extension

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Devon
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hi,
i know this may have been already covered but dont want to be ripped off.
my garage is already converted into a room but i want to change it back into a garage with a utility at the rear so i will need a 7m2 extension at the front to allow for the utility.

the work to be done is build a 7m2 extension, dig up existing floor (100mm?), remove window and wall. block up existing archway into room, block wall with fire door into the utility. knock archway in kitchen to utility. plus a pitched or flat roof for extnesion.

i had one bloke turn up who quoted 25k, i thought this was a lot as my loft conversiona and dormer only cost 23k.

sorry for the long post but being a single parent, i cant afford to be ripped off


many thanks
kandy
 
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There is no alternative but to get several quotes from local firms
 
hi,
1st quote came back at just over 10k
got another builder coming today
 
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get at least 3.
also get in writing exactly what you are getting for your money!.
 
Also make sure that everyone is quoting for the same things and to the same specification, so that the quotes are comparable.

Some may quote for painting, some not. Some may quote for one type of window others for a more expensive one etc, etc.
 
2nd quote came back for £5600 plus planning and drawings at £600 plus building regs at £225

i am waiting for the builder to finish a extension in my street so i can see the finished build but i have also been popping over once the builder has gone home to ahave a quick look!

got a another quote coming this week
 
Are you sure they're all estimating to the same drawing and specification?
£20,000.00 between your first and last estimates is ridiculous; £5000.00 between your second and third is just plain stupid. The way you are heading the fourth will be around £2500.00.
 
The 1st quote was for 25k he was a new builder in town down from london.

The second quote for just over 10k was from a local well known larger company.

The last quote was for £6425 inc planning and regs.

i understand what you are saying about the difference in quotes ,by chance a family member who is a builder was down on holiday near me and i asked him to write down everything down that i would need for the extension, i gave this to the builders when they came for the quote.
They have each given me a itemised quote for the extension
quote 1 charged nearly £18k in labour and the rest on the materials
quote 2 again seemed to charge the most in labour and a little amount for materials.
and quote 3 seems to be cheap, he is doing a rear extension in my street now and quoted them £7k and he is the only one recommended

as i said i am coming on here for advice so i dont get a cowboy or ripped off

forgot to add, family builder did a rough drawing (quite good) of what i wanted and this is what the quotes were from
 
If all the firms have been supplied the same information, then they should be pricing from the same basis, unless they have interpreted it differently from one another.

We have had the same issue with pricing an extension - using a full set of drawings with a detailed schedule of works, the 5 quotes ranged from £145,000 down to £55,000 - and the firm at the 55,000 asked the most questions, etc

can't really explain it!
 
By the looks of the wild estimates, you will be better off getting a suitable person (building surveyor :cool: ) to prepare a specification, of your requirements, and then get builders to quote off this. A writen specification is more important/beneficial than a sketch.

You may pay £200-300 for this, but that is nothing when you consider the £000's difference in your current estimates

You really do need to be sure that the builders are quoting for the same things and the same amount of work - this is especially true for conversion work were there are several ways of doing the same thing

A smaller firm or one man band will have few overheads, and so should be a lot chepar than a firm with many employees
 
Thankyou for all of your replies.

I have been to see our next door neighbour to talk to them about the extension and they have said that if i put planning in for the front extension in the front of the garage they will oppose it, this is due to me living in a semi and them in a detached bungalow, their bungalow is 5 ft lower than my house with their kitchen window already facing our garage conversion wall. and have said that if i bring the extension just back from the front of my house they will lose even more light .

i am a bit fed uo now, may have to go for the rear extension but again not on the back of the garage as its a lighting isue again
i want to cry
 
No point crying about spilt milk! Just because they'll object does not mean it would get rejected. You're unlikely to be able to extend beyond the building line of the houses in your road anyway if thats what you're intending? How do you know if you even need planning permission? Have you heard of permitted development? http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/england/genpub/en/1115315206517.html
 

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