As a construction professional myself the quote was utterly ridiculous. They either didn’t want the work, misunderstood what you were asking for or didn’t know how to price the job properly. Yes construction costs have gone up, but not by that much
I am blown away by the quote; for a first fix, they are having a flipping laugh. My very first thought was that they had seen your channel, thought that you had infinite pockets, and tried their luck. Keep going, and don't get disheartened; all four of you are doing great xx
not my house, or my problem, but if it were me, i would enjoy my lovely house, and all the work you have done, just the way it is. Taking on more debt and stress would be the last thing on my mind
I think they saw how beautifully the rest of your house is done and quadrupled it! Are the aware that you most of the work yourselves? That quote is actually shocking!!!
Hi Laura and Ollie. Don’t worry about hair loss postpartum as this happens to many women. During pregnancy, we are often told we are’ blooming’ with thick shiny hair and great skin. However, it’s mainly due to the change in our hormones and the usual daily loss of hair is far less during these months. Once having given birth,however, we tend to lose the hair which we didn’t do during pregnancy and it is a bit scary! It will find its balance but sometimes, our hair is not quite as thick as before but a small price to pay for giving the gift of life to your beautiful son.The estimate you have been given is frightening, to say the least and will need much contemplation before making a decision.As you say, you already have a gorgeous home and you need to ask yourselves will it increase the value enough by getting this very costly project done? I think with the renovations you have already completed by yourselves, maybe it would be preferable to leave as is for now and if you feel you want somewhere bigger in a few years, then you might think of moving. The market is so unstable right now and it would create a lot of anxiety taking on a large mortgage as quotes have a nasty habit of working out far more expensive than the original ones given at the start! My humble advice would be to give yourselves time and enjoy the fruits of all your hard labour for now. Take care.💖🌸
I’m in Milton Keynes. I added an orangery style conservatory two years ago, completely renovated my back garden with raised beds and railway sleepers, put in a new high end kitchen, put limestone flooring throughout the ground floor of my home, decorated the entire ground floor, bought a new sofa and floor to ceiling media center….it cost me just over £100k. Definitely shop about. Make sure it’s all written down…even document taking the rubbish away. I found communication was dreadful. No one would commit to a start date…. It was a nightmare…I basically lived on a building site for 8 months. The only way in and out of my garden was through the house xx
Just a question…….why not be happy with what you have?, you have a beautiful house that now is complete with your baby boy. Today we live in a consuming world that always is tempting us to get in more and more debt. Hope you guys are doing well. Best wishes from Florida.
This is a great example of why you should always get at least 3 quotes, as you are doing. You always get one that is very high. The cost of building supplies has shot up massively as we found when purchasing some fencing. We did an extension on the back of the house and went up as well. It cost us about £65,000. If you persevere you will get someone nearer your budget. Good luck guys. Teddy is gorgeous and don’t worry too much about your hair. It does get better as time goes on❤️
Hi Laura , We recently did a big renovation project , added a new floor to our existing bungalow . We also took quotes from builders and it was 50% more expensive than what it has cost us . We found contractors for specific jobs and managed the whole project . I would definitely suggest doing it and not give it to one builder 😊
Hey Laura, not sure if this helps but we live fairly near you and are in the middle of an extension. Our extensions is just the back of the house and about 9x3metres. For everything included (kitchen, electrics, final fix, flooring etc) it's costing is £125k. I think your quote is a bit too high so hopefully other builders do come back but its not completely ridiculous. We got multiple quotes and the common theme was how prices for everything have gone up! Hope this helps and love your videos!!!
Have you seen “Gosforth Handyman” - his video “How much does a UK house extension really cost?” breaks down the costs in vast detail. His initial quotes varied by about £80K !!!
That quote was absolutely excessive! You’re not delusional. I agree with everyone else here they didn’t want the job. Keep your heads up the right builders will come along 😊
Yes , that builders quote was ridiculous Laura! It’s usual to get 3 or even 4 quotes. It’s also worth noting( you asked for frankness) some tradesmen see what sort of house you have , clock that you have some nice quality possessions / fixtures and add a 3rd to the price thinking”they can afford it” Unscrupulous , I know. We have a large koi pond that we would not have without my hubby’s hard work but we’ve been quoted way too high for jobs in the house as tradesmen think we paid a lot to have the pond put in.
Teddy is adorable ( I love his laugh!), and so is Otto. How blessed you are, to have such a family and beautiful home as you do, as well as lovely vacations. I’m sorry about the builder’s quote. I know you’ve had your heart set on this addition. The only words of wisdom I can offer is that if it’s meant to be, it will happen. Time will tell. My hair fell out too after each of my three children were born. Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine. ❤
£165,000? 😢We live in Cambridge and would like to extend our Victorian house - knock down the flat-roofed bathroom on the ground floor and build a kitchen extension. We’ve been quoted £120,000 for the work. We began renovating the interior of the house (a full renovation, like yours, back to bricks) before the pandemic. The cost of building materials has since soared. It’s horrifying! Do you live in an affluent area like Cambridge? Is there a shortage of builders? I would also ask, out of curiosity - why do you want to extend the house? Is it truly necessary? It looks to be extremely large and ample enough for your family, as it is.
I had to rewind to check I’d heard you right on the £165k for basically the shell of the extension! My son and daughter in law had quotes to extend their house out on the ground floor, 3 rsj’s needed as they were knocking down an internal wall and the main back wall, it was to go out by 4 metres and width of house is almost 8 metres, all in, including kitchen £120k so yes I think £165k is over priced. They’re 45 minutes north of London. They had to hold back on the extension when the interest rates started climbing, they just knocked through the internal back rooms together and did the kitchen themselves,looks amazing.
