New extension ( newbies to building etc)

Irishmoo1980

Hi all I hope so get some advice.

My boyfriend and I are getting an extension to our newly bought home.(old Victorian house). So we have the plans etc. The builder has quoted us €73 for everything And he designed our plan. I am not living in the house yet. My boyfriend is. We want bi fold doors in alu clad and a zinc roof (not my choice as heard it's too noisy). The rest of the money is for the kitchen and bathroom that's to go in the new extension. What's everyone's experience with their builder? My boyfriend I just found out tod the builder the main things we want ie the doors,roof and solid floors. The rest he told him to buy cheaply. Surely this isn't the builders job to go get the oven,hob ,fridge etc. Sure he could spend €300 on a tap and €100 on an oven!!!
Tensions are high and it's not even started!!

Any ideas or input would be greatly appreciated

Thank you
D

Milly33

Why are ye letting the builder pick things like oven, taps... That should be down to ye not him.. Given him full reign of that is mad, I find it hard to believe a builder would take that on also

ArthurG

You're not going to get much for €73.

My experience (including a recent extension) has been that you pick the fittings yourself - how would the builder know what kind of cooker / hob etc. that you would like?.

By the way if you are going with something you don't want (zinc roof), why do it?. Presumably you'll be living with it for a long time, so why not do it how you want it?.

Irishmoo1980

ArthurG wrote: »

You're not going to get much for €73.

My experience (including a recent extension) has been that you pick the fittings yourself - how would the builder know what kind of cooker / hob etc. that you would like?.

By the way if you are going with something you don't want (zinc roof), why do it?. Presumably you'll be living with it for a long time, so why not do it how you want it?.

Hi sorry I edited my original post. The builder priced it and that's the price he gave us.

MightyMunster

Definitely pick all finishes, windows, doors, appliances, taps, cupboards, floors, skirting, lights basically anything that you can see yourself as otherwise it'll definitely not be to your taste!
Did you have an input into the design/layout as only you know how you're going to live in the space. It would be in the builders interest to pick the "easier" solutions or what they are used to doing rather than what's best for you. Presume you got drawings done and got more than one price? 73k for an extension including kitchen is quite a low price, just paid around 80k for 25sqm kitchen dining and refurbishment of existing 25 some (including furniture etc..)

Irishmoo1980

MightyMunster wrote: »

Definitely pick all finishes, windows, doors, appliances, taps, cupboards, floors, skirting, lights basically anything that you can see yourself as otherwise it'll definitely not be to your taste!
Did you have an input into the design/layout as only you know how you're going to live in the space. It would be in the builders interest to pick the "easier" solutions or what they are used to doing rather than what's best for you. Presume you got drawings done and got more than one price? 73k for an extension including kitchen is quite a low price, just paid around 80k for 25sqm kitchen dining and refurbishment of existing 25 some (including furniture etc..)

Hi yes my boyfriend knows him from years ago so we know it's a good price for sure. We had plans drawn up and he changed them. It's actually a better design to be honest and sounds good.
We are just lost to some of the things but we will be meeting him one of the evenings for a chat.
Yes other quote was well over 100k. I've everything picked out myself now since yesterday so will show my boyfriend this eve to chat together and decide on things. Being totally new to this stuff can be a worry. Thank you to everyone for the replies. D

jay0109

I am currently going through a similar build to you...same-ish design, budget etc.

I drew up the plan to scale and we have worked off that since. This was based on conversations about the build between us and the Builder. We agreed the style of roof, type and size of windows, doors etc. We also agreed on finishes to the interior,exterior, paths, decking etc.
We also threw in some other jobs we wanted done around the house and got him to include them on his schedule of works.

He gave us the name of a kitchen co he uses and we had the choice to go with them or someone else. The Builder therefore had no input in that (this was separate to the overall construction budget).

The flooring is chosen and paid for separately but installed by the Builder. Same for kitchen splash back and electrics/plumbing around the kitchen.

Any problems found during the build were borne by our Builder- he took on that risk.
But any design changes we wanted after signing the contract are borne by us. So make sure you are 100% on the design/works to be done before you sign off.

Any questions, just let me know

kkelliher

jay0109 wrote: »

I am currently going through a similar build to you...same-ish design, budget etc.

I drew up the plan to scale and we have worked off that since. This was based on conversations about the build between us and the Builder. We agreed the style of roof, type and size of windows, doors etc. We also agreed on finishes to the interior,exterior, paths, decking etc.
We also threw in some other jobs we wanted done around the house and got him to include them on his schedule of works.

He gave us the name of a kitchen co he uses and we had the choice to go with them or someone else. The Builder therefore had no input in that (this was separate to the overall construction budget).

The flooring is chosen and paid for separately but installed by the Builder. Same for kitchen splash back and electrics/plumbing around the kitchen.

Any problems found during the build were borne by our Builder- he took on that risk.
But any design changes we wanted after signing the contract are borne by us. So make sure you are 100% on the design/works to be done before you sign off.

Any questions, just let me know

Would you mind me asking what Contract you signed.

jay0109

A standard contract with the Builder -similarish to what I'd seen on various websites that dealt with the subject

kkelliher

jay0109 wrote: »

A standard contract with the Builder -similarish to what I'd seen on various websites that dealt with the subject

I hope you dont end up with similarish problems to those on various websites......:D

jay0109

The contract is the standard contract as laid out for example, on Tradesman.ie or the Irish Architectural Institute (I think is the name).
The appendices to it included the design for the building and the schedule of works which were specific to our build and covered the work/finishes/extras we wanted done.

I'm happy to work with that.

Tefral

Only Contract id sign would be the RIAI Blue Form for a job like this. I wouldn't even bother with the Pink form as its useless but it is more suited to the type of work you describe.

It sounds mental to me that you would allow a builder to have such control over the design OP. Do you have a breakdown of what materials he is going to use? What U-Values you are going to get etc?

It doesnt matter if the builder is a "friend" they are about pure profit, without a full breakdown of what is going in, how are you supposed to check it as its going on?

kkelliher

jay0109 wrote: »

The contract is the standard contract as laid out for example, on Tradesman.ie or the Irish Architectural Institute (I think is the name).
The appendices to it included the design for the building and the schedule of works which were specific to our build and covered the work/finishes/extras we wanted done.

I'm happy to work with that.

The "standard contract"........... and have you omitted the price variation clauses? altered/selected the applicable insurance options etc? No point in having a Contract just for Contracts sake. Contracts are there to provide risk transfer and certainty to all parties but you need to understand them first. Taking a contract off the internet is not going to be standard.

jay0109

The Builder had a standard contract which closely matched/was similar to contracts on the websites mentioned. It was then altered to match our build/requirements.
I'm building a 300ft extension, not the empire state building.

Whats the alternative- hire a legal team to create a bespoke contract?

kkelliher

jay0109 wrote: »

The Builder had a standard contract which closely matched/was similar to contracts on the websites mentioned. It was then altered to match our build/requirements.
I'm building a 300ft extension, not the empire state building.

Whats the alternative- hire a legal team to create a bespoke contract?

no. even simpler than that is to take the RIAI standard form of contract which has been tried and tested over decades (and costs about €30) and use same. Anything other than that is bespoke and therefore has an opportunity to cause issues. You dont need to be building the empire state building to get into contractual and financial issues.