A GUIDE TO BUILDING WORK (AND ALL THE EXTRA COSTS THAT GO WITH IT)

Hi, This is me and our ‘Rat House’ Renovation- A detached 1930’s house in Watford

This blog post is sponsored by Hoppy. All views and opinions are 100% my own.

Whether you’ve owned your property for a while, or you’re on the search for the perfect doer upper. I’m sure if you’re anything like me, you’ve had conversations with your partner, friends or family about “doing a little loft extension”, or “let’s just fill in that side return, surely it can’t cost that much”.

I’m currently living through our second build as I type this. This time round, we bought the doer upper - A detached 1930’s house in Watford, Hertfordshire. We’re adding a 7 metre (7m) ground floor extension to the back for an open plan kitchen/ dining room and a 3.5m first floor extension for an extra bedroom and en-suite. In building terms this is on a much grander scale than our last build which was a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom loft extension on a Victorian terrace.

(If you want to read more about our 1930’s build, I’ve written about it here).

Perhaps for our third build we’ll buy a plot of land and do a self-build to earn the top building badge of honour. Ah, who am I kidding? After this one I think we’ll be done for a while, if not forever.  Although I do think I’ve got the building bug. Just don’t tell my husband. *wink

So, you’ve decided you want to convert your garage into a playroom, you’ve done your Pinterest boards and Sally on Instagram is doing it so it must be affordable and doable right? Think again. One thing no one really talks about is the amount of administration, planning, time and expense which you may incur by having the smallest of renovation work done.

I’m going to take you on a step by step guide to all the extra costs which you need to consider before taking on any building project of any size, because what people don’t tell you is all of this stuff.

So here goes..

Architect

Speak to an expert. The initial talk with an architect will be free, so pick their brain when it comes to what you can and can’t do.

Disclaimer ** Architects don’t know for certain what will or won’t get approved by your local authority, so do check your local planning portal to see what your neighbours have done already. This will give you a good gauge on what is and isn’t possible in your area.

And remember that just because someone down your road has the same extension, it doesn’t mean it will definitely get approved. You need to take into account neighbours objections.

What an architect will do though once you’ve paid your fee is:

·      Carry out measured site survey and take required photographs.

·       Prepare existing floor plan.

·      Prepare existing elevations.

·      Prepare existing section.

·      Prepare existing site plan.

·      Prepare proposed floor plan.

·      Prepare proposed elevations.

·      Prepare proposed site plan and block plan.

·      Prepare proposed section.

·      Submit planning application to local authority via the planning portal. – Not all architects will do this, but some might include this in their price.

The Cost

Once you’re ready to get the drawings done, these could cost as little as £1k, but up to £10k depending on the size and detail of the project.

Our architect drawings for our 1930’s detached house with a new 7m ground floor extension and a 3.5m 1st floor were £1.5k + Vat

 Structural Engineer

Some architects will have their own structural engineer within their company, but some won’t. The structural engineer drawings are vital for any builder to work from, otherwise all you have is a very pretty, slightly complex line drawing from the architect for the builder to work off- which is basically not very helpful. The structural engineer plans will lay out steel sizes, foundation depths, insulation thicknesses and so on to make sure the build complies with the most up to date building control regulations.

Make sure when you get your quote for the architect drawings that its clear whether the structural drawings are or aren’t included in the price, because quite often this is a surprise to pay-out later down the line.

What you get for your money from your structural engineer is:

·      Prepare Structural Drawings.

·      Prepare Building Control Drawings.

·      Prepare Drainage Drawings.

·      Prepare Structural Calculations.

·      Prepare Construction Drawings.

·      Submit initial Notice for Building Control (Fees not included).

·      Submit Water Build Over Contract (if needed- and cost wouldn’t be included) 

The Cost

Our structural engineer drawings were included with our architect, but I’ve broken this amount down from the rest, which was roughly another £1,200+Vat

Planning Application

You have your architect drawings and you’re ready to make that planning application. You don’t actually need structural calculations to apply for the building notice – all you need is the architect drawings, so it’s probably best that you wait to see if your plans are approved before paying for the structural calculations as you might need to make changes, or worst case scenario, they won’t be approved and you would have wasted your money.

Some Architects will build this cost in and make the submission for you.

You can apply for planning before owning the property but the current owner or part owners of the property or Leaseholders with at least 7 years lease remaining or any agricultural tenants will need to be informed.

Firstly, the property owners may be more reluctant to sell the property to you. Visits from architects and additional delays caused may lead them to prefer a different buyer, and once you receive planning permission, the seller may choose to put the property back on the market at a higher price. They can now add the fact that planning permission has been approved for the works you have proposed.