Teddy is just adorable and his sweet little voice. ❤️ I just love Otto! 🥰 I don’t know anything about building quotes and construction, but I certainly wouldn’t go into a lot of debt. Your home is just beautiful. Maybe wait on the extension. I know building prices are through the roof in the US. Anyway, you are a beautiful family! Enjoy life!❤
I'm sorry but I would tell them to do one, sorry to be so blunt, to be honest we built our own 2 of us, we hand dig the trench for the foundations, we put the pipe runs in and drainage, and hand mixed the cement for the foundations, because we had no way of getting a digger in or ready mix in the back area , and laid all the breeze blocks, you could then get a electrician and plumber to first fix etc, I'm sure you could project manage it yourself, I know it's not easy with a baby and Ollie working but you have done an amazing job on the house so far I'm sure you are more than capable, It took us a total of 8 months finished, and saved us a fortune
OMG! 165K INSANE ... i know costs vary depending on where you are but I got a quote for a double storey with a extension with measurements of 22sqm For around 100k
Perhaps the universe is pushing the pause button to protect you right now with that quote. I’m in the US. Things are quite unstable in most places, inflation is making everything more difficult. Maybe you take a break and just let all the changes you’ve gone through settle in. As a mom of 4 this time goes by so fast. My youngest graduated last year, that’s when it hit me how fast. Maybe just breathe and enjoy for now. BTW, it’s ok to be a little blue about life and postpartum stuff. The hair loss is quite normal. Look into castor oil. What a difference it made for me! (And I quit doing any hair products or dye.) I get compliments now. Even my eyebrows grew thicker! ❤
I just found the channel The Gosford Handyman. They have a timelapse (plus individual vids) on their extension which seems like it would give a fairly good idea of what is involved in tackling a project like this?
Extensions seem to be insanely costly at the moment. I recently had quotes of £60K to remove a small conservatory and replace with an extension to first fix of the same footprint, which was only 8ft by 11ft. I almost fell through the floor - my friend had a two storey wrap around extension for £60k in 2017/18. It was even more for a 3m squared extension on another elevation. I'm working with the current footprint and will move if I need more space - a spend of 100k plus (that I absolutely don't have) would way exceed the ceiling price for the property.
That is an insane amount of money for just the shell!!! Hopefully the other quotes are reasonable 🤞 I have a feeling they looked round saw how beautiful your house is and doubled the quote thinking you can afford it
My husband has done everything from room extensions, plumbing, electrical and furniture building It’s very hard to get quotes from companies that are so high they make the job impossible to do. Don’t go with a big company, they have too much overhead cost. You want a small family based company. Ask people or real estate agents who they would use for this kind of work. Check their references and drive by the projects they have completed and talk to their clients in person if possible. For $160,000 you could almost build another house 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Absolutely insane quote, we got 140K for a double story excluding bathrooms and kitchen!! I would expect 2K per square meter for a second fix finish so a shell that is insane
The shots of all 4 of you as a family are adorable!! 🥰 For the hair loss: please make sure you get all the minerals you need (not just iron) and also enough protein!
Your little guy seems to be starting the teething process. Frozen bananas are great for teething babies and also for beginning finger foods. Enjoy! A great Gram from MO.😘
First off, how truly heartwarming to hear Teddy chatting and singing ❤ Secondly, I’m not familiar with renovation pricing in the UK, but you’re quite right that prices have gone up massively (BTW, I wish I could still buy a property for £ 200000…). One of my friends is planning some structural works (an extension) on their house and they said that prices have gone up by +60% in the last 5 years - they’d requested quotes back in 2019, but due to lockdowns etc., the actual work got cancelled and they recently asked for new quotes, a pretty steep increase indeed. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 the next quotes will be more in line with your expectations!
No one told me about the hair loss after having your baby so when it happened to me I totally freaked out! I rang my hairdresser (also a close friend) and she reassured me. It definitely felt like too much but it was ok and was no where near bald by the end. Totally understand your concern though. Teddy is growing so much and is sooo adorable! 💕💕
We were considering keeping my mums house, lovely house good area etc, with a view to develop and sell on (make a profit). We have done this before with properties in desirable areas. I think the world has changed, and I think that if you want to stay and live in your house for many many years and the “profit” is not so important I think you should go ahead and go with the best quote, if you are thinking that you will be moving in 5 to 10 years, I think you should reevaluate, I hope this helps
Laura, I’m so grateful you’ve shared how much this is. I think people tend to not share costs online transparently. We have just done a side return, smaller than yours, plus quite pricey glazing and a Neptune kitchen and its come to a little more than your quote. But the builders quotes we got (which didn’t include glazing or kitchen) ranged hugely, from 120-200. We’ve been really happy with our builder. Hopefully your other quotes come in much lower!
That quote is pretty insane! We live up North and we wanted a single storey extension built one half of the back of our house and the builder quoted £40k for the shell (first fix). I guess it all depends on the size of the extension/the area you live in but even 165k is ridiculous!
Totally agree with your comments about becoming too expenaive to have work done .Having started a renovation in 2022 we found the price of a basic house roof file had doubled and they are still rising .Wages have increased and we are finding that we have only been able to achieve 50% of what we had anticipated. I would definitely suggest th had you ask for references and even bland see work that the builder has done . Did the quote include a breakdown of costs? Also try going around your area ,see if any building work is being done and speak to home owners ( especially if similar ideas to your plans .Good luck fromWales
That’s insane. Building materials globally have increased in price. Here in Australia, that quote would be considered high but quite normal. During the project, there will be other extra costs as well. Always add an extra 10% onto the project because builders rarely give fixed quotes.
I used Annabelle Karmel book for weaning which has great recipes. Apple and pear puree and lentil and carrot were huge faves. I bought large ice cube trays and bulk cooked and put them in the freezer, then transferred into freezer bags. Fresh meals always at the ready!!! The extension price seems very high. I follow a couple who are building their own extension with no experience I think their channel is called restoring number four. Might be worth a look.
We’re 3 weeks into the process of a 3.5 x 8 metre side extension. We must have met with EVERY builder in our local area and all of the quotes we received were at least double what we were told it would be by our architect! We’re based in the north west so relatively cheap part of the country. We’re paying 80k which doesn’t include any of the demo work, electrics (father in law is an electrician), skirts/ architraves/ finishes/ second fix plumbing, gutters and facias. Hope this helps a bit. You’ll get there ❤
Also; It might be helpful in future to ask for a cost breakdown and meet with them to talk it through. This is what we did in the end. We could then decide if we wanted to compromise on some areas/ do extras ourselves ❤️
@@orlaightotally, wasn’t expecting an accurate costing from them, but they designed something that wasn’t achievable for our budget, not even anywhere close. So their design that we paid a huge amount of money for was not useable.
