House Extension Case Study - Vicki

Vicki had been looking to re-house for about 3 months due to divorce and eventually came across a house in a suitable area that was affordable but it didn't have the garage utility and downstairs toilet that she so desperately needed with 3 kids. She spoke to the local planning department and took in a roughly drawn sketch showing a single storey extension. They were very helpful and gave the impression that they could see no problems with applying for this.

The extension itself, although single storey would be quite large. The house is an old red brick semi-detached ex-council house with its own drive. The plans were passed to build a porch on the front of the house, coming forward by 1.5m and to build a tandem garage down the drive to the side of the house. This was over 31ft in length (9.5m) Behind the garage there was to be a utility and the extension then continued round the full width of the back of the house (just over 9.2m) to provide a downstairs toilet and sun lounge. The architect had said that the planning office would only permit Vicki to extend backwards by 3m as she was building boundary to boundary and landlocking my back garden, but this was more than enough for what she wanted. The total extension was just in excess of 65sqm. She was very happy that she had got what she wanted but a little disappointed that my galley kitchen (the only thing she didn't like about her new home) was going to have to have its window bricked up as it would now be looking into the garage and this was
classed as a fire hazard. Also it was brought to her attention after closely looking at the plans that a manhole just to the back corner of her current property was going to have to be re-sited. This was a concern because she was on such a limited budget that she was planning to do all footings and drainage work herself with the help of her 72yr old father and she had no intention of paying for skilled labour until she was ready for the footing blocks to be laid.

She and her father started to prepare the land in March 2006 but came across a few problems including having to re-site a drain and other pipes. The footings were concreted in July and then the brickies could start their work. After several gaps they finally finished their work in September so everything was ready for the roof trusses.

February 2007 - The build is complete but all the inside fitting needs to be done. This page will be updated once Vicki has finished her extension.

Costs so Far £17,645

You can read all of Vicki's wonderful experiences and see more pictures in a near 40 page document. She tells of the highs and lows of her build and includes some lovely amusing stories. For further details go to our Extension Diary page.