Building a house extension can get a little hectic at times and we all need to start treating it like a proper construction work. Even though there are now more and more owners interested in extending to the backyard, there’s still too little information preparing you for the process you’re about to endure before you can enjoy the finished product. Here’s our week by week home extension planner that will help you get organised and ready to control the process.
Week 1: the preparations
One of the most disregarded stages of the whole building process is definitely the preparation stage. You need to order everything your builders will need and put it in place of easy access for them. The last thing you want is your works to stop on the second week because there’s not enough brick to put up the walls.
Weeks 2-4: starting from the ground
Foundations are the most important part of the job as they need to provide stability and security for the extension just as they would for a standard house. There’s no shortcuts or alternatives here – your builders must start by digging up the foundations, putting down all the pipework and drainage and levelling the concrete footing before they can do anything else. Then they proceed to working on damp-proofing the foundation, installing the insulation and the concrete slab for flooring. One thing to put in your calendar here is having to get Building Control to check and approve every stage that gets done here.
Weeks 5-10: Walls go up, roof goes on, doors go in
The main construction can take up to five weeks depending on the difficulty of the extension and the amount of work that has to be done there. Some people choose to go for one full window wall, with doors and ceiling high windows opening up the space visually, while others choose the more standard way. Whichever you choose, it still has to be securely fixed to the existing walls of the house and prepared for the roof. That itself can take another week or two of work, especially if you want a rooflight. Fortunately, while the roof is being finished, other workers can take care of windows and doors.
Weeks 10-12: interiors and snagging
Extension can take about ten weeks to be built to this point, but there’s still obviously a lot to do inside the extension. Now is where you plaster and paint the walls, install the electrics properly, fix your furniture and appliances if necessary and generally work on the snagging. It’s worth spending time here as the extension is now a part of the house just like the rest and needs to be looking perfectly finished. It’s safe to say building an extension is not a piece of cake but if you get your timing right and motivate everyone to work by schedule, you should be finished in 12-13 weeks.