@@alexaschubert8277 but with an ever changing materials market you need to also work with a QS. Architects can’t tell costs until it’s tendered. You can see the massive difference in tender costs, there is just too many factors to allow it to be accurate. Architect should offer to revise the scheme though. Hope it all worked out.
that quote is crazy, i think you guys should do the work like you have been doing it or try to work with the kitchen you have and buy new cabinets and things like that
Is it possible to wait until your new neighbours do their 'side return' and organise it at the same time via the same builders. Albeit, in truth; ypu have both done a beautiful job so far....I'd continue doing a beautiful job by yourselves. We are in uncertain financial times. All the very best to you all. Xx
I’m from Switzerland and yes this quote is absolutely insane! Really really too high, at least if they understood first fix that’s not possible. Not the same but for a whole new roof here you will pay around 80-120000 CHF, and that’s for 1 month of work, scafolding, workers, new roof insulation and including velux windows. So good you are waiting for others, as that one is mental!
We had 3 quotes for ours (single storey).. the lowest was £42k. The highest was £72k.. like for like quotes.. the third quote was in the middle .. ish.. ours was shell only too, back in 2021. Hang in there..
I would be very careful about over-capitalising the house, even if you can get a lower quote, that expense plus the extras and second and final fixes, it sounds like you might be adding so much value to that house that will end up the most expensive house on the street which may end up being harder to sell. I would consider staying put and finishing off your current DIY reno's and then moving.
You both have made such a lovely home. That quote is insane! Can you combine the dining room and kitchen, put in some big windows to get more light, and finish the rest of the work you want to do on the house? Enjoy Teddy now, and don't put the stress of $165,000 (or even less than that) onto yourselves.
Loved seeing your happy family. With regards to your quote I wonder if having their work so publically judged and potentially criticised may have put your builder off. It would be a great advert if they got it right though. Perhaps you might sell that idea to them.
Lots of shopping around required. On a tiny scale, I had 3 quotes to do all my downstairs flooring recently. I went with the cheapest quote, which was half the price of the other two, did a perfectly good job, and the same flooring materials. If you're on a local Facebook group, you can ask for recommendations. That's the one I used in the end. It might be cheaper, but possibly more hassle and slower, to break the build down, such as ground works, bricklaying, etc., paying separately for each trade to come in and do the work. If you ask a builder to sort out everything then their probably going to add on a % to every tradesmen they get in to do the work, so they pay the groundsman but add on extra to the price to make a profit.
That seems an insane price. We had a two story side extension, 3 x 10 metres roughly, to the point of plastering (so excluding all the fittings, flooring etc, but including electrics, plumbing), plus a wall knocked down internally between two existing reception rooms, RSJ installed, and all refit out from brick back to plastering to make a kitchen diner (this room is probably 8x5 metres), inclusive of 2 bathrooms and a small shower room in the new extension (1st fix) and new heating system - we spent probably £110-£120K to get to that point. I don't know your plans exactly, but my assumption is the footprint of what I just described is much larger?
Adding my vote for living in your house as is. Hiring a designer to help sort out function and flow issues with current layout might be more reasonable if you feel you need some changes. Love your channel! 🥰
Where I live, Fraser Coast Queensland, houses cost $A600k plus and that's not for a new one. In Brisbane you wouldn't get much change back from $A1m. Prices have sky-rocketed over the last 5 years.
Hi Laura and Ollie we live in London and have been renovating for last 3 years and yes builders quotes are high we had been quoted £120k for a wraparound and loft conversion literally the bare minimum but this was way too high so we did it ourselves. Recently we got a quote for a simple granny annex basic clearance of garden and driveway for £85000 which was not even an option we thought the same as you guy might as well put that money towards a deposit for a house. So we ended up doing work step by step did as much of it ourselves if we could. Basically my advise would be to make a basic list of what needs to be done and get builders in for particular jobs ei in our case we gave the driveway to one company then we did the garden ourselves cleared all rubble did the foundations ourselves then got bricklayer who built the building then we got a roofer window installer then plumber electrician all separately and we managed to finish around £20k but you have to always negotiate a lower price this is alway the option and search local builders who your friends family have used in past in the area and negotiate your deals with them
Please don't worry about your hair loss.....I had my son's in the 1980s and fed them both for 6months, I lost all my curls and absolutely huge handfuls of hair each time I washed it......I can totally relate to your panic. It will slow down and takes maybe a couple of years for your body to return to its normal self..... my curls and lush locks returned...with the added bonus of 2 gorgeous sons 💙💙 I'm approaching my 62 birthday and still have a head full of curls 😍 You have a beautiful home.....use your money making memories with your husband and son, the years fly by all to quickly .....😘
My mother's hair didn't grow for nine months until after sister no3 was born. Then her hair suddenly shot down past her waist. It's hormones and really strange! I agree with everyone else about the extension quote, extortionate! I'm sure Ollie could build it 😅😅💃🇬🇧
I've been doing some renovations but on a much smaller scale and with the quotes I received for the work, I'm not surprised in the slightest that they tried to ask for that much. That's not to say I don't think it's way too high. You are right to factor in the ceiling price of the property, even if you were going to live the for the rest of your life, I wouldn't recommend going much abouve the ceiling price. Get more quotes, even consider breaking it up into parts, so foundations, brick work, roof etc.
Just googled it and the consensus seems to be between £1500 and £2000 per square meter, for a shell, not sure if that includes electrics and plumbing though? Wait until you have more quotes before panicking 😊
Look up the average cost per square metre to build a house (this is with everything done such as electrics and plumbing too). This will show you how outrageous this first quote is if you’re just doing a side return; even a large one. Builders tend to over quote if they don’t want a job - and then if they end up getting the job, they get a bonus of a large profit. Plus if you live in a nice area….well, they think you can afford to pay more. Basically ripping you off.
I'm from Canada and was wondering how you would swing that addition. We also, did almost all the work on our house and it took us many years. It still isn't completely finished.