Alternatively, you can wait 21 days from completing on the property and you won’t need anyones prior permission to apply.

It’s also worth noting that with most councils you have 3 years to start your building work from when your application is approved. This is three years to get a fork in the ground and get the building control officer out. The work doesn’t need to be finished in this time, but does have to start, otherwise you need to start the application process all over again. It’s worth noting that if your application has multiple works, the permission doesn’t have a timer and you can come back to do other bits any time as long as something has started.

The cost

If you need to apply yourself, the cost varies from £206 - £462 depending on the work, and this price might vary if the property is in a conservation area.

You or your architect will also need to pay £72 for Ordnance Survey
Extract (which is a satellite map which you can purchase online). This must be submitted with any application.

Party Wall acts

If your planning is successful, your local authority might ask you to obtain a party wall act with each of your neighbours. This all depends on how close the neighbouring properties are.

** Even detached houses have to comply with the party wall act, unless your property is within 6 meters of any neighbour’s boundary.

I’ve written a blog post about Party wall acts, which you can read here.

In summary, these don’t have to cost anything and is just a matter of asking your neighbour to sign a legal document which means you will make a mend if any damage is caused to their property during the build. However, they can also become expensive if the neighbour refuses to sign.

But one thing to remember is your neighbour cannot stop your building work happening, even if they refuse to sign. It just means you will have to pay for a party wall award which means having an independent structural engineer draw up a contract.

Also, worth noting that you are meant to give your neighbours 30 days’ notice of work starting.

The cost

They can vary, but if you need to pay a structural engineer to put a party wall award in place it can cost anything from £900 +, and you could have two on your hands if both neighbours don’t comply and want awards in place.

It’s also worth noting that you can’t use a structural engineer which you’ve used before. They must be impartial to both you and your neighbour as they will act as a mediator if any damage is caused.

 Building Control

Things are now progressing, you’ve got your planning permission, your structural drawings are done, and you have your party wall act signed. It’s time for you to start building.

Now you must notify your local authority’s building control with intent to start the building work 48 hours prior to starting.

The cost of this for us was £235

Around six weeks later you will need to pay the further building control fee which covers all site visits and will pay for the certificate at the end by building control when they sign the project off. For us this cost was £630

The start of our 1st floor 3.75m extension

Builders Quotes

Depending on what type of work you’re having, you might be planning to project manage the work yourself i.e. organise your own trades, brick layers, plumbers, electricians etc or perhaps you’ll get someone in to project manage it for you. Whichever you decide to do, make sure you get three separate quotes and ask them break down each cost, and don’t be afraid to challenge. Ask if the cost is fixed and final and isn’t an estimate.

Ask if waste and skips will be included in the price. A large skip can cost £400 and can add up pretty quick when filling with old plaster and timber.

In London and the South East, the average cost per m2 is around £1,500-£2,000+. For two-storey extensions, add 50% to the cost of a single-storey extension. If you want to add a bathroom or kitchen, add £5,000-£10,000 for the plumbing. This doesn’t include the tiles and bathroom suites which you want to install, so make sure you keep some budget back for them too.

Here’s me and my pink hard hat ;)

Dropped Kerbs

This might not apply to your property, but if it does and you want your kerb dropping this ranges from £1k - £3.5k per property (depending on how many drop kerbs you require and if it’s a carriage driveway) for your local authority to carry out this work.

Water - Build over agreement

 A Build Over Agreement is needed when you want to build over a public sewer and need your local authority's consent to do so ‘in the form of a “build over agreement”.

This can cost in the region of £500.

Driveway

A driveway is something to bare in mind early on as you can apply for it at the same time as your house plans, otherwise you’ll need to make an extra application with an additional cost.

Don’t forget to consider drainage  and soakaways.

The cost

A driveway will cost you in the region from £3k + vat upwards.

Our Garden once all the trees had been cleared.

Garden

Your new extension looks lovely, but it’s wrecked your old patio/ garden where the builder used it to store his bricks and cement.

Consider keeping some budget back to re do your patio/ garden.

 The cost:

This is very hard to guesstimate. We have had quotes for as much as £16k to level, re landscape, lay patio and decking and this doesn’t include the slabs or decking materials.

For now, this one’s going to have to wait a while.

I hope this is helpful and hasn’t put you off. I certainly wish I had read something like this before I started our first build. It’s always good to have a plan.

Good luck and remember I’m always available on  my Instagram @Houselust for a bit of building advice if you ever need to ask me anything else.

