Costs of a kitchen extension
I thought I had done my research thoroughly and budgeted approx £40k for a 26sqm single story extension to my existing kitchen, making it 40sqm as a whole. This was for the build only, without the cost of doors, windows, roof lantern, kitchen, flooring and appliances. I expected to spend a further £30-40k on this.
What I got were quotes at over £90k before VAT!! With VAT, these quotes worked out to approx £4,000 per square meter, just for build alone. We're not even talking London prices - we live in the home counties.
I'm not a penny pincher, but I just don't think I could justify spending £140k on a single story kitchen extension. Extensions are supposed to add value to a property but we wouldn't even "break even" at this rate. Can others tell me if I'm genuinely out of touch here, or are the builders in our area just particularly avaricious?
Comments (27)
Phil Scott
3 years agoThat sounds a lot to me. £2500 per sqm inc VAT would be more reasonable. That’s roughly what we’re paying for a similar sized single storey extension. I would get some more quotes if I were you.
gennyjane thanked Phil Scott
Ellie
3 years agoAny google search would indicate around £45-£55k for the build. Your extra £40k to spend on the other fittings sounds a lot - you can easily do a fab kitchen for £10k, flooring £3k, doors £6k, appliances £2k - so there could be some savings in that area to be made that could help with the build?
gennyjane thanked EllieRelated Discussions
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Comments (0)My first story kitchen extension looks like it's separating from the main house. There is a 2 inch crack in the concrete all the way round. Is there anything that I can do to fix this. I am saving for a new extension but will take me a few years. It looks like the roof felt is coming away from the house too as there are wet patches on the ceiling. Any advice would be appreciated...See Moresarh123
3 years agoWe were in this position then one of the builders pointed out that we could cut costs significantly by a simpler approach to the structural work (eg not removing the corner of the house). The architect amended the plans and costs came down. I’d ask builders for feedback and advice on potential savings.
gennyjane thanked sarh123gennyjane
Original Author3 years agoThanks all for your feedback. @Phil Scott - we've had three quotes now and all of them range from 90-120K! I can understand one or even two builders being expensive, but three seems to be setting a trend!
To be honest @sarh123, the build itself is pretty straightforward, its an (almost) rectangle build, with one long new windowless wall, and the other new walls are mostly windows and french doors. I'm adding a couple of glass roof lanterns for light, but they come pre-built, so it is all about fitting them. Its basically a box extension. There'll be a walk in larder inside the new structure but will basically be made up with plasterboard walls. I'm not sure how much more simpler we could make the build. We could remove the roof lanterns, but then we'd be plunged into darkness for half the kitchen.
The quote breakdowns (even before VAT) show that costs range from £6400 to plaster the walls, over £10k to install the roof lanterns (not supply them, but install them, already fully built) and £7k just to install the kitchen - which is fully built and not even flat-packed. Even my husband who is no DIY-er can install a pre-built kitchen - he's done it once before so I guess @Ellie there is one saving!
Unfortunately one builder is quoting £16k just for the building one new wall. He says that I'd have to pay £1.20 per brick and £2.40 per block in labour, and that he then has the cost of the bricks which he has quoted as £1.40 per brick! The longest (and virtually only) new wall we are building is 7.7m in length and the rest as I mentioned earlier are doors and windows.
@Ellie - we were hoping to get our kitchens from DIY-kitchens.com who do a good range at a competitive price - I'm not sure we'd get better value elsewhere. My worktops will probably be laminate and the flooring will probably be engineered wood. There isn't much I could trim off the cost of the internal fittings. I'd budgeted to spend a lot on the roof lanterns (15k) but they are looking like they'd come in at nearer £5k which I think is really reasonable for the size, so I've potentially saved there. But I have to replace a lot of appliances some of which are coming up to almost 15 years old and are barely hanging on by a thread, so I'd already budgeted for about 2-3k for them. Frankly though I feel a bit cheated having to find savings through cheap kitchen fittings just so I can afford to pay the builders nearly four times their purchase cost to fit them!gennyjane
Original Author3 years agoThis is the proposed new layout - the area surrounded with the bold line. The furthest edge of the island unit approximately defines the boundaries of our existing kitchen.
