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Powerjen

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Everything posted by Powerjen

  1. Powerjen
    @Bitpipe yes, I agree, despite what the costings may come back as the info on quantities and work involved is invaluable. ☺️
  2. Powerjen
    Dumfriesshire, don't think I could do anything from scratch so you are far braver than me! It has definitely made me think I can tackle some of the work myself though! Alot of it isn't rocket science and am pretty handy
  3. Powerjen
    You can't have too many toilets though it's good if they actually exist... I did similar with the first architect when I kept picking up on errors where he'd put something on the external plan and omitted them from the internal plan... should have smelt a rat then!
  4. Powerjen
    It really is a minefield isn't it! You go to a professional as you think they'll help and guide you appropriately
  5. Powerjen
    @Carrerahill that is all excellent info thank you They say they are working with April costings so should be up to date. The good thing is that because they have sat on the work for a while they are now providing a detailed breakdown of work and its cost per every element of the build, so whilst it has held things up it is also giving us a good view of where all the money is supposedly going and I can then compare costs - for instance they are quoting 800 quid a window, I have been in touch with a window company who will charge me £400 a window so it is a helpful exercise as to where I will be able to cut costs.
  6. Powerjen
    And good luck to you too @Ralph! I am sure at some stage we will all sit and laugh about it all! I am glad you got sorted with the old useless company and now have a great team to work with
  7. Powerjen
    Good point @Russell griffiths but we originally had architects who provided a proposed plan to us which we didn't believe was within budget so went to a QS who confirmed they were 3 times over budget. It was £300 well spent in our opinion because i saved us £3000 on getting plans made up for planning which would have been useless. Again, with the new architect we are doing the same to see what we can afford and what we can't. We think that is a small outlay for us getting a clear idea of the breakdown of each individual step in every room not only the cost but the actual work needing doing, then I can see where we can cut costs and what we can do before we put anymore money into the project. We were going to use them to Project Manage and go to tender, but I will be sorting everything else out now so alot of money saved there
  8. Powerjen
    Hi Ferdinand Thanks for the questions... here we go... 1) East Dumfriesshire 2) Nope, not listed or in a special area. 3) see attached - not sure if this is what you mean 4) Mm, define serious... it has been untouched for a few years. Electrics are old and need checking though consumer unit is modern, there are some plumbing issues, low pressure in a downstairs room and upstairs, roof has no membrane under slates, but joists and sarking look ok so may just leave it and repair dodgy slates. Has thin double glazed sliding sash at front and some blown units out back and some single glazed that need replacing. It really all just needs updating but other than a new boiler, nothing urgent. 5) Parents aren't getting any younger so i would say we are needing to get it done by the end of the year. It was supposed to happen through the summer. 6) Mm downstairs is all level except for a very slight slope where concrete floor meets old floorboards. Outside the house is on a slight slope right to left and the ground slopes up behind the house and to the left hand side, there is a retaining wall at the back.
  9. Powerjen
    @the_r_sole thank you for having a look at the plans. My parents are in their late 80s and yes we are doing it because they have to move in. You are right in that the idea is to give my parents an informally self contained area to the right side of the house downstairs and we get the rest, plus whatever we can squeeze out of upstairs. The architect wants the old Master bedroom as a second bedroom for my parents whilst I want it to be the 'Dining Room' instead - he never included it in his original idea, I have asked for it to be costed in. That way we can close the door by the stairs in the back kitchen and it will could be a self contained flat. The idea is that we could let it as a holiday rental if need be once they're not around. We would then have everything to the left of that door for ourselves. Hope that makes sense. We want to keep the original front door so if we do have it as a rental then guests can just sit in the front garden and not disturb us out back. We will then have a new front door at the other end where everyone will get diverted to. Probably should have explained it better. I would like to knock down the conservatory, currently wooden thin double glazing with plastic roof and extend out so it is flush with the current garage. We have animals so as this will be our back door we were hoping to have a boot room/shower room to decamp into first before we went into the house proper. There is the current bathroom down there but you'd still have to walk through to get to it. The conservatory is a sun trap and the best bit of the house (or could be) but we don't really want to be walking into it covered in mud when it could be a nice calm space to chill out...
  10. Powerjen
    @Ralph our old one did just the same thing to us. They also became incredibly unprofessional once we started complaining so we went to their professional body about them. We also went down the legal line and told them they were in breach of the Consumer Rights Act. They backed down eventually but this year hasn't been nice because of it all. I feel for you I hope you have found a good one now. We go to these professionals expecting they will help us...
  11. Powerjen
    @the_r_sole thanks for the advice. I think we will sadly always have a compromised space because of the nature of what we are having to do based on our budget. People have said we could do things in stages as and when we can afford it, but our problem is we need the maximum space now and once our parent's aren't here anymore we will be spoilt for space. We have been at this since October and we had expected to get the work all done this summer but the first architects let us down so we are doing it all again and not much further forward.