Just me having one of those ‘what the hell have we done’ moments whilst looking at our mouldy windows :)

MY FIVE WAYS TO SAVE MONEY WHEN BUYING CARPET

Image Credit : A black and white stripe carpet runner with yellow whipping in the home of Sandra @The_idle_hands

I know I’m still a while off the finessing stage of Rat House. Choosing paint colours, carpets, rugs, cushions and wallpapers, not forgetting my glazed ceramic vase collection to faff with. Oh, how I miss the styling part. I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am for that stage to come, but I know it will be here before I know it.

Now the only problem is… will we actually have any money left for all the fun things like carpets, paint and wallpaper? I was advised to budget for 15% extra of the agreed quote, but two weeks in and our architect has already added in extra steels in the structural drawings which are slowly eating into this budget.

I am determined not to live without these things and to make Rat House as homely as quickly as possible, so I’ve been looking at ways to save money, starting with the carpet.

I used to have a jazzy carpet runner down our staircase, but this got destroyed by hundred years’ worth of thick black dust when we converted our loft, and we never replaced it once we finished the renovation. Instead, we lived with raw stairs which echoed every time we walked up and down and meant you could never walk past our son’s bedroom quietly without waking him.

So, this time a carpet stair runner is high on my list of must-have items. But the carpet is usually quite pricey isn’t it, meaning we’ll have to wait a while to afford it. Well, actually no…

Image credit: Pinterest

Today I’m going to talk you through my top tips for saving money when buying carpet and the rules that I’m going to live by when choosing my own.

1. Rip up the old carpets/ flooring yourself. I know it sounds obvious but ripping up your own carpet or old flooring and disposing of it safely yourself will save you £££. Most large carpet retailers will charge for the privilege, so just do it yourself.

2. Move your own furniture. Again, this sounds so obvious, but honestly ask any carpet fitter and they’ll tell you they will charge to move your large pieces of furniture around the room to lay the carpet. It eats into their time, so don’t pay them to do something that you or your other half can do.

3. Choose the right material. Consider your lifestyle and how much traffic an area will get. And think about if you’re likely to want to change it up in a few years. Natural fibres are lovely but can stain easier and can be more difficult to keep clean.

4. Buy remnants. I recently discovered Designer-Carpet, an online carpet retailer which specialises in - you guessed it - designer carpet. But here’s where it gets exciting. They have some real bargains in their carpet remnants section. I always thought remnants and “off cuts” were the scraps that I could use for a box room, or for my dolls house floor (my dad used to actually cut me pieces of real carpet for my doll’s houses). But these remnants are a mixture of end of the line, discontinued carpets and surplus carpet rolls which didn’t make their intended journey but could be yours for a fraction of their recommended retail price. For example, you can buy a Brintons carpet for almost half the RRP price. Or get a luxury Kersaint Cobb sisal carpet for a fraction of their price. Plus, they’ll still give you the full customer treatment, and offer you whipping and framing options if you want to turn these remnants into stair runners or even a made-to-measure rug.

5. Buy supply only and fit yourself (or find your own fitter). If you were to buy from an online retailer like Designer-Carpet they would offer you supply only, which means you can save money by finding your own fitter (search the National Institute of Carpet & Floorlayers directory for a fully accredited professional near you). Designer carpets will still help you with the measuring up etc to ensure you’re not over or under ordering for your space. 

I’ll be going through some more top money-saving tips throughout the Rat House Renovation, so do come back to see what else I’m trying to save money on.

Image credit: A natural fibre rug by Geri @overatno18

** This post was sponsored by Designer-Carpet.co.uk. All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. **

OUR RENOVATION JOURNEY: PARTY WALL ACTS AND WHY WE NEED THEM

The back of our New House. We needed a party wall act with both our neighbours (Even the one on the left).

If you’re thinking of submitting plans for an extension or have already submitted them, but have heard the term ‘Party Wall’ and don’t know if it applies to you, then this post is for YOU!

I found this area all quite mind boggling because I didn’t think Party Wall’s applied to detached houses, but it still does. And what you don’t want to do, is leave it to the last minute like I did.

So, today’s post is all about… you guessed it… Party Walls.

Why you need one, what they’re for and why they can be a massive headache if you don’t get it sorted before your building work starts, not to mention the extra cost which you might not have accounted for if you have to involve a party wall surveyor.

So, what is a party wall Act?

Sadly, it’s not a party of any kind. Boooo! And it doesn’t even have to involve a ‘Wall’ to be needed.

The Party Wall Act came into force on 1 July 1997 and applies throughout England and Wales. (The Act does not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland)

 The Act provides a framework for preventing or resolving disputes in relation to party walls, party structures, boundary walls and excavations near neighbouring buildings.

