When I was on my business trip earlier this week, my wife has been working hard to strip wall paper off. According to her, all the bed rooms are done. But the wall paper in the hallway, downstairs in the living room and dinning room is really difficult to strip. She is not very tall, so tripping off the ceiling tiles is not a job for her. It is for me.
The biggest progress today is the conversation with Tony the electrician. He sent me his quote yesterday - £4,000. It is not the cheapest quote. But I remember talking to Tony. He knows what he is doing. So even though he is not the cheapest, I didn't rule him out. We spoke on the phone. I asked for reduction. He talked to his business partner and agreed on a lower price but not low enough. So I offered a slightly lower price. He talked with his partner. And they agreed. £3,500. I think it is a good price.
I need to send the plan to him. I also need to remove the wall in the bathroom so he can get the electrical done. I also need to get the plumbers confirmed quick. I also need to strip the ceiling tiles. Getting busy...
Friday, 15 June 2012
Sunday, 10 June 2012
How to find better contractors
I've met 11 contractors in the last nine days. It's hard to comment on each of them. And my comments will be hugely bias anyway. However, it is worth talking about the best way to find contractors - in my opinion anyway.
So far, contractors came to me three different ways. I found one of them at RatedPeople. About half of them were found in FMB website, and another half by referral.
People I found from RatePeople gave me the worst impression. Maybe I wasn't lucky enough. The guy seems to be working alone. To be fair, most of them work alone. But usually the builder would have enough knowledge to make the quote on behalf of electrician and plumber. But this person has to get the electrician and plumber in for a separate visit to provide a quote. This is a a problem itself. The problem is that he exaggerates the complicity of the work too much for me to believe. Do you need to dig a over one-meter foundation to SEAL a door? Come on.
FMB registered people are ok. I consider them as normal builders. By saying "normal" I mean they are by and large honest. Of cause they also say some silly things trying to maximise their profit - like any businessmen. But so far, none of them have gone far off the tracks.
Who gave me the best impression are the contractors recommended by my solicitor. My solicitor belongs to a business network. People in his network seem to be decent people. I especially like Tony from Daton Electrical. He listens to what I say and gives me practical suggestions. He also knows his stuff (although he humbly said he's been sitting in office for a few years and needs to be updated). As long as his quote is in the ball park, I think I will go with him.
However, recommended people are not always good. The person recommended by my surveyor told me I need to spend 10% to 20% of the house price to bring the house to date. That is ridiculous.
Overall, I found talking to these people helps a lot. They often give me some ideas that I didn't think about. And indeed, many of them are very helpful. Mark Walden who is recommended by a building regulation officer even told me how to do things to same my cost. After talking to him, we bought a steamer for £28 which in about three days will save us £1,000 wall-paper stripping job by doing it ourselves.
So far, contractors came to me three different ways. I found one of them at RatedPeople. About half of them were found in FMB website, and another half by referral.
People I found from RatePeople gave me the worst impression. Maybe I wasn't lucky enough. The guy seems to be working alone. To be fair, most of them work alone. But usually the builder would have enough knowledge to make the quote on behalf of electrician and plumber. But this person has to get the electrician and plumber in for a separate visit to provide a quote. This is a a problem itself. The problem is that he exaggerates the complicity of the work too much for me to believe. Do you need to dig a over one-meter foundation to SEAL a door? Come on.
FMB registered people are ok. I consider them as normal builders. By saying "normal" I mean they are by and large honest. Of cause they also say some silly things trying to maximise their profit - like any businessmen. But so far, none of them have gone far off the tracks.
Who gave me the best impression are the contractors recommended by my solicitor. My solicitor belongs to a business network. People in his network seem to be decent people. I especially like Tony from Daton Electrical. He listens to what I say and gives me practical suggestions. He also knows his stuff (although he humbly said he's been sitting in office for a few years and needs to be updated). As long as his quote is in the ball park, I think I will go with him.
However, recommended people are not always good. The person recommended by my surveyor told me I need to spend 10% to 20% of the house price to bring the house to date. That is ridiculous.
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
Keep calm and carry on !!!
I have to admit that I was too naive to have thought the project would be straightforward. It is not complicated. But even a very straightforward building renovation and extension project would be complicated to a property novice like me because of it's complex nature.