PROAPT Renovation Limited
3 years agoHi Genny.
APT Renovation here. May I ask where the property is located as we are a design and build company that specialise in home extensions. We operate in South London and if you are located in our areas of operation we could offer you a free consultation! (This is so we can keep transport and other costs down for you)
In the meantime if you would like to look at some of our work you can head to https://www.aptrenovation.co.uk/
Looking forward to hearing from you.Kind regards,
APT Renovation Ltd
gennyjane thanked APT Renovation Limited
PRONest Estimating Ltd
3 years agoHi gennyjane, we can provide you with a budget cost estimate for this project. The budget cost estimate provides a detailed breakdown of works and expenses as well as highlighting potential areas where you can save money. If this is something of interest please send the plans and photos to hello@nestestimating.co.uk and we can provide you with a quote
gennyjane thanked Nest Estimating Ltdsarh123
3 years agoI think you might be removing the corner of your house as we originally were and steel is expensive! I’d start by checking how much space you really need-an interior designer took a look at our plans and advised we didn’t need so much, then we simplified the build (extending in one direction not two) which removed about 6sq m and lots of structural work-now it’s built it’s perfect.
I’ve had 3 extensions over 20years, using small local builders on personal recommendation-first two were great and they did everything through to final decorating at a very fair price. Latest not so good (we’ve relocated) and so we used local specialist companies for kitchen, windows, flooring etc after the building of the “shell”.
Our aluminium roof lantern 2.4x1.2 was £1700 supplied and fitted. Builder prepared the upstand. I had a bespoke kitchen from a local cabinetmaker, they charged £900 for their recommended fitters. I’d also look closely at windows -we’ve spent £40k less than one of the quotes we got!
I’d go back to the builders and ask how to cut costs and see if any friends can recommend anyone else to quote. I’d also allow plenty for the fitting out so you can do it without compromising.gennyjane thanked sarh123Ellie
3 years agoWe used DIY kitchens too! Highly recommend. We have a run of 4m and an island 1.8m and a 1m full height larder unit. Kitchen units were under £4k, granite worktops £2, our builder installed for £500!
gennyjane
Original Author3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoThanks all - again really useful info. @sarh123 We do have to remove a supporting wall - Its absolutely necessary because no amount of re-arranging our current space would enable us to get the space we need. We fitted our original kitchen over 15 years ago and maxed out the space we had available back then. Apart from a couple of useless glass cabinets (lets face it, you stop looking at your best china on display after the first few weeks and gradually start resenting the space it takes up when you have to store your tins and packets in the downstairs cloakroom!) everything else has been fully
manipulated to cram as much in as possible.Agree that steel purchase and fitting is indeed expensive, but in the breakdowns it seems that EVERYTHING is expensive. I have had several walls replastered in the past, a couple that had to be taken back to brick and there is no way we paid anything like £6.5 - £7.5k (before VAT) for a plaster! And I can't believe I could be paying £2.80 or more PER BRICK to get a wall built!
But a great idea from @Phil Scott and @sarh123 about going to independent trades. It is more work for us (sadly) but it might be the way to go! It seems to me that construction companies sort of lump in all the trades together and then slap a huge surcharge on top. We have an architect/PM on board and it will mean we have to rely on him more to ensure everything is completed in the right sequence. @sarh123 who did you go with for your windows? Are they national? We did use mybuilder.com and one of our quotes came from a builder we found here. The others we actually found on Houzz! We are based in Surrey.
