[Pond]

Originally Posted by isleaiw1

Can be £100k for a single storey kitchen diner extension if you have a nice spec of kitchen in the south east...

Kitchens cost the same in the South East as anywhere else. There is no 'London weighting' on goods; only labour.

Last kitchen I fitted in 2021 cost £3,200 for over 40 units (as I did the utility aswell). The worktops and appliances cost more than the kitchen.

Kitchen units and doors are dirt cheap (or should be). They are all made from chipboard and MDF which is still cheap even in 2024. Solid wooden doors do cost a bit more to produce but still not expensive.

The likes of Wren, Wickes, and moreso the 'up market' kitchen sellers make a fortune from essentially very cheap products. Their profit margins must be up there with Red Bull and crisps!

If you can read a spirit level and work a screwdriver, anyone can fit a kitchen. It is not a skilled trade.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by JD6

Definitely a thought-provoking thread. Having lived in old houses for all of my adult life, the idea of a bespoke new build does have a lot of appeal.

Go for it!!! You only live once.

We happen to be now looking for a property for the in-laws nearby, looking at what's on the market the choice is pretty awful, either a generic new builds or some very run down older houses.

I'm tempted to suggest to the in-laws they should buy a really knackered bungalow and knock it down to build something to their exact needs. Given we have found a reliable builder and good architect the hardest bit is probably done!

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by Pond

If you can read a spirit level and work a screwdriver, anyone can fit a kitchen. It is not a skilled trade.

I think that's abit like saying if you know how to work Teams and speak English you could do my job .

One thing the project has shown me is just how good the trades are at doing their job, working in all weathers, putting up with indecisive clients, managing surveyors/architectes.

I have absolutely no issues with paying the guys on site the invoices that come in, I couldn't do their job, and even if I could it would be a rubbish effort. Equally I suspect most of them would hate the job I do.

[isleaiw1]

Originally Posted by Pond

Kitchens cost the same in the South East as anywhere else. There is no 'London weighting' on goods; only labour.

Last kitchen I fitted in 2021 cost £3,200 for over 40 units (as I did the utility aswell). The worktops and appliances cost more than the kitchen.

Kitchen units and doors are dirt cheap (or should be). They are all made from chipboard and MDF which is still cheap even in 2024. Solid wooden doors do cost a bit more to produce but still not expensive.

The likes of Wren, Wickes, and moreso the 'up market' kitchen sellers make a fortune from essentially very cheap products. Their profit margins must be up there with Red Bull and crisps!

If you can read a spirit level and work a screwdriver, anyone can fit a kitchen. It is not a skilled trade.

You might say that but frankly, I dont have the time or the inclination, or the tools or the foggiest idea of where to start....

Margins I do understand.... and I was referring to the whole thing in the south east, its the labour element of the extension as well that hurts...

[Pond]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

I think that's abit like saying if you know how to work Teams and speak English you could do my job .

I get that. I am not saying everyone should fit kitchens or try their hand at building work to save a few quid.

Just trying to show the 'other side'. I have a bit of a problem when I see people spending masses of money on things that I know don't need to be that costly. I shouldn't because it isn't my money and none of my business.

TBH I'm just trying to help, but understand it isn't always seen as that. I may be Martin Lewis in another form!

I really hope you get what you want and are happy with it all. That, as long as you can afford it, is all that really matters.

[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by Pond

I get that. I am not saying everyone should fit kitchens or try their hand at building work to save a few quid.

Just trying to show the 'other side'. I have a bit of a problem when I see people spending masses of money on things that I know don't need to be that costly. I shouldn't because it isn't my money and none of my business.

TBH I'm just trying to help, but understand it isn't always seen as that. I may be Martin Lewis in another form!

I really hope you get what you want and are happy with it all. That, as long as you can afford it, is all that really matters.

A Dacia Sandero will get you from A to B and only costs £14k but I bet you don't own one of those.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by Pond

Just trying to show the 'other side'.

I get what you are trying to say, but I spent the day sitting on my bum attending a few Teams calls and finishing off a few word documents and I'm financially reimbursed for my efforts at work.

We all have different skill sets, if you can single-handedly build a house I would say in a very small minority of the population and should be (maybe is) being very well from that skill set, I know what I'm good at, and DIY is something I'm 100% very bad at .

As for been happy with what we are getting, I literally can spend hours just marveling at the builders have done. The plastering is done in the new main bedroom, get the 2nd fix in and we can have somewhere to sleeep..........just the rest of the house to go .

[Pond]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

The plastering is done in the new main bedroom

That is not easy at all to plaster, so fair play to him! He will have neck-ache tonight!

It will take a while to dry in the current weather, though.

[JD6]

Really like the ceiling being almost flush with the glass by recessing the frame. To me it’s details like that and the thin frames which make the difference. It’s going to make it tricky to find blinds which don’t detract from it when open though!



Any idea of the cost for the glazing of that opening? I have no real idea, but I’d guess 12-15k.

[gangzoom]

Originally Posted by JD6

Any idea of the cost for the glazing of that opening? I have no real idea, but I’d guess 12-15k.

Nearly, £10,361 fitted including VAT .

