We're trying to plan out and price up an extension and as a starter
for ten I've been looking through "The House Builders Bible" by Mark
Brinkley. It's a good read if for no other reason but the little
rants he has.
I have a sixth edition so I realise the cost tables might be a bit
wrong, but making allowances for inflation should at least help a bit.

At least that's what I thought. I calculated some costs and then got
a builder in to quote. There are some unknowns at the moment but the
builder came out over double the price I'd calculated. Even allowing
for the inflation and the builders margin it still seemed waaaay out.
So I wondered if the tables etc aren't really applicable to
extensions.

I see that the seventh edition has a chapter on Extensions. Has
anyone used either edition to help cost up an extension? Is it worth
getting the seventh edition solely for the chapter on extensions?
I am looking to manage the build myself doing some of the work myself,
and pulling in tradesmen direct when needed.

Thanks
Painters10

On Feb 3, 9:32*pm, Painters10 <painter...@googlemail.com> wrote:

> At least that's what I thought. *I calculated some costs and then got
> a builder in to quote. *There are some unknowns at the moment but the

Unless you have a preferred builder that you plan to use regardless of
price then you should get at least 3 quotations from reputable
builders. Make sure that they are providing a quote against a written
scope of work and specification. With the current building industry
conditions in the UK you are in a good position to get good prices and
I suggest that you should not be afraid to negotiate.

--
Nige Danton

Painters10 wrote:
> We're trying to plan out and price up an extension and as a starter
> for ten I've been looking through "The House Builders Bible" by Mark
> Brinkley. It's a good read if for no other reason but the little
> rants he has.
> I have a sixth edition so I realise the cost tables might be a bit
> wrong, but making allowances for inflation should at least help a bit.
>
> At least that's what I thought. I calculated some costs and then got
> a builder in to quote. There are some unknowns at the moment but the
> builder came out over double the price I'd calculated. Even allowing
> for the inflation and the builders margin it still seemed waaaay out.
> So I wondered if the tables etc aren't really applicable to
> extensions.
>
> I see that the seventh edition has a chapter on Extensions. Has
> anyone used either edition to help cost up an extension? Is it worth
> getting the seventh edition solely for the chapter on extensions?
> I am looking to manage the build myself doing some of the work myself,
> and pulling in tradesmen direct when needed.
>
> Thanks
> Painters10

Work out the square meterage of the footprint (not the floor area) IE, the
length from outside wall to outside wall and times it by 1000 for a rough
estimate for extensions, then add on any drains, manholes etc that may need
replacing / re-routing.

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

In message
<a88e42c6-0384-404c-904c-(E-Mail Removed)>,
Painters10 <(E-Mail Removed)> writes
>We're trying to plan out and price up an extension and as a starter
>for ten I've been looking through "The House Builders Bible" by Mark
>Brinkley. It's a good read if for no other reason but the little
>rants he has.
>I have a sixth edition so I realise the cost tables might be a bit
>wrong, but making allowances for inflation should at least help a bit.
>
>At least that's what I thought. I calculated some costs and then got
>a builder in to quote. There are some unknowns at the moment but the
>builder came out over double the price I'd calculated. Even allowing
>for the inflation and the builders margin it still seemed waaaay out.
>So I wondered if the tables etc aren't really applicable to
>extensions.
>
>I see that the seventh edition has a chapter on Extensions.

IIRC Mark is (or was) a poster on the uk_selfbuild list, maybe get a
reply from the horses mouth?

<http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/UK_Selfbuild>

--
Chris French