@APT Renovation Limited and @Nest Estimating Ltd I'm going to be honest with you and say that we really don't want to pay more than 35-40K for the straight build and materials. Doors, windows, roof lanterns and all internal fittings would be separate. In total we thought 80k (incl VAT) would be a healthy budget for the entire build so depending on the cost of the fittings and fixtures they may be a little lee-way. Anything more than this would not add any value to the house price as it stands in our area. And whilst we are not looking to move, it is the point at which we measure whether any house renovation is worth the money.
sarh123
3 years agoI wasn’t suggesting reorganising (we’ve just added 40 Sq m). Removing a supporting wall wasn’t expensive (I think we paid £1500 plus VAT for each one we removed), the expensive part would have been removing a corner where two supporting walls meet and creating very large openings, so I was told. As the builder said -it’s easy for an architect to draw something but it doesn’t mean it’s easy to build!
Did the architect/PM commission your quotes? I’d try some builders direct so they can comment on the plans frankly and tell you what they can achieve for your budget. And I’d try hard to get builders via friends-the best don’t advertise. Otherwise I think the Federation of Master Builders checks out its members?
Our window company was small local-I probably rang about 30 to discuss what I wanted and asked for quotes from the 6 I thought would achieve the finish I wanted.
Good luck!gennyjane thanked sarh123gennyjane
Original Author3 years ago@sarh123 Sorry I misunderstood. The dining area in the new build is currently part of an existing conservatory which needs to be demolished in the next year or two anyway, since the wood is rotting away. Besides which, it is freezing in the winter months and boiling in summer so can only be used in Spring and Autumn.
The new dining part of the extension will be sitting on the footprint of the old conservatory (once we've created the obligatory foundation layer), so I guess the only brand new, new-build will be to the side of the house. We could make that part of the extension narrower (and therefore smaller internally) but we would still have to cover the same amount of ground. Since the build costs appear to be based on the work required, all this will do is give us only a fraction more storage space than we currently have AND make the overall cost per square meter rocket!
Our architect is great. We suggested the builders we wanted to approach based on feedback (one or two of whom we'd already contacted even before our architect came on board). He sent them a pretty bog standard list of works and we've had quotes back directly from most of our builders, copying him in. I asked one for feedback on his quote and he gave me the usual stuff about quality work for quality pricing, years of experience and great contacts etc. but really didn't explain why the costs for some of the more standard trades services required were so much more exorbitantly expensive than others.
Our architect is also quite taken aback by the quotes. He say's he's never seen prices being quoted so high and he is currently working on builds that he says are similar in size and structure to ours that are charging the sort of prices that were mentioned earlier in this thread. He thinks it may be down to our location - like I guess the builders in our area think that all Surrey residents have clothes lined in gold leaf with a million spare in the bank! He's speaking to a contact of his who works outside the county but who might be prepared to quote for us - he reckons we will get a far more realistic quote from him.
In the meantime, I think it is a good idea to speak to individual tradesmen rather than general building contractors, so that is what I think we might do next.
PROEulinea Ltd
3 years agoHi Gennyjane,
Yes, as an Architect working in Surrey, sadly I have noticed a steady increase in tender returns in the last few months, and I was told (by a builder) this may have something to do with the lockdown no.1 when lots of people started spending money on renovating their homes / hiring tradesmen ... supply and demand - the builders's wages have gone rocket high... Try and negotiate your price and ask your Architect to write a detailed Schedule of Works to send out to builders; it will help you see where you could potentially save money / have better financial control...gennyjane thanked Eulinea LtdJonathan
3 years agoI also think those costs are high. I can’t understand why the roof lanterns cost £10k to install, I would expect the kitchen installation to be £4/5kmax and surely there is only 6 days work for a plasterer (unless you are rendering the outside) so £6k plasterer cost is laughable.
In fairness I don’t agree with your assessment that it’s a simple build as you are taking out the corner of your house and you are building corners that are not square. Perhaps a simpler layout may help you to manage costs too
gennyjane thanked Jonathangennyjane
Original Author3 years agoThanks @Jonathan and @Eulinea Ltd for your contribution. Sadly @Eulinea Ltd, I think you may be right about the knock on effects from lockdown. One builder complained about the difficulty in getting hold of usually plentiful stock items, which may effect prices further down the chain. However I do suspect it is even simpler than that - the law of supply and demand.