At some points, my engineer's instinct kicks in and I couldn't help digging into the technical details of what they told me. For example, I was told about the Megaflow system only a few days ago. But I just couldn't resist my temptation of gathering information to understand how it works. After so many hours on the internet, I am probably an expert among those amateur now.
Another problem is my perfectionist side would force me to worry too much for too little. This is a home for the foreseeable future so I want it to be perfect. But it is difficult when time and money are both limited - and even worse - when I don't know what perfect is myself. So I start to worry about what if things go wrong; how can I prevent things from going wrong; and what if they still go wrong. I am driving myself nuts.
Fortunately, I do not need to rush. This is my only consolation. With the other worries in my life, I should take this project easy.
At some points, my engineer's instinct kicks in and I couldn't help digging into the technical details of what they told me. For example, I was told about the Megaflow system only a few days ago. But I just couldn't resist my temptation of gathering information to understand how it works. After so many hours on the internet, I am probably an expert among those amateur now.
Another problem is my perfectionist side would force me to worry too much for too little. This is a home for the foreseeable future so I want it to be perfect. But it is difficult when time and money are both limited - and even worse - when I don't know what perfect is myself. So I start to worry about what if things go wrong; how can I prevent things from going wrong; and what if they still go wrong. I am driving myself nuts.
Fortunately, I do not need to rush. This is my only consolation. With the other worries in my life, I should take this project easy.
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
Cost of whole house renovation and a 10ft by 8ft extension
Received the pricing from Harry the builder. It's much more expensive than I expected.
One story 10ft by 8ft extension: £15,000
Garage convert to an en-suite room: £10,000
Total rewiring: £4,000
Total re-plumbing, un-vented hot water system and new Vaillant combi boiler.: £4,000
Install new bathroom: £3,000
Remove paper from whole house: £1,000
Replace doors of the whole house: £1,000
Painting and decoration of the house: £3,500
Outside Fascia Board: £1,000
Total £42,500
I guess this doesn't include VAT. I don't include the kitchen units and bathroom units. That's means the total project cost will be over £70,000. And this is only one-storey extension. This is way over what I want to pay for.
One story 10ft by 8ft extension: £15,000
Garage convert to an en-suite room: £10,000
Total rewiring: £4,000
Total re-plumbing, un-vented hot water system and new Vaillant combi boiler.: £4,000
Install new bathroom: £3,000
Remove paper from whole house: £1,000
Replace doors of the whole house: £1,000
Painting and decoration of the house: £3,500
Outside Fascia Board: £1,000
Total £42,500
I guess this doesn't include VAT. I don't include the kitchen units and bathroom units. That's means the total project cost will be over £70,000. And this is only one-storey extension. This is way over what I want to pay for.
Monday, 4 June 2012
Nice neighbours - how lucky we are !
Went to the house again today because the Wickes kitchen design lady came by, Harry the builder who called me yesterday also came by, and we also promised to visit our next door neighbour today.
The Wickes lady was okay. She sounds too professional to only be a kitchen designer. Later we found her husband is actually a builder. No wonder she has some builders' gadgets such as the ultrasonic distance measure. She seemed to like our idea of having a peninsula in the middle. She also told us how expensive it is to move the gas meter. £2,000 it is. And it costs even more to move the electrical meter. Gush - no can afford.
Harry the builder came with a big guy who doesn't speak very fluent English but apparently has much more experience than Harry the builder. Although Harry the builder was very persuasive on the phone, he was very quiet at the presence of this big guy. The big guy knows his stuffs. When we talk about things like a shower, he remembers all the dimensions by head. He was very decisive about how the en-suite should look like. It took him no time to draw the relative locations and dimensions on the ground. He also recommended us to check Megaflow boiler which turned out to be more suitable for us than the popular combi boiler. I like him. However, when he told us that he can move the meter for us for £200. I thought that sounded doggy.
Karen and Clive welcomed us at door. It was a great visit. Karen is a super organised person. She was able to pull out the building plan almost as soon as we started talking about it. Their house is very neat (although they keep saying it's a mess) and their garden is so beautiful. It's especially good to see their extension project. They did similar to what we want to do. They also gave us the contact information of their builder. Seeing how their garage was done, I think it's a right decision to convert our garage. They are very nice people. We are very pleased to be their neighbours.