Basically, in a nutshell, it serves as a legal document between you and your neighbour to stop you from falling out when the digging and building work commences (although it can’t actually stop you from falling out). But it’s there to protect your lovely neighbour’s property. This could be from you hammering a massive steal into their walls for an extension, or it could be because you need to excavate near their foundations to dig your own foundations. It’s your way of politely serving notice that you will be whacking a great big steel into their neighbouring wall when building your extension or digging next to their foundations which you’ve now had planning permission for.  You’re politely letting them know in a legal document – aka serving notice.

And it’s there to cover the neighbour so that if you cause any damage, you will make good - aka resolve any disputes.

Who needs a party wall Act?

Anyone intending to carry out work (anywhere in England and Wales) of the kinds described in the Act must give Adjoining Owners notice of their intentions. The Act applies even to Crown, Government and Local Authority owned property.

What does the Act Cover?

• Various work that is going to be carried out directly to an existing party wall or party structure – ie on a Mid terrace house – loft conversions between neighbouring properties, ground floor/ 1st floor extensions on Semi-detached houses.

•    New building at or astride the boundary line between properties.

• Excavation within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbouring building(s) or structure(s), depending on the depth of the hole or proposed foundations. So in a nutshell, if your property is within 3-6 meters of your neighbour’s property and you will be digging for foundation work, you will still need a Party Wall Act even if your walls aren’t adjoining.

The document

You can find generic documents online which will help as a guide when serving notice on your neighbour. Just make sure you amend the details to be yours and your neighbours. And in the foundation section, try and give as much information from your structural engineer as you possibly can. I.e.- will there be any special foundations?

Then attach a consent form for them to sign and return, and make sure you stipulate a date for which the building work will commence. You’re meant to give your neighbours TWO months’ notice – but if your neighbours are nice and understanding you can talk to them about bringing the start date forward.

I’ve linked templates below that you can adapt and use for this purpose. - Because sharing is caring…

DOWNLOAD A FREE PARTY WALL TEMPLATE LETTER

and

DOWNLOAD A FREE PARTY WALL CONSENT FORM

Can they refuse to sign it?

Yes, they can. But just remember that even if they do refuse to sign the free Party Wall Act, it doesn’t mean your building work can’t happen. It will just delay things until you have appointed a Party Wall surveyor and a Party Wall Award has been served to the neighbour.

What is a Party Wall Surveyor and What do they do?

This is where it gets a little complicated. If your neighbour refuses to sign the free document, they are entitled to have their own Party Wall Surveyor – at YOUR COST.

They are actually entitled to their own Party Wall Surveyor, in addition to one that will represent you. I.e. two different Party Wall Surveyors. They can even request a third to act as an adjudicator if they really want to be difficult and these will all be at YOUR COST.

But they can also choose to use one surveyor which will represent the two of you. This is the ideal option and will be the least expensive option to you. This is what YOU want.

The Surveyor will do an assessment of your neighbour’s property which will involve taking numerous photos of their internals, externals and their garden, noting any previous movement, cracks etc. In the long run this will help you if they say there’s been movement and your building work caused it etc.

Then once they have done the assessment, they will work on a schedule to ensure the excavation or structural work is done as safely and with least disruption as possible to the neighbouring property and then the Party Wall Award will be Served. This is where your structural engineer will come into play in a big way as they will be asked by the Party Wall Surveyor to go into more detail regarding foundations or joining walls/ steels etc. I’d also make sure you have this cost covered in your structural engineers initial quote, as you don’t want them asking for more money when you’ve already paid them and now have Surveyors to pay for as this cost can suddenly escalate quite rapidly.

Your structural engineer will produce a series of sketches like this for the Party wall Surveyor to show the relationship with the neighbouring property.

How much will a Party Award cost?

You’re looking at between £700-£1500 (including VAT) per surveyor. It depends on the project size and where in the UK you are located.

Keep in mind that if you need a Party Wall surveyor award with each neighbour this could double or even triple in cost for you.

When Should I serve the Party Wall Act to my neighbours?

Do it as soon as possible. As I mentioned before you’re meant to give your neighbours two months’ notice before starting work, and you will need to have this in place before starting, otherwise you will only be able to do the work which is within 6m or more from their property.

You can even serve the notice to your neighbours at the same time as you submit your planning application. This way you can talk your neighbours through your plans and gauge their reaction to whether or not you think they will be happy to sign the free notice and if not start researching for a surveyor.

It’s a stressful time, but once you get over this part the building work is all GO GO GO.

