1. Take your time

This process is even more complicated than you think. Give yourself time to think about what you really want to have – get your friends and family over and tell them too! You’ll probably find that they will come up with an idea that you hadn’t even thought of, which could completely change what you had in mind. Think about the things you want from your new kitchen/bathroom/whatever. Is it more storage space? A particular layout?

The whole process takes a long time too, so bear this in mind before you start. If you’re aiming to start work at a particular time then plan things way in advance and be prepared for it to not quite happen as you expect. We had hoped to be building over the summer last year, but despite everything else being in place we couldn’t find a builder – and when we found one he couldn’t start until October. Which was then November because the previous build was delayed! So be prepared.

2. Planning permission

The planning permission process also takes time, so if this is something that you need to have I would recommend getting someone to draw up some proper plans for you. When we had our roof done, the roofer put us in touch with an architect/planner who turned out to be a really great find! He came out and measured everything, talked about what we wanted to do and drew up ideas and then re-drew changes. He also submitted the applications for us and responded to the council at various points – this was so helpful. If you can find a planner who is happy to do this, then go for it! Their inside knowledge is priceless, and it certainly helped the process to go much more smoothly for us.

3. Finding a builder

We came unstuck at this point – I’m not going to lie, for us this was a nightmare! We knew that we would have to get 3 or 4 quotes for the project (this is standard and if you’re planning a big project like this it’s a must) but it was really difficult to get reliable quotes. And by that I mean that builders were coming to talk about things with us and then not sending a quote for a month, or not even replying to phone messages to get them to come to speak to us in the first place! Anthony (our chosen builder) gave us a quote first and then we were let down by so many after that, including by people who had been recommended to us. With hindsight we would have picked him earlier, but even though we liked him we knew that we needed a few quotes and so the months ticked by… We have planning permission for a 2-storey extension but needed to do it in two stages – lots of builders were trying to put us off doing it this way, but we had to because of our budget. So basically, it’s a bit hit and miss! But you are in charge – it’s your money and if you don’t feel 100% happy then don’t pick them. Ask for and check out references if you can, to see what previous work carried out is like.

Anthony actually contacted us once our planning application had gone in. Your application will be public so that neighbours can look at the plans etc. if they wish to, and this means that builders can also access your details and may choose to get in touch with you about the possibility of carrying out the work. He sent us a brochure and a list of references, but other companies varied greatly! We were lucky in that he was obviously not trying to pull a fast one, but you need to be careful about choosing your builder. You shouldn’t really be paying any money up front but should see some work being carried out before any invoice is paid. Anthony has always been very up front with us about this from the beginning, and we felt very comfortable with him and his team doing the work. As I said before, you have to have confidence in your builder so don’t choose them if you have any concerns or doubts.

4. Your budget

Once you have got a few quotes, you’ll (hopefully) be able to choose a builder that can complete your project within your budget. But there are some things to bear in mind. The main thing is that unless you are some sort of multimillionaire, you will go over budget! We were so careful with our budget and had a good amount of contingency money, but things always take more time and money than you think. We needed extra work on the foundations, which meant extra costs for the planner and structural engineer, as well as the actual foundations.

People have different opinions on how much you should have as a contingency, and this will obviously depend on how much money you have. I’d say aim for a minimum of 10% of the overall budget, and then have a back-up plan in case you go over that (!!). Keep an eye on how much you are spending as you go along, and ask your builder to quote you for prices as you go along if you need to.

5. During the build

As the build is progressing, you’ll find that you spend a lot of time on the phone sorting things out! Anthony was brilliant at keeping us posted with what was happening, and he used to ring me every week to give me an update on what had happened that week and what they would be doing in the coming week. Fab! If your builder doesn’t do this, don’t be afraid to ask them to or to just ring them yourself. It was so good to know where we were up to. Be prepared to have questions about things that you haven’t thought about – where do you want sockets/light switches to be, for example?

Depending on what you are having done, there will be a lot of disruption in your house. With a kitchen there is obviously quite a lot – no washing machine, fridge and washer in the living room, lots of microwave meals etc. But remember that a) it isn’t for long, and b) it will be worth it in the end! We had stuff everywhere – the bed in the front bedroom was collapsed so that we could use it as a storage room. We did keep our bedroom clear just so that we could have one room without chaos, and I am SO glad that we did this! It was actually a lot more stressful and more tiring than I thought it was going to be. The kitchen fitting happened during a really stressful time at work, so I just felt completely overwhelmed at some points. During the last week, it felt like the end was so close but it was the longest week ever! I was desperate to get some sort of normality back, but at the same time I knew it was just for a few more days and I had to keep reminding myself that. So I guess what I’m saying is don’t underestimate how stressful your project could be, but try to keep your end goal in sight.