That’s ridiculous my husband is a builder he’s working on a renovation atm a five bedroom Victorian house and garden and it’s not that much he has all the trades in new boiler kitchen 3 bathrooms electrics etc 😮
I can commiserate with you. I am buying an old house and want to do a very small addition of 96 sq ft (laundry and a powder room) and the architect quoted USD 8K just to do the plans and the city permits (excluding permit fees). The actual construction is about double that amount. I was stunned.
Wow…..that’s enormous.Even in Australia, where building is extremely expensive……that quote is “mindblowingly” huge! That’s ridiculous….just for a shell! Yep…..NO THANK YOU.
Last year (Jan/feb23) when we had quotes back for a full width single storey extension, a shell as well, its was double what we were expecting! we were told building was around £2.5k a square metre 😮 that’s roughly 50% more compared to 2-3years ago.
Laura dont worry regarding the hair loss. When pregnant your hair becomes extra thick, and so now your hormones have settled you are just naturally shedding.
My hair grew so fast & got to it's longest when I was pregnant. But it did get really thin & scraggly after having my daughter, so I took drastic action & cut 11 inches off & just started over.
It is high quote for 1st fix, I did self build, and randomly, my dad is also a building contractorv(civil, not hoyses), but it is high...but building cost is high now. What is the cost per sqm, that is what you need to look at
I feel you with the hair loss, it hit me hard! Currently taking advantage of my pregnancy hormones to grow out the pixie cut required from the first baby 🤣 Weaning can be so much fun! We did baby led weaning which was a little scary at first but now, at 15 months, she is splitting paella on holiday with me! P.s I had commented previously that I was taking my daughter away abroad after you had said you were considering it yourself... do it! It was amazing! All the fun of parenting without general life getting in the way of the fun 😊
that is a huge quote horrendous i totally understand everything has gone up but keep getting quotes and try and do things yourself if you possibly can - its so hard I know but its the only way!.......we are in the middle of a single wraparound extension and we were quoted 82k we had a few quotes and got it down to 69k but that's not including fixtures fittings bathroom kitchen and other things that we have discovered need doing omg im having a heart attack as its a money pit .. it was my parents home to which it was left to me and my brother so I had to 'buy' him out at 75k the house is worth 140k but the cost of this damn extension is going up and up its just horrendous as now we'v used all our savings id NEVER do it again as builders just don't care good luck with your beautiful house Laura xxx
We got quotes recently for an an area outside Glasgow and they were ballpark all 80-100k for a 25sqm side return extension and cheap cheap interiors (think kitchens direct 😂) needless to say we haven’t gone ahead with it
The cost of all building works have increased by alot but that is ridiculous. Not a reno on the same scale as your plans, but just as an example I recently had a porch build at the front of my house - whilst it was not a basic porch, as certain aspects were slightly premium, it was not super fancy at all - 3 quotes ranged from 7k to 12k. How could there be such a difference - madness! Went with the 7k & it looks fab. Also it is easy to think a cheaper quote may equal not a grt job being done but that is not necessarily the case. Good luck & by the way your home is gorgeous.
Hi Laura, beautiful family …but the quote! Absolutely no!! I cannot believe it would cost this much considering you are planning on doing so much yourself. I would wait for the remainder quotes to come in. I thought maybe eighty plus but not that. You could honestly build another property for that. So sit tight I’m sure something more reasonable will come your way ❤
I price for a joinery company, I think you should ask for a list of works and find out what’s actually included within the quote it sounds like they’ve given you it for almost the whole job or they don’t want it and from the list of works you should get a better idea of why it’s so expensive.
The hair loss,whilst alarming, is totally normal and will calm down. You gain so much extra hair during pregnancy its juts your body going back to your pre-pregnant normal.
Unfortunately, I lost so much hair after the baby, that I ended up having to cut off my hair because it looked so straggly ☹️ It was as long as yours. I hope your experience is different to mine!
I haven't had a baby so not sure if will help in the same way, but I was suffering with severe hair loss too, I started taking collagen, and it has completely stopped it! Along with dramatically improving my skin issues too. Might be worth a try 😊
It's far too expensive for an empty shell even with electrics and pipes, unless I missed something and you plan a second house not a return extension ! wait for the other proposals
We had a 6x5 m extension (basically a box with bifolds and lantern) to the back of our Edwardian semi. Total cost came to just shy of £200k (all in). This was just last year. Totally wiped out our savings and then some 😭 p.s we had 7 quotes!!!
Wow! That sounds familiar though, I had several quotes of 60k for a very small first fix extension to replace a conservatory - only about 2.4 by 3.2m. Thought the first guy was taking the proverbial and didn’t want the work at first like so many are suggesting in the comments - but several quotes all similar.
As a construction professional myself the quote was utterly ridiculous. They either didn’t want the work, misunderstood what you were asking for or didn’t know how to price the job properly. Yes construction costs have gone up, but not by that much
I am blown away by the quote; for a first fix, they are having a flipping laugh. My very first thought was that they had seen your channel, thought that you had infinite pockets, and tried their luck. Keep going, and don't get disheartened; all four of you are doing great xx
When builders quote this high is because they do not want the job.
or that they want the whole job and not just to get it started. I wonder what the quote would have been if it was for full completion?
not my house, or my problem, but if it were me, i would enjoy my lovely house, and all the work you have done, just the way it is. Taking on more debt and stress would be the last thing on my mind
I think they saw how beautifully the rest of your house is done and quadrupled it! Are the aware that you most of the work yourselves? That quote is actually shocking!!!