The sky cleared out later in the afternoon. Dave came to our house to show us the antique that his father found in antique market. I told him about our new neighbours and how we like them. He was pleased for us and also looked a little sad (to lose us as neighbours I believe). Oh, don't worry. even after we move, I won't be absent more often for our Sunday walks than I always have been anyway.
The Wickes lady was okay. She sounds too professional to only be a kitchen designer. Later we found her husband is actually a builder. No wonder she has some builders' gadgets such as the ultrasonic distance measure. She seemed to like our idea of having a peninsula in the middle. She also told us how expensive it is to move the gas meter. £2,000 it is. And it costs even more to move the electrical meter. Gush - no can afford.
Harry the builder came with a big guy who doesn't speak very fluent English but apparently has much more experience than Harry the builder. Although Harry the builder was very persuasive on the phone, he was very quiet at the presence of this big guy. The big guy knows his stuffs. When we talk about things like a shower, he remembers all the dimensions by head. He was very decisive about how the en-suite should look like. It took him no time to draw the relative locations and dimensions on the ground. He also recommended us to check Megaflow boiler which turned out to be more suitable for us than the popular combi boiler. I like him. However, when he told us that he can move the meter for us for £200. I thought that sounded doggy.
Karen and Clive welcomed us at door. It was a great visit. Karen is a super organised person. She was able to pull out the building plan almost as soon as we started talking about it. Their house is very neat (although they keep saying it's a mess) and their garden is so beautiful. It's especially good to see their extension project. They did similar to what we want to do. They also gave us the contact information of their builder. Seeing how their garage was done, I think it's a right decision to convert our garage. They are very nice people. We are very pleased to be their neighbours.
The sky cleared out later in the afternoon. Dave came to our house to show us the antique that his father found in antique market. I told him about our new neighbours and how we like them. He was pleased for us and also looked a little sad (to lose us as neighbours I believe). Oh, don't worry. even after we move, I won't be absent more often for our Sunday walks than I always have been anyway.
Getting to know another new neighbour
It's rainy today - just like what weather forecast has predicted. I am glad that I has mowed the lawn yesterday. But somehow I just want to go back to the house, although there isn't really anything need doing. So I take Heather and Danna there in the afternoon. The kids are really excited. Heather already has seen a lot of snails, so she leads Danna to the garden. They play together and leave me alone (most of the time). That's nice.
As I spread some weed-killer on the lawn, Clive from next door come by to say hello. I have seen his immaculate garden from upstairs. I wish I could maintain my garden as well as he does. He is really nice. He did mowed the lawn of the front yard for me. He invited us to see his extension tomorrow. He also will give us information of the builder who did his job. That's very helpful.
Later in the afternoon, I received another call from a builder called Harry. He has strong Indian accent, and he is very confident. He told me all of his builders are in house - that's why he is quick and inexpensive. I do believe good management makes a difference. Well, looking forward to see what Harry has to offer.
So tomorrow morning, we are going to see the kitchen guy, Harry the builder and the next door neighbour Clive. So far, all of the neighbours are really nice. Even though we haven't moved there yet, I feel we are already accepted. I made some simple introduction cards which has our names and address. It will make it easier for them to remember our names, especially mine.
As I spread some weed-killer on the lawn, Clive from next door come by to say hello. I have seen his immaculate garden from upstairs. I wish I could maintain my garden as well as he does. He is really nice. He did mowed the lawn of the front yard for me. He invited us to see his extension tomorrow. He also will give us information of the builder who did his job. That's very helpful.
So tomorrow morning, we are going to see the kitchen guy, Harry the builder and the next door neighbour Clive. So far, all of the neighbours are really nice. Even though we haven't moved there yet, I feel we are already accepted. I made some simple introduction cards which has our names and address. It will make it easier for them to remember our names, especially mine.
Saturday, 2 June 2012
The house is mine
I was in a meeting when the first call came in Friday morning. I could see the solicitor's number. The second call followed just one minute after it. It's the agent. They both told me the transaction is completed, and the house is mine.
