So if you’ve been following me on Instagram you’ll know that the kitchen extension finally started in February… Valentines Day to be exact. It’s been a long time coming. The rest of the house we love, but the kitchen was always the disappointing element as it is very small, with a narrow dining space that made it very hard to entertain. And as a household that lives and breathes good cooking it has been a pain to not have the most important room in the house as we wanted it.
But three years after we moved in, some saving, some planning and a few hiccups we are so excited to have the new space so close to completion! I thought it was a great time to show the progress so far.
Originally we had the extension ready to start in September. But unbelievably the builder pulled out of our region due to labour shortages… and cancelled the order 3 weeks before the start date. What horrible luck!
So eventually, Valentines Day was when we finally got the new build underway. It was designed to be a new dining and living space, freeing up the existing dining area to expand the kitchen.
Tips for planning your extension
Check welfare facilities
Check whether the contractors on site will need to use your toilet or if they have their own facilities. This could be either a rented portaloo or facilities within their vans. For us it was important that the contractors had their own facilities. We didn’t want dust getting walked into the house with a baby, plus Kimchi is an indoor cat and so keeping the doors shut was also important.
Check the finish
Check the finish of the build – is decorating included or just plaster finish? Is the floor finished with a self levelling compound? These things affect any extra costs you’ll have after the work is complete to get the new space from building site to a fully integrated part of your home. Our build was a plaster and screed finish. This meant it was down to us to prime and paint the walls, lay flooring of our choice and install the skirting board.
Budget for supporting work
You may have peripheral elements on your property that will need to change to accommodate the extension, like replacement windows. We had to fit a smaller double glazed frame on our stair landing so it wouldn’t clash with the roof of the extension. We also had to reposition the stairs up into our garden.
Invest in decent double glazing
Glass technology is pretty impressive nowadays. Our extension has a lovely big roof lantern to maximise light, but the double glazing is specially designed to be prevent glare from the sun as well as heat loss. Essentially, to stop your conservatory feeling hot and cold… like a conservatory! Make sure you talk with your builder about options – decent glazing is a worthy investment.