Hi Laura and Ollie. Don’t worry about hair loss postpartum as this happens to many women. During pregnancy, we are often told we are’ blooming’ with thick shiny hair and great skin. However, it’s mainly due to the change in our hormones and the usual daily loss of hair is far less during these months. Once having given birth,however, we tend to lose the hair which we didn’t do during pregnancy and it is a bit scary! It will find its balance but sometimes, our hair is not quite as thick as before but a small price to pay for giving the gift of life to your beautiful son.The estimate you have been given is frightening, to say the least and will need much contemplation before making a decision.As you say, you already have a gorgeous home and you need to ask yourselves will it increase the value enough by getting this very costly project done? I think with the renovations you have already completed by yourselves, maybe it would be preferable to leave as is for now and if you feel you want somewhere bigger in a few years, then you might think of moving. The market is so unstable right now and it would create a lot of anxiety taking on a large mortgage as quotes have a nasty habit of working out far more expensive than the original ones given at the start! My humble advice would be to give yourselves time and enjoy the fruits of all your hard labour for now. Take care.💖🌸
I’m in Milton Keynes. I added an orangery style conservatory two years ago, completely renovated my back garden with raised beds and railway sleepers, put in a new high end kitchen, put limestone flooring throughout the ground floor of my home, decorated the entire ground floor, bought a new sofa and floor to ceiling media center….it cost me just over £100k. Definitely shop about. Make sure it’s all written down…even document taking the rubbish away. I found communication was dreadful. No one would commit to a start date…. It was a nightmare…I basically lived on a building site for 8 months. The only way in and out of my garden was through the house xx
Just a question…….why not be happy with what you have?, you have a beautiful house that now is complete with your baby boy. Today we live in a consuming world that always is tempting us to get in more and more debt. Hope you guys are doing well. Best wishes from Florida.
This is a great example of why you should always get at least 3 quotes, as you are doing. You always get one that is very high. The cost of building supplies has shot up massively as we found when purchasing some fencing. We did an extension on the back of the house and went up as well. It cost us about £65,000. If you persevere you will get someone nearer your budget. Good luck guys. Teddy is gorgeous and don’t worry too much about your hair. It does get better as time goes on❤️
Hi Laura ,
We recently did a big renovation project , added a new floor to our existing bungalow . We also took quotes from builders and it was 50% more expensive than what it has cost us . We found contractors for specific jobs and managed the whole project . I would definitely suggest doing it and not give it to one builder 😊
Yes and they would be so capable of project managing that.
Hey Laura, not sure if this helps but we live fairly near you and are in the middle of an extension. Our extensions is just the back of the house and about 9x3metres. For everything included (kitchen, electrics, final fix, flooring etc) it's costing is £125k. I think your quote is a bit too high so hopefully other builders do come back but its not completely ridiculous. We got multiple quotes and the common theme was how prices for everything have gone up! Hope this helps and love your videos!!!
Have you seen “Gosforth Handyman” - his video “How much does a UK house extension really cost?” breaks down the costs in vast detail. His initial quotes varied by about £80K !!!
Laura, hope everyone and everything is okay. I missed you the last two weeks. 💕
That quote was absolutely excessive! You’re not delusional. I agree with everyone else here they didn’t want the job. Keep your heads up the right builders will come along 😊
£165,000!!! Blimey I would expect it all done for that amount.. Maybe we are all delusional.. live your little family xxxx
Agreed, it should be second fix minus kitchen units for this price in my experience.
Yes , that builders quote was ridiculous Laura! It’s usual to get 3 or even 4 quotes. It’s also worth noting( you asked for frankness) some tradesmen see what sort of house you have , clock that you have some nice quality possessions / fixtures and add a 3rd to the price thinking”they can afford it” Unscrupulous , I know. We have a large koi pond that we would not have without my hubby’s hard work but we’ve been quoted way too high for jobs in the house as tradesmen think we paid a lot to have the pond put in.
Teddy is adorable ( I love his laugh!), and so is Otto. How blessed you are, to have such a family and beautiful home as you do, as well as lovely vacations. I’m sorry about the builder’s quote. I know you’ve had your heart set on this addition. The only words of wisdom I can offer is that if it’s meant to be, it will happen. Time will tell. My hair fell out too after each of my three children were born. Don’t worry about it, you’ll be fine. ❤
£165,000? 😢We live in Cambridge and would like to extend our Victorian house - knock down the flat-roofed bathroom on the ground floor and build a kitchen extension. We’ve been quoted £120,000 for the work. We began renovating the interior of the house (a full renovation, like yours, back to bricks) before the pandemic. The cost of building materials has since soared. It’s horrifying! Do you live in an affluent area like Cambridge? Is there a shortage of builders? I would also ask, out of curiosity - why do you want to extend the house? Is it truly necessary? It looks to be extremely large and ample enough for your family, as it is.
I had to rewind to check I’d heard you right on the £165k for basically the shell of the extension! My son and daughter in law had quotes to extend their house out on the ground floor, 3 rsj’s needed as they were knocking down an internal wall and the main back wall, it was to go out by 4 metres and width of house is almost 8 metres, all in, including kitchen £120k so yes I think £165k is over priced. They’re 45 minutes north of London. They had to hold back on the extension when the interest rates started climbing, they just knocked through the internal back rooms together and did the kitchen themselves,looks amazing.
Teddy is just adorable and his sweet little voice. ❤️ I just love Otto! 🥰 I don’t know anything about building quotes and construction, but I certainly wouldn’t go into a lot of debt. Your home is just beautiful. Maybe wait on the extension. I know building prices are through the roof in the US. Anyway, you are a beautiful family! Enjoy life!❤
I'm sorry but I would tell them to do one, sorry to be so blunt, to be honest we built our own 2 of us, we hand dig the trench for the foundations, we put the pipe runs in and drainage, and hand mixed the cement for the foundations, because we had no way of getting a digger in or ready mix in the back area , and laid all the breeze blocks, you could then get a electrician and plumber to first fix etc, I'm sure you could project manage it yourself, I know it's not easy with a baby and Ollie working but you have done an amazing job on the house so far I'm sure you are more than capable, It took us a total of 8 months finished, and saved us a fortune
Laura, I missed you, Teddy and Ollie this week. I hope everything is okay. ❤
OMG! 165K INSANE ... i know costs vary depending on where you are but I got a quote for a double storey with a extension with measurements of 22sqm For around 100k
Gosh that is cheap for a double one.
Perhaps the universe is pushing the pause button to protect you right now with that quote. I’m in the US. Things are quite unstable in most places, inflation is making everything more difficult. Maybe you take a break and just let all the changes you’ve gone through settle in. As a mom of 4 this time goes by so fast. My youngest graduated last year, that’s when it hit me how fast. Maybe just breathe and enjoy for now. BTW, it’s ok to be a little blue about life and postpartum stuff. The hair loss is quite normal. Look into castor oil. What a difference it made for me! (And I quit doing any hair products or dye.) I get compliments now. Even my eyebrows grew thicker! ❤
I just found the channel The Gosford Handyman. They have a timelapse (plus individual vids) on their extension which seems like it would give a fairly good idea of what is involved in tackling a project like this?