I've arranged a builder to see the house Friday afternoon. And another one this morning.
The first builder is Alf. He found me on RatedPeople, and he is a very nice gentleman. He has been in business for many years. But I started to feel not so good when he told me that he needs to dig down underneath the garage door to build a foundation, so the garage door can be converted to a window. You got to be joking me. Foundation for a stack of brick of less than one meter high? He also asked me what kind of sockets I prefer for the power points. I asked how much difference would it make. He said, oh massive. The fancy sockets are much more expensive than the plain white plastic sockets. My instinct told me it cannot be the case. So I asked the material price. He said, white plastic about £12 each. Fancy ones about £25 each. So I immediately do my math (not in my mind. I read it out loud to embarrassed him a bit). Let's say, 7 rooms, 4 sockets in each room, £13 more each socket --- so we are talking about £400 more cost in a £40,000 project. Is that significant? He didn't say anything in response. But we did carry through to the end. He said he will send his plumber and electrician around for a quote. he asked me if I should keep my key with neighbour, or give my key to him. I don't know. But surely he cannot expect me to trust someone who I met only once that much.
The builder this morning is Anthony. He is about mid fifties? But he is really nice. I have absolutely no problem with him. When we talked about how to economise the project, he told me in one of his previous projects, the project owner paid his non-VAT registered builders directly, so it is cash deal between them. At first I felt that odd. But that is probably something worth thinking about. Maybe because he is a FMB member, I think Anthony is someone that I can work with.
After my regular Saturday phone call with dad, I took Heather back to sort the garden out. Gosh, it is big. The grass was so long that it jammed the lawn mower every now and then. But Heather was so happy in the garden. She played with the snails that she found. She ran after the dragonflies. She shrieked at the sight of woodlouse. She also ran around the house taking pictures --- 78 pictures that she took. I am delighted to see she enjoys the house. It's all worth it.
Hazel from 32 came to say hello. She's been in the neighbourhood for almost as long as Mrs Gathercole. Very pleasant lady indeed.
The garden is not done yet. I want to go back to fix the bushes. But it might start to rain tomorrow.
I've arranged a builder to see the house Friday afternoon. And another one this morning.
The first builder is Alf. He found me on RatedPeople, and he is a very nice gentleman. He has been in business for many years. But I started to feel not so good when he told me that he needs to dig down underneath the garage door to build a foundation, so the garage door can be converted to a window. You got to be joking me. Foundation for a stack of brick of less than one meter high? He also asked me what kind of sockets I prefer for the power points. I asked how much difference would it make. He said, oh massive. The fancy sockets are much more expensive than the plain white plastic sockets. My instinct told me it cannot be the case. So I asked the material price. He said, white plastic about £12 each. Fancy ones about £25 each. So I immediately do my math (not in my mind. I read it out loud to embarrassed him a bit). Let's say, 7 rooms, 4 sockets in each room, £13 more each socket --- so we are talking about £400 more cost in a £40,000 project. Is that significant? He didn't say anything in response. But we did carry through to the end. He said he will send his plumber and electrician around for a quote. he asked me if I should keep my key with neighbour, or give my key to him. I don't know. But surely he cannot expect me to trust someone who I met only once that much.
The builder this morning is Anthony. He is about mid fifties? But he is really nice. I have absolutely no problem with him. When we talked about how to economise the project, he told me in one of his previous projects, the project owner paid his non-VAT registered builders directly, so it is cash deal between them. At first I felt that odd. But that is probably something worth thinking about. Maybe because he is a FMB member, I think Anthony is someone that I can work with.
After my regular Saturday phone call with dad, I took Heather back to sort the garden out. Gosh, it is big. The grass was so long that it jammed the lawn mower every now and then. But Heather was so happy in the garden. She played with the snails that she found. She ran after the dragonflies. She shrieked at the sight of woodlouse. She also ran around the house taking pictures --- 78 pictures that she took. I am delighted to see she enjoys the house. It's all worth it.
Hazel from 32 came to say hello. She's been in the neighbourhood for almost as long as Mrs Gathercole. Very pleasant lady indeed.
The garden is not done yet. I want to go back to fix the bushes. But it might start to rain tomorrow.
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