Evening all,
Just about to start the lengthy and probably hugely stressful process of getting an extension built on my ground floor flat in Lewisham. Was hoping for a bit of advice on a couple of things.
1. Had a new neighbour move in upstairs a few months ago, who I get on very well with. When I told her I was getting an extension, she asked if it would be possible for her to acquire a balcony for her flat on the roof of some or all of the extension, which I'm fine with, particularly as that means I should be getting some sort of contribution from her to help with my costs. Obviously she will be paying for any additional costs that directly relate to the balcony, but I have no idea at all how much I should be charging her for benefitting from my new extension roof. Don't want to rip her off at all, just a fair price for something that will probably add at least 10% to the value of her home. Is there a formula for this? How does it work from a responsibility perspective if my roof starts leaking from under her balcony, etc? Anything else I should be mindful of? Anyone got any knowledge of this.
2. I've heard more horror stories than good ones about getting extensions done. I want to pay in regular installments as the building progresses and ideally avoid the scenario where the builder has a load of my money for work he hasn't yet done. Is that standard practice? What sort of payment structure is reasonable? Additionally, having known a couple of people who ended up waiting the best part of a year for the completion of something that they were told would take two months, how do I protect myself from that? Can I build penalties into the contract for finishing late? And, if so, do they actually work? Is it possible to get X amount back for every week/month late the project finishes?
3. Some recommendations for building firms based on personal experience would be great. I'd prefer to use a localish, South London based firm if possible, with the same firm overseeing the whole process from end to end (don't want separate architects and builders arguing about who's to blame if something goes wrong). I've got Westbury Builders from Bexleyheath coming to quote on Monday. Seemed like a very nice guy who knew his stuff when I spoke to him on the phone, but you can't beat a personal recommendation.
4. Is there a fairly standard going rate per square foot at the moment? I'll be decorating, installing kitchen and bathroom etc myself, so want the extension handed over with plastering and electrics done, and water and waste supply ready to plumb into.
Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.
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I looked up Westbury builders, and I know these are old reviews, but they weren’t particularly flattering, so would be interested to hear, whether others on here, had used them before?
Having had a quick look through the Trust a Trader reviews (rather than just looking at the overall score which is what I did first time around), there's very little detail there - virtually all the reviews refer to "the work", rather than "the extension/new roof/garden fence that they built for me*. It smells a bit fishy all of a sudden.
You probably didn't even think about it, but your brief post might have saved me from a horrendous ordeal! So thanks again. Will let you know how things proceed, but I'm already feeling a touch more stressed than I was 5 minutes ago!
In terms of payment, I paid my builder bi weekly for the work and materials used / purchased that week. There was no big up front payment because he said it was all on account anyway which meant it was spread across the first month - even though there was a job lot of materials up front.
We agreed a day rate so I knew what that was for the time they did, then it was simply materials on top.
Finally make sure you keep on at them to ensure all comms are efficiently fed into the council and regular checks take place re building regs etc. Council will need to see all steels etc before they get covered up.
Get recommendations from anyone that has had work done locally. Even knock on doors to ask people how they found their builder and would they recommend
Think also about waste build up between both balcony above and your roof.
Steels spanning across, and a steel mesh type sectional floor (allowing simple removal/access) would be my preferred choice. Not timber decking screwed down. This would also allow a degree of planned maintenance to clean your roof at (say) yearly intervals. Something I would also get agreed first.
1. Who owns the freehold and is a license to alter required for the balcony
2. Planning consent is likely to be required
3. This could affect your building regulation submission. If the flat roof becomes a means of escape for the flat above, you may need to fire board your ceiling
4. Has the roof been designed to take additional loadings
5. How will her handrails/railings be fixed? If this is poorly done, there is a risk of moisture penetration into your property
6. I'm assuming the roof will be felt or liquid applied. Does she plan to put down her own finish such as paving. Lots to consider here on how to ensure watertightness
7. Noise. Do you want her to have a family bbq on a Saturday afternoon when you are streaming Bristol City away?
I agree with Bob - say no. I recommend you either direct her towards the freeholder or you present her with costs that scare her. Her contributions will need to cover
1. Structural engineers review of the roof design to ensure loadings are suitable
2. The cost of any changes to the roof timbers
3. The cost of a non slip roof covering
4. The cost of handrails
5. Additional cost of fire line plasterboard
6. Her own planning and licence to alter fee's
It could cost her up to £7-10K, i'm sure she is expecting £500 max.
I've drawn up my own plans, done the planning permission, gone through the builder selection process, lived with the months of mess, the questions and panic from neighbours, the endless paying out for things I never thought of and suffered aches & pains of real hard graft.
I have absolutely no expert advice but from my experience, plan every last detail and don't deviate, all changes have knock on effects and costs. Money is the key. Keep throwing vast amounts of money at it and it will turn out as good as you have planned it. Be prepared for one of the most stressful self inflicted experiences of you life. Also in all probability it will cost you far more than you think it will this morning. Southeastern Trains will never wind you up again after you complete this.
Get a contract/letter of appointment for the builder to sign, chat gtp will be your friend. Agree payment dates and terms up front via the letter, stating start and commencement dates. Also make sure the builder has relevant insurance.
Make sure you dont over pay/finance the builders other projects. He will ask for money up front to pay for material/skips etc, but he probably has an account with Jewson with 28 day payment terms!! By all means, make reasonable payments up front but request invoices before you part with any money.
I had my little house stripped back to the core a few years ago. My builders were fine but won't go to SE London I'm afraid. I wish I had paid for a project manager, I was advised to, didn't, and I was wrong. For less than you think they'll take on the responsibility of lots of the monitoring of the work. An extra cost but a good one should save you money on some materials and definitely on stress.
It will cost more than they are telling you it would cost.
Take no notice of reviews. They are either paid for or put there by people with axes to grind. Hopefully someone will be along with a personal recommendation. Hopefully they will be for good builders who are busy for the next four months, because good people are always busy. If they can start tomorrow, that's a massive warning.
Have fun!
For example the better the breakdown the less arguments. When we carry out our application every item has a price. i would be looking along the lines of:-
Pipework Gas/water
Foundations
Brickwork
Electrics 1st/2nd fix
Carpentry 1st/2nd fix
Windows
Roof
Internal finishes
It should be a simple process of complete/not complete or 50/75% complete so I will pay accordingly
I'm going to investigate the balcony thing in full before making a final decision. A lot of the points raised I'd already considered, but there were also plenty that I hadn't.
I would imagine it would be classed as a somewhat communal area in terms of responsibility, and liability, much like her internal floor/my internal ceiling.
Property deeds would need to be amended to reflect the extension being demised to me at ground level, and a portion of it demised to her at first floor level.
A simple sounding idea quickly becomes very complicated though.