Extensions seem to be insanely costly at the moment. I recently had quotes of £60K to remove a small conservatory and replace with an extension to first fix of the same footprint, which was only 8ft by 11ft. I almost fell through the floor - my friend had a two storey wrap around extension for £60k in 2017/18. It was even more for a 3m squared extension on another elevation. I'm working with the current footprint and will move if I need more space - a spend of 100k plus (that I absolutely don't have) would way exceed the ceiling price for the property.
That is an insane amount of money for just the shell!!! Hopefully the other quotes are reasonable 🤞
I have a feeling they looked round saw how beautiful your house is and doubled the quote thinking you can afford it
My husband has done everything from room extensions, plumbing, electrical and furniture building
It’s very hard to get quotes from companies that are so high they make the job impossible to do. Don’t go with a big company, they have too much overhead cost. You want a small family based company. Ask people or real estate agents who they would use for this kind of work. Check their references and drive by the projects they have completed and talk to their clients in person if possible. For $160,000 you could almost build another house 🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Absolutely insane quote, we got 140K for a double story excluding bathrooms and kitchen!!
I would expect 2K per square meter for a second fix finish so a shell that is insane
The shots of all 4 of you as a family are adorable!! 🥰
For the hair loss: please make sure you get all the minerals you need (not just iron) and also enough protein!
Your little guy seems to be starting the teething process. Frozen bananas are great for teething babies and also for beginning finger foods.
Enjoy!
A great Gram from MO.😘
First off, how truly heartwarming to hear Teddy chatting and singing ❤
Secondly, I’m not familiar with renovation pricing in the UK, but you’re quite right that prices have gone up massively (BTW, I wish I could still buy a property for £ 200000…). One of my friends is planning some structural works (an extension) on their house and they said that prices have gone up by +60% in the last 5 years - they’d requested quotes back in 2019, but due to lockdowns etc., the actual work got cancelled and they recently asked for new quotes, a pretty steep increase indeed. Fingers crossed 🤞🏻 the next quotes will be more in line with your expectations!
No one told me about the hair loss after having your baby so when it happened to me I totally freaked out! I rang my hairdresser (also a close friend) and she reassured me. It definitely felt like too much but it was ok and was no where near bald by the end. Totally understand your concern though. Teddy is growing so much and is sooo adorable! 💕💕
I think 100,000 for the shell is reasonable, maybe up to 125,000. 160,000 is astronomical. I don’t think they wanted the job.
We were considering keeping my mums house, lovely house good area etc, with a view to develop and sell on (make a profit). We have done this before with properties in desirable areas. I think the world has changed, and I think that if you want to stay and live in your house for many many years and the “profit” is not so important I think you should go ahead and go with the best quote, if you are thinking that you will be moving in 5 to 10 years, I think you should reevaluate, I hope this helps
Laura, I’m so grateful you’ve shared how much this is. I think people tend to not share costs online transparently. We have just done a side return, smaller than yours, plus quite pricey glazing and a Neptune kitchen and its come to a little more than your quote. But the builders quotes we got (which didn’t include glazing or kitchen) ranged hugely, from 120-200. We’ve been really happy with our builder. Hopefully your other quotes come in much lower!
That quote is pretty insane! We live up North and we wanted a single storey extension built one half of the back of our house and the builder quoted £40k for the shell (first fix). I guess it all depends on the size of the extension/the area you live in but even 165k is ridiculous!
Totally agree with your comments about becoming too expenaive to have work done .Having started a renovation in 2022 we found the price of a basic house roof file had doubled and they are still rising .Wages have increased and we are finding that we have only been able to achieve 50% of what we had anticipated. I would definitely suggest th had you ask for references and even bland see work that the builder has done . Did the quote include a breakdown of costs? Also try going around your area ,see if any building work is being done and speak to home owners ( especially if similar ideas to your plans .Good luck fromWales
That’s insane. Building materials globally have increased in price. Here in Australia, that quote would be considered high but quite normal. During the project, there will be other extra costs as well. Always add an extra 10% onto the project because builders rarely give fixed quotes.
I used Annabelle Karmel book for weaning which has great recipes. Apple and pear puree and lentil and carrot were huge faves. I bought large ice cube trays and bulk cooked and put them in the freezer, then transferred into freezer bags. Fresh meals always at the ready!!!
The extension price seems very high. I follow a couple who are building their own extension with no experience I think their channel is called restoring number four. Might be worth a look.
It’s so cute now. Do you really nee he extra space?
We’re 3 weeks into the process of a 3.5 x 8 metre side extension. We must have met with EVERY builder in our local area and all of the quotes we received were at least double what we were told it would be by our architect! We’re based in the north west so relatively cheap part of the country. We’re paying 80k which doesn’t include any of the demo work, electrics (father in law is an electrician), skirts/ architraves/ finishes/ second fix plumbing, gutters and facias.
Hope this helps a bit. You’ll get there ❤
Also;
It might be helpful in future to ask for a cost breakdown and meet with them to talk it through. This is what we did in the end. We could then decide if we wanted to compromise on some areas/ do extras ourselves ❤️
We found that our architect was way off on the design vs. real building costs.
@@alexaschubert8277 pricing is a QS job not an architect’s so never going to be accurate.
@@orlaightotally, wasn’t expecting an accurate costing from them, but they designed something that wasn’t achievable for our budget, not even anywhere close. So their design that we paid a huge amount of money for was not useable.
@@alexaschubert8277 but with an ever changing materials market you need to also work with a QS. Architects can’t tell costs until it’s tendered. You can see the massive difference in tender costs, there is just too many factors to allow it to be accurate. Architect should offer to revise the scheme though. Hope it all worked out.
that quote is crazy, i think you guys should do the work like you have been doing it or try to work with the kitchen you have and buy new cabinets and things like that
This time of life flies by. Thank you for sharing, brings back so many beautiful memories. All best wishes to your lovely family xx
Is it possible to wait until your new neighbours do their 'side return' and organise it at the same time via the same builders. Albeit, in truth; ypu have both done a beautiful job so far....I'd continue doing a beautiful job by yourselves. We are in uncertain financial times. All the very best to you all. Xx
Good idea. All three stakeholders would benefit from this option.