A lot of people I know - friends, family and work colleagues - are all of a sudden considering upgrades to existing space and creating home offices with the long term prospect of working from home. I suspect this is a boom time for some builders.
I did try negotiating with a contractor on prices early on in the process, but he was having none of it. Clearly there are many people out there with deeper pockets and less patience who would happily pay them a premium to fit out their homes asap. Why bother negotiating for burgers when there is fillet steak ready for grilling in the fridge!
A detailed Schedule of Works is on its way - once planning permission has been agreed on our initial design. Our shortlist of contractors have had to make do with high level technical design and a broad brush list of works until then. And even though they have all said that prices will change with a detailed schedule, let's face it, the quotes are hardly likely to go down and far more likely to go up!
@Jonathan thank you for the re-designed Kitchen layout. I must admit I hadn't thought about doing something like that and it gave me pause for thought. However, neither of us are fans of open plan living and the prospect of having kitchen smells invading the living room, is awful. We cook a lot of heavily seasoned and spiced foods. Any cook would tell you that regular use of heavy spices will have strong smells lingering for weeks if not years in soft furnishings - the sort of deep seated odour that no amount of dry cleaning or Febreze will remove. Then of coursehaving to share living space with a recently used and messy dining table piles on pressure to start the cleaning up process immediately after taking the last mouthful. Which is OK after breakfast, but not after an elegant evening dinner with friends. But the alternative - leaving it to sit (and fester) for even 20 minutes after finishing a meal is unthinkable. I'm a bit OCD about that sort of thing.
And at the end of the day, the real reason we combined kitchen and dining room was because of the social aspect.
Family and friends insist on following me into my tiny kitchen, drinking wine and generally getting under my feet whilst I work. Having a combined living and dining room would not alleviate the problem - besides which I secretly rather enjoy feeling like part of the company instead of being abandoned in the kitchen to get on with the graft of cooking up a storm, whilst my husband gets all the fun of hosting :-)Jonathan
3 years agoIf you are worrying about cooking smells perhaps you just need to invest more in the extractor. There is lots of choice of extractors with external motors meaning you can have both powerful and quieter in the house. Currently I like Falmec for this
gennyjane thanked Jonathan
PROi-architect
3 years agoThose are crazy prices!! You could look at some alternatives like factory made timber panels instead of masonry - that can be faster to build and may have potential savings given the prices you've been quoted. The more detail the more accurate the costs will be. Without the detail builders will make assumptions which may not be correct. So it's very possible that the costs will go down and not up with more detailed information. Builders often price in for risk. They see more risk in a project that has less information.
gennyjane thanked i-architectgennyjane
Original Author3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoThanks again for the feedback. @Jonathan It's not just about the smells, although it is a big factor. Irrespective of a good extractor, when you use a lot of curry spices over many years, fabrics will pick up smells eventually, trust me. But I will have a look at that Falmec extractor anyway, so thanks for the tip!
@i-architect thanks for that idea about timber panels - I presume you mean timber frame with a brick external layer? If so, then our architect said much the same thing when we discussed quotes yesterday evening. Although we would still have a brickwork cost to deal with.
You might also be on the nose about providing more detail. I guess after the shock of the quotes, we were both feeling rather negative. Perhaps the quotes would go down with more detail, but its just a bit of a gamble to take on a contractor and hope for the best. Besides which, the quotes were so far out of our ballpark that I suspect even if they came down by 20% they would still be too high!
Our architect is still optimistic that we will get something more compatible within our budget from contractors outside the county, but even if that comes to nothing, the idea of using independent traders whilst more complicated might work out more cost effective if all else fails.
- PRO
i-architect
3 years agoSounds like you have a decent architect who will figure something out to help you. If it's just that the market is very hot right now because of the demand levels, then maybe you just need to wait a bit longer for things to cool down to get prices that are more within your budget. The time of year can affect the level of tender returns related to how busy the builders feel so how much or not they want or need the work.
sarh123
3 years agoTake a look at the post by kjas11 - in your position with a Grand Design but builders' estimates at triple the architect's estimate. They took some of Jonathan's advice on the plan and his tip to work backwards to see what you can actually afford on your build. They found a builder who engaged with the project, used a space planner for best use of the rooms and have now started work.