Good luck with your build if you’re about to start one, or if your knee deep in one already send me the address and I’ll send the wine to help steady the nerves. Just kidding. I need ALL the wine right now for mine.

WHY WE DECIDED TO RENOVATE AND NOT MOVE HOUSE

In September 2017 we started our biggest renovation to date; The loft conversion. Prior to the work starting we had thought long and hard whether this was what was best for us vs moving to a bigger house.

Our house was a comfortable two bed, one-bathroom mid terrace house, full of character and charm being built in the Victorian era. But we knew we ideally needed more bedroom space to be able to house my ever-growing clothing collection – I’m a fashion designer, and a spare bedroom for family to come stay/ work from home in.

Our loft extension, completed in February 2018.

We were on the cusp of starting a family (Our IVF was booked in for July 2017) and we were optimistic it was going to be successful, and that in a matter of months we could be a family of three.

Luckily everything went to plan and by the time the building work started in the September of 2017 I was two months pregnant with Otis.

When making the decision on whether a build was better than moving, it came down to a few factors.

Firstly, we love where we live. We love our neighbourhood, the quaint Victorian street, our lovely neighbours and we love how close we are to the town centre and to Watford Junction, which is where my husband works, and I need to commute from so we didn’t want to move far.

The second was the financial side. We looked into how much it would cost to move vs stay and extend and the costs weren’t dissimilar.

To move to a 4-bedroom house close by we would have to Spend £20k+ on the stamp duty plus the additional costs of a much bigger mortgage as house prices in Watford vary for a 4-bed property from £500k-£1m depending on area. 

Plus, throw in solicitors fees, moving costs and we’re looking at an additional £30k+ and the stress of moving and trying to sell our house whilst trying to get pregnant.

Alternatively, if we stayed where we are and renovated, we could spend £40k-£60k on the build, add value to our house, and have less stress and still get to stay in a house we already love. So, it seemed like a no brainer.

Let’s not get carried away though, a build of any kind is still very stressful, and we decided to live through ours to save costs which was fine whilst it was only the two of us, but  I’m not sure I’d have the same outlook if Otis had already been born.

The beautiful victorian terraced houses down my street.

Watford high-street.

Once the decision was made, drawings were commissioned and submitted to the council, and the loft renovation started in the September 2017.

It took a long dirty 6 months until it was completed, the builders had fully disappeared, and we were left with a beautiful third floor – adding a large master bedroom, an en-suite bathroom and a fully equipped dressing room to keep me happy.

This left our remaining two bedrooms and family bathroom downstairs on the first floor completely untouched for Otis to have a large nursery/playroom and a spare bedroom for Granny to come stay when we needed help.

Beautiful victorian Terrace Houses down my street.

So how we financed the work. Because I’ll be honest, we didn’t have a spare £60k sitting around in a bank account if I’m honest.

We did however have £20k from inheritance and it felt right that this was invested into our home, so we just needed to finance the other £40k.

We did lots of research on loans vs Mortgages and we ended up using an online mortgage broker site called Habito which meant if we re mortgaged we could borrow from the equity which our house had already made.

In plain terms this meant that as we bought the house for £222,000 eight years ago, and at the time of re mortgaging in June 2017 the house was valued at £340,000 we could easily borrow £40K more which only put our mortgage re payments up by an extra £100 a month.

But what is Habito you ask?! Habito is a free online mortgage broker making mortgages easier - It’s uses technology to search the whole market - 20,000 products from 90,000 lenders - to match you with the best mortgage for your needs in seconds.  It’s online mortgage brokers then give you qualified advice, with no jargon and handle everything with your chosen lender.  This means you can get mortgage advice on your mobile, from the comfort of your own sofa on a Sunday morning (it’s mortgages experts are online ‘til 9pm Mon-Thurs and from 9-9pm Saturday and Sunday). - It helps first time buyers navigate the confusing world of buying a first home and it helps mortgagers save thousands a year!

As the stats prove that 58% of all UK homeowners could save £3,000 every year by switching their mortgage!

Now the works done, I can honestly say that staying put was the best thing for us and our family.

And a huge positive that has also come out of this is that our house has been recently valued at £560k which is an incredible £278k extra equity once you deduct the cost of the building work.

So, if you love where you live, why live anywhere else if you can just better your current home?

Habito are running a competition to celebrate their 3rd birthday over on their Instagram page for you & a friend to each win £300 to put towards your mortgage or home improvements. Head over to their page @Habitoloveshomes to find out more. The competition ends on the 5th August 2019.

This post is sponsored by Habito. All views and opinions are 100% my own.