I’m from Switzerland and yes this quote is absolutely insane! Really really too high, at least if they understood first fix that’s not possible. Not the same but for a whole new roof here you will pay around 80-120000 CHF, and that’s for 1 month of work, scafolding, workers, new roof insulation and including velux windows.
So good you are waiting for others, as that one is mental!
We had 3 quotes for ours (single storey).. the lowest was £42k. The highest was £72k.. like for like quotes.. the third quote was in the middle .. ish.. ours was shell only too, back in 2021. Hang in there..
I would be very careful about over-capitalising the house, even if you can get a lower quote, that expense plus the extras and second and final fixes, it sounds like you might be adding so much value to that house that will end up the most expensive house on the street which may end up being harder to sell. I would consider staying put and finishing off your current DIY reno's and then moving.
You both have made such a lovely home. That quote is insane! Can you combine the dining room and kitchen, put in some big windows to get more light, and finish the rest of the work you want to do on the house? Enjoy Teddy now, and don't put the stress of $165,000 (or even less than that) onto yourselves.
We are doing an extension and just getting the builder to do superstructure (rather than first fix) - could be an option to keep the quote down.
Loved seeing your happy family. With regards to your quote I wonder if having their work so publically judged and potentially criticised may have put your builder off. It would be a great advert if they got it right though. Perhaps you might sell that idea to them.
I know this episode is about building quotes, but, of my goodness, Teddy is so precious! I love to hear his babbling!
Your home is beautiful and you have a lot of room. Do you really need more room?
The kitchen isn’t huge and with a growing family they want a bigger one, I can understand that.
That's a crazy amount!! Absolutely mind-boggling!!
Lots of shopping around required. On a tiny scale, I had 3 quotes to do all my downstairs flooring recently. I went with the cheapest quote, which was half the price of the other two, did a perfectly good job, and the same flooring materials. If you're on a local Facebook group, you can ask for recommendations. That's the one I used in the end.
It might be cheaper, but possibly more hassle and slower, to break the build down, such as ground works, bricklaying, etc., paying separately for each trade to come in and do the work. If you ask a builder to sort out everything then their probably going to add on a % to every tradesmen they get in to do the work, so they pay the groundsman but add on extra to the price to make a profit.
I got a quote for replacing the floors in my 600 sq ft condo and almost choked. Need to get more because it was ridiculously high. I feel your pain.
Maybe they mistyped the 1 in front of the 165,000 haha 😂
Another idea is break it down. Do the footings. Then get a bricklayer. If you can do the roof yourself do. Etc.
That seems an insane price. We had a two story side extension, 3 x 10 metres roughly, to the point of plastering (so excluding all the fittings, flooring etc, but including electrics, plumbing), plus a wall knocked down internally between two existing reception rooms, RSJ installed, and all refit out from brick back to plastering to make a kitchen diner (this room is probably 8x5 metres), inclusive of 2 bathrooms and a small shower room in the new extension (1st fix) and new heating system - we spent probably £110-£120K to get to that point. I don't know your plans exactly, but my assumption is the footprint of what I just described is much larger?
Adding my vote for living in your house as is. Hiring a designer to help sort out function and flow issues with current layout might be more reasonable if you feel you need some changes. Love your channel! 🥰
Maybe see if simplifying the plans and getting a second hand kitchen/ ex display could help
Where I live, Fraser Coast Queensland, houses cost $A600k plus and that's not for a new one. In Brisbane you wouldn't get much change back from $A1m. Prices have sky-rocketed over the last 5 years.
Hi Laura and Ollie we live in London and have been renovating for last 3 years and yes builders quotes are high we had been quoted £120k for a wraparound and loft conversion literally the bare minimum but this was way too high so we did it ourselves. Recently we got a quote for a simple granny annex basic clearance of garden and driveway for £85000 which was not even an option we thought the same as you guy might as well put that money towards a deposit for a house. So we ended up doing work step by step did as much of it ourselves if we could. Basically my advise would be to make a basic list of what needs to be done and get builders in for particular jobs ei in our case we gave the driveway to one company then we did the garden ourselves cleared all rubble did the foundations ourselves then got bricklayer who built the building then we got a roofer window installer then plumber electrician all separately and we managed to finish around £20k but you have to always negotiate a lower price this is alway the option and search local builders who your friends family have used in past in the area and negotiate your deals with them
Please don't worry about your hair loss.....I had my son's in the 1980s and fed them both for 6months, I lost all my curls and absolutely huge handfuls of hair each time I washed it......I can totally relate to your panic. It will slow down and takes maybe a couple of years for your body to return to its normal self..... my curls and lush locks returned...with the added bonus of 2 gorgeous sons 💙💙 I'm approaching my 62 birthday and still have a head full of curls 😍
You have a beautiful home.....use your money making memories with your husband and son, the years fly by all to quickly .....😘
My mother's hair didn't grow for nine months until after sister no3 was born. Then her hair suddenly shot down past her waist. It's hormones and really strange! I agree with everyone else about the extension quote, extortionate! I'm sure Ollie could build it 😅😅💃🇬🇧
I've been doing some renovations but on a much smaller scale and with the quotes I received for the work, I'm not surprised in the slightest that they tried to ask for that much. That's not to say I don't think it's way too high.
You are right to factor in the ceiling price of the property, even if you were going to live the for the rest of your life, I wouldn't recommend going much abouve the ceiling price.
Get more quotes, even consider breaking it up into parts, so foundations, brick work, roof etc.
Just googled it and the consensus seems to be between £1500 and £2000 per square meter, for a shell, not sure if that includes electrics and plumbing though? Wait until you have more quotes before panicking 😊
Look up the average cost per square metre to build a house (this is with everything done such as electrics and plumbing too). This will show you how outrageous this first quote is if you’re just doing a side return; even a large one. Builders tend to over quote if they don’t want a job - and then if they end up getting the job, they get a bonus of a large profit. Plus if you live in a nice area….well, they think you can afford to pay more. Basically ripping you off.
