building costs- too much?

5 years ago

hi everyone. have had a quote from a builder in the area to do the extension for our house and I don't know whether it's legitimate or whether they are taking the P. it's a 1930s semi, in south east London, looking do convert the loft with a Dorma, ground floor extension for a kitchen diner etc and a half width extension on the first floor. they've quoted about £100-110K. is that reasonable?

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Sonia

5 years ago

You’re having a lot of work done and it sounds reasonable. Why not get a couple more quotes to get a better idea?

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Comments (12)

AMB
5 years ago
Does the quote include VAT? If so, then yes!
Sandy C
Original Author
5 years ago
not sure if it does. if not?
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I would recon the cost is 1500 per/square if you finish with average quality of finishes, and £1750 for top quality finishes , material also is what I consider to be at top quality. I work with experience Architecture and he has done a project in Central London , a restaurant extension and it looks good. He is post graduate , if you have more pictures of the plan send me to speak to him, I also work with supplier , they supply designer quality furniture from different part of the world , it all can be a package for you, much easier to handle, if you need help get in touch with me please. thesoletrader@mail.com , the Architecture do the design and layout for you, the supplier arrange the material and build the extension as he has more work experience and internal works carry out by us, and we give you a package price. hope it help you.
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Sandy C
Original Author
5 years ago
yeah well I'm hoping when the planning goes through, we'll get some more quotes but wanted to ask on here first to see whether anyone had done something similar in the area! or if you guys had any builder recommendations?
LTS
5 years ago
Hi, I’m in Herts & the quote does not appear unreasonable to me but if the builder is VAT registered there will be 20% VAT added on top.

I agree with forzaitalia...get at least two other another quotes to compare & ask for each quote to be broken down so that you know what is/is not included.

Exciting!
minipie
5 years ago
Um, I'm in SW London and that sounds quite low to me for all that (sorry)! I wouldn't be surprised if that's the lowest quote you get.
PRO
Ikonografik Design
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
It also sounds like you haven't got the design drawings finished with sufficient technical detail, as you haven't submitted Planning yet? If this is the case the prices will be inaccurate anyway and could be about another 20% plus or minus. Structural design sorted? Steel beam numbers and sizes? Foundation type and depth? Timber sizes? Kitchen manufacturer? Drainage? Ventilation? Lighting? Etc.

If the current price is too high you now have the chance to scale back the design, do the work in phases or look at other ways to reduce / control cost before you are fully committed on site. Also suggest you have a 10-15% contingency sum for the inevitable unknowns that will crop up on site.
Gillian
5 years ago
i suggest when your architect does your plans get them to do a schedule of work, then put that out to tender so you know exactly what your getting and you know all builders are bidding on the same spec therefore you can compare apples with apples with the price. it was invaluable when we had our extension. it cost us £1200 but saved us so much more than that.
Sandy C
Original Author
5 years ago
so many great ideas. definitely will put it out to tender and get a good architect who will provide all the technical information. will also be handy so I don't seem like a complete noob when I listen to them. thanks so much! this has been super insightful
kwg kwg
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
For London ( regardless of which part ) - I don't think that is unreasonable as that is a big project. I'm in West London and we were quoted prices just for the build - dormer loft ranging from just under £40k to £50+, 3m rear extension with pitched roof £45k - £55k+ all without VAT.

Last year, we were in the same position as you, getting quotes in, we had a vague idea of the what we wanted but not down to the fine details. So we ended up comparing apples with pears argh!

I would say, the more you know about what you want, the easier it is for you to compare prices when the builder provides a quote rather than comparing apples with pears as with each builder they usually have a 'standard' package for quoting if the customer does not know what they really want at the time e.g. they may have a general idea but not details. Some quotes include more lights/ sockets, decorating etc.

2 costs that we hadn't given much thought of at the start of our project ( loft and extension ) was 1) Electrics, our builder quoted for a fixed number of lights/ sockets ( basic package ) but during the build we decided we want more and our electrical cost more than doubled 2) Decorating -if you are planning to do you own decorating then that's fine but otherwise decorating all of that is going to cost you a few thousand pounds, some of our quotes included decorating and some didn't.

Also, as you have a huge project, use a builder that has been recommended by someone you know that has had work done, never go with a builder because they are cheap.

For your architect, also choose carefully because some architects charged for changes in drawings, so you could even end up spending a huge sum on architect fees.

Good luck with your project!
kwg kwg
5 years ago
Just another thought, once you have your quotes in ( comparing apples with apples ). If there is a particular builder you want to work with but the price is slightly higher than the rest, you can use your other quotes to negotiate the price, some builders will definitely adjust their price :-).
Sandy C
Original Author
5 years ago
amazing advice! I've followed what everyone has said. getting the planning permission and structural drawings first, then going to put them out to tender with different builders and see who can do it the best! fingers crossed! thank you all for such great advice

building costs- too much?

Sonia

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AMB

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building costs- too much?

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