  12. Powerjen
    @D Walter thank you. I agree, a good builder is worth their weight in gold, if you can find one. I have already tried two who I thought were up for the work but have never got back with quotes (this was with the old architect) so am talking to a local chap who was recommended to me at the moment seems like he might be someone we could work with. I have just bought a couple of building books though, so I might have to get my overalls on! I have posted on here the plans of current and proposed ideas too.
  13. Powerjen
    And that is EXACTLY why I am here Joe90! First architect 3 times over budget and bla med us for wanting too much when the whole reason we went to them was because they were the supposed experts and expected them to guide us
  14. Powerjen
    We could live in the same place... same here.
  15. Powerjen
    Yep! We are on our second architect because the first one who's simplest plan we chose came out as 3 times our budget, then they blamed us for wanting too much...
  16. Powerjen
    Thank you @D Walter that is good info. I really cant see that it would cost the figures the QS has started producing so your 50% is reassuring. We just don't want to take their figures as gospel when we are already demoralised by the feedback we are getting from them and we dont' want to spend alot of money on creating detailed plans and start going through the council if we are either being under or oversold what we can afford. Thanks again, very helpful.
  17. Powerjen
    Ah yes the joys. I am 25 mins from the nearest town... seems to automatically up any costs cause people will need to travel, that's if they will even come round to see the work of course!
  18. Powerjen
    Don't know why I am nervous about posting this. Have posted in the intro section about having an older 1800's cottage and need to renovate to accommodate elderly parents. Budget is tight and we need to maximise space so we don't kill each other. The house lends itself to an informal split which is why we bought it. We would like some upstairs space to get away from our parents when times are hard. Currently upstairs rooms have limited head room. An architect has done these sketches. The numbered bits are options which we have asked a QS to cost to see what we can afford to do. We have an old attached garage and workshop at either end of the house we would like to incorporate. House is in a dip so have been told it's too costly to extend out from existing footprint. Are looking at trying to keep things under PD to limit time waiting for the council. Any bright ideas gratefully received. Already got rid of one architect who wasted our time and money with a ridiculous plan 3 times over budget so not a great start. Still nervous! Thanks
  19. Powerjen
    Thanks @newhome, I will be brave and post the plan as is and also the ideas sketch to see what people say. Parents have blue badges but not registered disabled but I have read that if you are altering your home for an elderly person even if not disabled there is some VAT you can claim back
  20. Powerjen
    Thank you @joe90 we have just had a builder round to see preliminary sketches. Need to see he work he's done though. Getting anyone to even quote for work around here is hard work. He was recommended by someone who has done work for us before so hoping he is up to the job.
  21. Powerjen
    Thanks, that was what I had been told about the QS so it is worst case scenario really. We were going to involve a QS for more of the work and go to tender etc but we are getting detailed costings from him so I can use that as a template for builders quotes to see how they compare with what the QS thinks (or at least I think that is the way forward). I had been told that the warrant shouldn't be applied for till the planning was sorted? As time isn't on our side, that was why we had thought going the pd route was best, but I am here to learn so...
  22. Powerjen
    Hi Nod, thanks. So, if they say the work is going to cost 125k and we don't have any nasty surprises or stray off plan the actual work will cost 125k? I have been told that QS's always vastly overestimate, hence my question.
  23. Powerjen
    Hi Newhome, thanks for the welcome. I'm East Dumfriesshire but nice to meet a friendly neighbour! Should I post stuff here or in another category? Grateful of any advice...
  24. Powerjen
    Thanks Big Neil I probably haven't made any sense! I meant that the work they are doing is costing an architects sketch of proposed works, so not the costs for employing a QS but their costings for work needed to renovated a house and how their estimates for the work differ from what a builder would actually charge to do it.
  25. Powerjen
    Hello from a Rainy Southern Scotland. I bought an old 1840's farm workers stone cottage 18 months ago, which has been extended with brick still many years ago. We moved to be nearer both our parents and for my parents to move in and be cared for by me, hopefully never putting them in a Home, though if they are bad, I can threaten them with it We had some rough verbal estimates from a builder friend before we bought it but since we have been dealing with an architect to get things moving and involving a QS we have very quickly realised that it is going to cost ALOT more than our 100/120k budget. I am handy and am thinking about trying to do as much as I can myself, however I will be much slower than a builder and time is not on our side as parents are becoming more infirm. I fear we will kill each other if we don't maximise space and I need somewhere to go to get away from them when times are tough. We are both used to having our own homes, it's going to be difficult. The downstairs already ends itself quite well to being informally divided into to but I am keen to try do something with the low attic rooms upstairs so me and hubby have some escape space. We are already on our second architect as the first ones were idiots who didn't listen and though we picked their cheapest simplest plan it was still 3 times out budget. We are trying to do everything under permitted development to cut down on the time things will take and have just had a builder round to show him preliminary sketches to see what sort of costs he thinks things will be and are also waiting for a QS to get back to us too. Any advice or help very gratefully received! Thanks.
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