Just a couple more really random things to note: firstly, dust will get everywhere. In fact, it goes beyond everywhere! People told us this before we started, but you really cannot imagine how dusty it is until you actually do it. If you can pack things away or cover them up, then do that as much as you can. Dust will get in places that you didn’t know existed! Secondly (and this is an obvious thing to some), make sure you take progress photos throughout your renovation or building work! I’ve taken loads (partly to share on my blog) and it has been great to look back on the progress that has been made.

6. After the build

There will probably be some things that you need to wait to finish – this might be because of your budget or because you can’t find the right item, but that’s ok! We are yet to fit some blinds at the back because we can’t find what we are looking for (although we aren’t sure exactly what that is anyway!) and because we didn’t quite have enough money. We spent a while looking for a table too, and have arranged to pay for it in instalments to make it affordable. We’re not going to rush to get some of the other things we need or would like just so it can be finished either. Don’t be afraid to hold out for the perfect thing, even if it means doing without something for a while.

I hope you have found these tips helpful if you’re planning your own big project. It will be stressful, but I promise you it’s worth it! Don’t forget to leave your own tips in the comments if you’ve got any to add. And for anyone in the Newcastle area who is planning a project, I would highly recommend Anthony – you can find his contact details here. Tell him I sent you!

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The builders discovered that our garage didn’t have any foundations (!!) so extra calculations and building control approval were required before they could go in. For a while it felt like we had bought a big hole! But then the happy day came when everything was approved and the concrete arrived!

Now it felt like this was really happening! The foundations and part of the floor went in last week, and the walls have been going up this week. It’s good to get to this point, and now we’re really able to picture the size a bit more easily.

In January our new roof will be going on, and then once the windows are in the old kitchen wall will be knocked down to make a big L-shaped kitchen. Exciting!

The post Kitchen progress: Part 1 appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

I am SO excited that our latest project is finally happening – it has been well over a year in the making, but this week we are finally starting our kitchen renovation! I can’t believe we are starting really, although having spent most of this weekend packing up our kitchen, I really should by now… 

Let me tell you a bit about how we got started with this project. When we bought our house (which we have now been in for almost 5 years) we had intentions to reconfigure some bits of it, starting with the kitchen. At the end of last year we had our plans drawn up and submitted to the council, and planning was approved early this year. Then it took us ages to find a builder – have you ever tried to find one?! You’d think that it would be relatively straightforward, but no. We were let down by several at the quote stage (never a good sign!) but had been told that getting 3-4 quotes would be a good idea. This is right of course, but it was slightly frustrating to have watched several months pass by waiting to hear back from various people, only to choose the first one! Hindsight is a wonderful thing! But this way we have chosen a builder who we are very happy with, so it was worth it.

We were hoping to start the work over the summer, but by the time we had chosen our builder he was booked up into early autumn. The weather has delayed things slightly, but we are just so happy to be starting! Although we have got planning permission for a two-storey extension, our budget only allows us to do the ground floor at the moment. We currently have a garage at the side of the house, which will be knocked down and rebuilt with sturdier foundations, and then one of the walls in the current kitchen will be knocked through.

Our kitchen renovation: a few ‘before’ photos

I thought I would take some ‘before’ shots to show you – this was the kitchen yesterday as we started to pack things up:

As you can see, we don’t currently have much workspace…or cupboard space – this is it. We’ll be doubling the number of cupboards we have, which will mean no more keeping loads of stuff on the worktops – yay! We were trying to work out how old these units are, and we think they might be the original ones. They are Schreiber units and have obviously lasted a long time, and we think they must be at least 20-25 years old. So they have served the house well! I remember when we moved in we were really hoping that the previous owners would leave the cooker (because we didn’t have any money left to buy one), and thankfully they did! I have often wondered if it would last long, but it has kept going for us. We’ll be very glad to have a new one with a fully-functioning grill though – the one in our previous rented flat didn’t work either, so we haven’t had one for about 8 years!

This is the door to the garage, and it is this wall (the one with the wall units) that will be demolished to make one big kitchen. You may be wondering why we have got our fridge freezer squashed in here – it is because we used to have it in the garage, but one really cold winter it stopped working because it was too cold out there! There is a cupboard behind the fridge freezer, which will be knocked through so that the kitchen can be accessed from the hall as well as the living room.

The garage currently has a downstairs toilet, but as it is generally inhabited by spiders and woodlice we’re getting rid of it (and also because we never really use it, and the space for the kitchen would be more practical really).

So, that’s the ‘before’ tour done! Hopefully I’ll be able to share some progress photos of our kitchen renovation with you soon…please pray/keep your fingers crossed/make a wish (delete as applicable!) for dry weather as we get started and for a smooth build overall. We have 5 weeks before Christmas and hopefully, the garage will be demolished and will be up again and water tight before then…that’s a big ‘hopefully’! I know that for our builders this is a relatively easy job, but for us it’s like our very own Grand Design and we can’t wait

Post updated 17th February 2020.

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