- PRO
Eulinea Ltd
3 years agoHi Gennyjane,
Can you please tell where about you are in the country, I might be able to put a name forward for a good builder that is not going to break your bank... 
PRORoom-by-Room (UK) Ltd
3 years agoHi Gennyjane,
Have you considered this....
Some builders merchants offer an estimating service. Travis Perkins for example will calculate the quantity of materials based on the architects building regulations drawings and provide you with a list of products and prices. This is a very useful tool as the service is free of charge. The rule of thumb is that the material cost is 1/3 of the total cost and therefore the labour cost is 2/3.
Have you considered appointing a project manager to work with you to build the extension?You'll pay the PM a fixed price fee, normally a percentage of the actual build cost. The PM is responsible for the program, ensure timescale and milestones are met, sourcing materials and negotiating labour and costs. The PM has trade accounts with main suppliers and will pass the full discount for materials on to the client. The materials are paid off weekly by the client direct to the suppliers. The client pays the workforce direct on a weekly basis.
gennyjane thanked Room-by-Room (UK) Ltd- PRO
Eulinea Ltd
3 years agoI think this will bring a great deal of cost uncertainty, sorry Room-by-Room.....
You need to ask for a fixed price from your prospective Contractors, based on detailed drawings and a Schedule of Works, itemised, so you could see in great detail how you are spending your money. If you just pay materials and workforce you have no control over the speed of work, reaching milestones etc. and thus costs can easily escalate. I am certain your Architect can administer your contract / agreement with your Contractor, there is no need for a specific Project Manager unless your Architect does not provide this service, which will be a pity.gennyjane thanked Eulinea Ltd 
Sarah U-S
3 years agoGosh - that does sound expensive!
What about taking a breather and putting the build off until the new year? Not ideal I know - however hopefully the Covid factor might be improved and building materials might come down? Things often come down to supply and demand...
- PRO
Room-by-Room (UK) Ltd
3 years agoUnder any other circumstances I would agree. Unfortunately the last lock down caused a massive hole in general building materials due to manufacturing halting for 6 weeks. Just a few short weeks ago there was a huge shortage of C24 50 x 100 regularised timber and in fact many other standard timber sizes were also unavailable. Timber costs have gone up about 15% since this time last year. With the uncertainty in the building industry I have noticed that many builders have increased their prices by as much as 20%.
May I suggest the following:Review the complexity of the design with a view to simplifying the structure. For example inserting a post under the main support beam may be the easiest solution. Thus, potentially reducing the weight of the steel and creating better geometry from the engineers perspective. I don't know the proposed size of the opening but if your engineer has designed a picture frame with a steel beam in the floor encased in concrete then adding a post on a localised foundation could reduce the build cost significantly.
I wish you good luck - there are a lot of great ideas provided by all of the contributors for your consideration. kjas11
3 years agoHi, for us taking a step back and re thinking with a local builder who we really got on with was the game changer. He had people he worked with regularly who helped with amending the drawings etc. He also really wanted the job because he could see the potential, we are also fortunate to have a big green with easy access to the plot. He was one of many I contacted through Checkatrade after reading reviews. We really had got stuck trying to adapt the grand design to fit our budget and were intending to go ahead with that end result. Then one day I was in the garden and looked back at the house and realised we were going to end up with some pointless box on the back of the house so I posted on Houzz and now work has started and we are really excited. Covid has made a difference to cost and availability but our builder is as on top of that as he can be and we are taking his advice on e.g which bricks are readily available and reasonably priced. It is early days for our build (concrete poured on Friday) so we have our fingers crossed it will stay a positive experience throughout! So my advice would be don’t give up but be prepared to keep searching for the right person to help you achieve what you want, be open to the suggestions of others but don’t forget how you want to use the space when you have it. Good luck.
gennyjane thanked kjas11
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Phil Scott