value than it costs , but I
know that isn't always the case.

That's a specious argument put forward as individuals try to convince
themselves of the merits of a particular course of action. Been there, done
that, never made as much as I thought I would when I moved! :-)

What *really* affects the resale value of any property is the nominal value
of all the other properties in the vicinity. If they're selling for £200k ±
a little bit, you'll be lucky to realise more than a few £ks over the norm.

--
the dot wanderer at tesco dot net