Extending yourself!
If your house is too small you've got three choices. You can put up with it, which can make you feel virtuous and long-suffering but gets on everyone's nerves eventually. You can move to a larger house, with all the associated upheaval or you can enlarge your own.
Extending your own house might seem like the easiest and simplest method but there's still a great deal to think about and very careful planning will be needed if it's going to go smoothly.
The first thing to do is get a large file - you're going to collect vast amounts of paperwork and it's useful to have it all to hand preferably in an easily-transportable form. I have some blank sheets of paper in the front of mine so that I can make a note of any queries that I've got and then cross them off when they're cleared.
When you start thinking about an extension try and think into the future. There's no point in having a simple extension put on the back of the house if you're going to want an extra bedroom above it in a few years. You can't just add another floor on and if you do the work in two goes you'll end up paying for work that you've paid for to be removed - if you see what I mean!
If you do only want a simple extension (the hammering that you can hear in the background is the growing pains of my new kitchen!) then a good builder can probably draw up the plans for you. If it's more than just a "move this wall a metre that way" project you would be well-advised to consult an architect who will be able to help you make the most of the available space and to ensure that the extension blends in with the existing property. Think carefully about what you want before you talk to an architect or a builder, but be prepared to listen to their suggestions. They are practical people who know what works and more importantly, what doesn't. A good builder or architect will also be able to advise you (and possibly deal with) the question of planning permission. Don't be tempted to try and avoid this as failure to get the appropriate planning consents could render your house unsaleable in the future until you get retrospective permission.
Look carefully at which trades are going to be involved in your extension and build a team before you start work. I needed a builder, a heating engineer, an electrician, a kitchen specialist, a man to tile the end product and a general handyman. I chose people whom I thought would work well together and I have made certain that they all know each other and, most importantly, know what the end product is to look like. They've all been asked if they can see any problems with the finished product as a whole, which takes away the possibility of the conversation that begins "well, if you'd said that you were going to put it there I'd have told you..." They all have their own copy of all the plans and a list of each other's phone numbers. As surgeons do their best work when the patient isn't present so builders and other specialists do their best work when the customer is well out of the way. It's time-wasting for a builder to have to explain a problem to the customer so that he or she can then tell someone else (probably inaccurately) what it's all about. I've had problems that I haven't known about until after they've been solved; "we've had a problem with the placing of the steels, but the heating engineer says he'll be able to reroute those pipes".
Every member of the team is important, but the choice of builder is the most important. Talk to people locally who have had building work done and ask what they thought about them. Don't just restrict yourself to talking to people who've had work done recently - it's useful to know if a builder's work will stand the test of time. I talked to a few builders. The first one told me that he'd been jet skiing in Florida in his first sentence. He then went on to say that he didn't think planning permission would be necessary, but we could always get retrospective planning permission "if someone spots it" and said that he thought I could get away without a damp-proof course. He'd done lots of work just like this one, but couldn't actually tell me where. His quote was about half that of the builder that I eventually decided on.
It's useful to ask to see examples of a builder's work and particularly of work that's similar to your project. If you're going to have a large hole knocked into the side of your house it's good to know that he's done similar work and that the property in question still has the proper complement of walls. A good builder will not be offended by this request. In fact the problem may well be stopping him showing you every property he's ever worked on. A poor builder will be reluctant, but don't be brushed off with "it was quite a way away and the lady's a bit of a recluse but she was absolutely delighted". Yes, I know everyone's got to start somewhere. Just remember that you're taking a big risk if that somewhere is your house.
Consider local builders rather than those that have to travel any distance to get to you. You will be paying for the travelling and a local builder has more to lose if your project doesn't go well. If my kitchen slides into the drive it's going to be obvious to the entire village what has happened and who did it.
Check to see that the builder has public liability insurance. Accidents do happen, even with the best of builders, but it's best that the financial consequences of it don't land on your doorstep. Once again no reputable builder will be offended by the question, and if in doubt, ask to see the certificate.
Ask for a firm quote in writing detailing what's included. Be aware that if you then say that you'd like turrets on the top you're going to be paying extra, but equally it does mean that the builder can't come back later and say "Ah, but the price I gave you didn't include the windows".