You're not crazy! We rebuilt a 3-story building for a similar price! Also, thanks for being real. Everything is so expensive nowadays.
I’d want a full house for that quote 😮
Aww Teddy is so adorable,his wee face and Otto in his pram ❤
Builder’s quotes vary wildly! Don’t get disheartened.
I'm from Canada and was wondering how you would swing that addition. We also, did almost all the work on our house and it took us many years. It still isn't completely finished.
That’s ridiculous my husband is a builder he’s working on a renovation atm a five bedroom Victorian house and garden and it’s not that much he has all the trades in new boiler kitchen 3 bathrooms electrics etc 😮
I can commiserate with you. I am buying an old house and want to do a very small addition of 96 sq ft (laundry and a powder room) and the architect quoted USD 8K just to do the plans and the city permits (excluding permit fees). The actual construction is about double that amount. I was stunned.
Wow…..that’s enormous.Even in Australia, where building is extremely expensive……that quote is “mindblowingly” huge! That’s ridiculous….just for a shell! Yep…..NO THANK YOU.
Last year (Jan/feb23) when we had quotes back for a full width single storey extension, a shell as well, its was double what we were expecting! we were told building was around £2.5k a square metre 😮 that’s roughly 50% more compared to 2-3years ago.
even in london, shell for small extension to kitchen is around 50, so that's definitely ridiculous!
Laura dont worry regarding the hair loss. When pregnant your hair becomes extra thick, and so now your hormones have settled you are just naturally shedding.
Ask for a breakdown of the quote. Material timeline work hours how many people will labor....
My hair grew so fast & got to it's longest when I was pregnant. But it did get really thin & scraggly after having my daughter, so I took drastic action & cut 11 inches off & just started over.
It is high quote for 1st fix, I did self build, and randomly, my dad is also a building contractorv(civil, not hoyses), but it is high...but building cost is high now. What is the cost per sqm, that is what you need to look at
I feel you with the hair loss, it hit me hard! Currently taking advantage of my pregnancy hormones to grow out the pixie cut required from the first baby 🤣
Weaning can be so much fun! We did baby led weaning which was a little scary at first but now, at 15 months, she is splitting paella on holiday with me!
P.s I had commented previously that I was taking my daughter away abroad after you had said you were considering it yourself... do it! It was amazing! All the fun of parenting without general life getting in the way of the fun 😊
No a quote for the extension should be around £65-85,000
that is a huge quote horrendous i totally understand everything has gone up but keep getting quotes and try and do things yourself if you possibly can - its so hard I know but its the only way!.......we are in the middle of a single wraparound extension and we were quoted 82k we had a few quotes and got it down to 69k but that's not including fixtures fittings bathroom kitchen and other things that we have discovered need doing omg im having a heart attack as its a money pit .. it was my parents home to which it was left to me and my brother so I had to 'buy' him out at 75k the house is worth 140k but the cost of this damn extension is going up and up its just horrendous as now we'v used all our savings id NEVER do it again as builders just don't care good luck with your beautiful house Laura xxx
We got quotes recently for an an area outside Glasgow and they were ballpark all 80-100k for a 25sqm side return extension and cheap cheap interiors (think kitchens direct 😂) needless to say we haven’t gone ahead with it
Have a great holiday. Hoping the next quotes are more doable.
The cost of all building works have increased by alot but that is ridiculous. Not a reno on the same scale as your plans, but just as an example I recently had a porch build at the front of my house - whilst it was not a basic porch, as certain aspects were slightly premium, it was not super fancy at all - 3 quotes ranged from 7k to 12k. How could there be such a difference - madness! Went with the 7k & it looks fab. Also it is easy to think a cheaper quote may equal not a grt job being done but that is not necessarily the case. Good luck & by the way your home is gorgeous.
We had a quote for a small side return (4x2m) last year and it was £50k for the shell. Decided against it as we knew we would never make that back!
I'm 5 months postpartum and the amount of hair coming out is unfathomable. It came back with my first, so I'm not in complete despair
Hi Laura, beautiful family …but the quote! Absolutely no!! I cannot believe it would cost this much considering you are planning on doing so much yourself. I would wait for the remainder quotes to come in. I thought maybe eighty plus but not that. You could honestly build another property for that. So sit tight I’m sure something more reasonable will come your way ❤
I price for a joinery company, I think you should ask for a list of works and find out what’s actually included within the quote it sounds like they’ve given you it for almost the whole job or they don’t want it and from the list of works you should get a better idea of why it’s so expensive.
The hair loss,whilst alarming, is totally normal and will calm down. You gain so much extra hair during pregnancy its juts your body going back to your pre-pregnant normal.
Unfortunately, I lost so much hair after the baby, that I ended up having to cut off my hair because it looked so straggly ☹️ It was as long as yours. I hope your experience is different to mine!
It does seem high for just a shell, but without knowing the spec and detailing it hard to say. Will you need to hand dig the foundation etc
Anyone know where the night light/ star protector is from? 8:10
The hair will tapper off I promise I looked into wigs I was so sure I would have none left but it was just a bit thin until it grew back in 😅
Have you thought about knocking the existing kitchen through to the back room which would still be amazing.
I haven't had a baby so not sure if will help in the same way, but I was suffering with severe hair loss too, I started taking collagen, and it has completely stopped it! Along with dramatically improving my skin issues too. Might be worth a try 😊
It's far too expensive for an empty shell even with electrics and pipes, unless I missed something and you plan a second house not a return extension ! wait for the other proposals
We had a 6x5 m extension (basically a box with bifolds and lantern) to the back of our Edwardian semi. Total cost came to just shy of £200k (all in). This was just last year. Totally wiped out our savings and then some 😭 p.s we had 7 quotes!!!
Wow! That sounds familiar though, I had several quotes of 60k for a very small first fix extension to replace a conservatory - only about 2.4 by 3.2m. Thought the first guy was taking the proverbial and didn’t want the work at first like so many are suggesting in the comments - but several quotes all similar.