We could have gone for PVC stuff, same size, cost would have been £4,678 fitted, but you would lose the slim frame and overall ‘feel’ would be different. However I can see why developers don’t bother putting in fancy windows on new builds, overall it just adds to the cost and there is guarantee the final buyer would pay for the uplift in cost.

The front door/gable should look just as good when done, but the plasterers haven’t even started boarding the front atrium yet, there is plenty of work left for them to do. £14k was the cost of the front aluminium glazing+door, we could have done it for around £5K going with PVC stuff and composite door, but again, the look/feel just wouldn’t be the same.

Cannot wait to for the plasters to start downstairs .

[JD6]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

Nearly, £10,361 fitted including VAT .

We could have gone for PVC stuff, same size, cost would have been £4,678 fitted, but you would lose the slim frame and overall ‘feel’ would be different. However I can see why developers don’t bother putting in fancy windows on new builds, overall it just adds to the cost and there is guarantee the final buyer would pay for the uplift in cost.

That seems quite reasonable. It would feel totally different with more basic windows. Definitely worth paying for better glazing. When I look at houses in my area built by developers, they all seem to go for the cheaper options.

[gangzoom]

Spaces resembling rooms are finally making an appearance. The amount of light everywhere is quite sublime .

[gangzoom]

All the rooms are starting to look like rooms, by the end of the month 2nd fix should hopefully start

[gangzoom]

Whilst the plasters carry on in the house demolition has started agains outside, if all goes to plan we should have something finished in the next few weeks .

[Pond]

Originally Posted by Nibbles

A Dacia Sandero will get you from A to B and only costs £14k but I bet you don't own one of those.

Absolutely no relevance to my posts.

[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by Pond

Absolutely no relevance to my posts.

I have a bit of a problem when I see people spending masses of money on things that I know don't need to be that costly

[gangzoom]

Still not sure what any of the costs discussion are about, but there are some things in life that makes money seem all abit artificial. Things are now progressing quickly, kitchen should be in as soon as the tiler is done with floor next week, and I still have to pinch my self this is the view we have everyday when sitting in the kitchen.



The architect's vision of having a direct line of sight from the front door into the garden is simply a stunning bit of design, and even the front 'garden' is something that can be admired from almost any where in the kitchen/hall way.

Right now we are finalising fixture and fittings details, trying to keep the budget under control, but at the same time we feel likes kids in a candy shop, it's hard to 'cheap out' when the design/surrounding of the building is looking so good.





I never really asked what kind of coating was put on the glazing for the gables, but what ever is on there is pretty effective at reflecting light for privacy during day time, though we have essentially zero pedestrian foot traffic in front of the house so privacy isn't a major issue.

Currently also helping the inlaws to look for a house nearby, our front garden/drive is larger/more calming than some back gardens we've seen!! There is real risk if the inlaws cannot find a house they like they will end up buying something cheap nearby and asking our current builders to work their magic......MIL living with us for an undefined period........life is full of unintended consequences .

[gangzoom]

Life is for living isn’t it?

More builders turned up today, but they were done in 5 hours versus the 15 months+ of actual building work going on ……Fabulous is the only word I can describe what was built today .

Annoying we are too busy with work next few days to get the fire going, and Easter is going to be spent elsewhere with family, so the inaugural fire lighting will have to wait for another week.

[Bryans69]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

Life is for living isn’t it?

More builders turned up today, but they were done in 5 hours versus the 15 months+ of actual building work going on ……Fabulous is the only word I can describe what was built today .

Annoying we are too busy with work next few days to get the fire going, and Easter is going to be spent elsewhere with family, so the inaugural fire lighting will have to wait for another week.

They built that in 5 hours ?

[gangzoom]

Plastering is now 99% done, kitchen floor tiling was finished at the weekend (tilers came in during the bank holiday), and today fitting of the kitchen units have started.

Aiming for 2nd fix electrics/lights to be done in the next fortnight, stairs are coming as soon as the final floor levelling is done in the atrium post kitchen install and than it’ll be painting/decorating…..and whispering of a ‘completion date’ is now starting to enter conversations .

[gangzoom]

I'm resisting asking our builder about putting an interior roof on the house like the one below given he keeps telling me how complex the project has been so far....



This is current status of the roof, I suspect you cannot just bolt the wooden cladding on to the plaster? Would it need battening to roof josits?

I'll leave these questions for our builder when he comes back from holiday, but wondered if anyone had experience of using wooden cladding on interior roof finish, it looks much more interesting than just paint.

[NotGotABimmer23]

Originally Posted by gangzoom

I'm resisting asking our builder about putting an interior roof on the house like the one below given he keeps telling me how complex the project has been so far....



This is current status of the roof, I suspect you cannot just bolt the wooden cladding on to the plaster? Would it need battening to roof josits?

I'll leave these questions for our builder when he comes back from holiday, but wondered if anyone had experience of using wooden cladding on interior roof finish, it looks much more interesting than just paint.

I'm sure it could be fitted over the plasterboard and nailed into the joists behind. Probably could have gone on without the need for the board and skim and saved you some money, but a bit late now.