Get quotes from all the other people involved. Add them up. Add ten per cent as a contingency, because there will be extras - there always are. Remember to add in the cost of applying for planning permission and complying with building regulations, which can amount to several hundred pounds. If the work being done means that your kitchen will be out of commission you should also budget for the extra cost of convenience food, takeaways and meals out.
Can you afford it? By now you will have realised that the figure you first thought of back in those heady days when you said "Now wouldn't it be wonderful if this wall was over there?" has long been exceeded. How are you going to fund the project? Do you have to give notice to cash investments? Do you need to extend a mortgage or take out a loan? Now is the time to organise the finances. Be aware that you will need to pay deposits on ordering (I had to pay a 25% deposit when I placed the order for the kitchen) or make stage payments to builders. Check when these will be required and ensure that you have funds available in good time. Irreparable harm could be done to your relationship with the builder if work has to stop because you don't have funds available. Equally do ensure that the stage payments represent work done or goods purchased. Perish the thought that someone might think that getting the money out of you would be cheaper than borrowing it from the Bank, but it does happen.
When you pay money out make certain that you get a receipt and file it straight away. The receipt should say what the payment was for, which is useful if there's a dispute later. If you pay by cheque you have some proof that you have actually paid the person concerned a certain amount although it won't say what the money was for. If you pay in cash you don't even have this protection. Remember too that if someone is asking for very large sums in cash there is always the chance that that there is a VAT and/or Income Tax fraud involved. It's always worth considering whether or not someone prepared to do that might also be willing to do the same to you.
Before work starts clear as much of the area as possible remembering that the work doesn't just take place on the site itself, but also on the area around it. Builders also need an area to store tools and building materials. A garage is ideal but if this is not available you should try and ensure that there is access to an area that's out of sight of passers-by. The progress of the work, and the cost, is not helped if materials are disappearing as fast as the builder is bringing them in.
There is an unwritten rule that every builder drinks tea with milk and two sugars, unless there are three or more, in which case they will all require something different. When you go out with several mugs of assorted drinks you might be lucky and go out just as they were about to have a ten-minute tea break. Equally you might go out at a point when they've got to put down what they were doing or even backtrack so that the ten-minute tea break actually loses them half an hour's work. If you've got a convenient power point that's under cover consider investing in a cheap electric kettle and some mugs and supply tea, coffee, milk, sugar and a tin of biscuits (go on, push the boat out and include some chocolate ones!) This might cost you £20. It won't be a lot in relation to what you're spending, it can save a lot of time and you don't have to be constantly available as tea maker.
Accept that there will be a lot of disruption. If you normally hang your washing out near where the builders are working forget about even trying to do it for the time being. Clear anything out of the way that might be breakable. There's going to be a lot of mess too. Not just the mess that the children tramp through the house every day, but real messy mess. Four months after the work started I'm still conscious of the fact that surfaces in the house get a gritty feel to them very quickly and a friend who had similar work done a year ago said that she thought it was about six months before she got rid of this feeling. The dirt will get everywhere, no matter how you try and cover things over. Accept it. I have a friend who is an electrical contractor. The firm has just completed the rewiring of a large house and it was described as one of the worst jobs they've ever done. The lady paid on time and the work was not difficult, but she stood behind them with a dustpan and brush, complained about every speck of dirt and locked the door behind them every time they left the house so that they had to ring the doorbell to get back in. After a couple of days there was absolutely no goodwill on either side.
Talk to the builders before they start about any problems that you can think of, but don't make a fuss about minor points. My worry was about the safety and security of our two dogs and it was agreed that they would ensure that the back garden could always be secured and they've readily done this. In return I've plastered a smile on my face about having Radio One playing at concert pitch so that it can be heard over the sound of the pneumatic drill. You will also find that most builders have been on a residential course called "How to park your truck in the most inconvenient place possible". Smile. Ask them nicely when you need it moving. Smile every time and just don't let it get to you.
It should only take a few weeks. It will seem like years, but if you've chosen a good builder you will achieve something wonderful at the end of it.
Reproduced with the permission of Dooyoo UK Ltd