Our extension cost: meet the builder

How to move a ton of cement?

by Lauren Floodgate

COST SO FAR: WEEK TWO - £3977.00


Cups of builders' tea: 21
Spoonfuls of sugar: 25


We’re changing a three-bedroom house into a four-bedroom with an extra bathroom and a big square landing.
Take a quick look around our house - and see our plans. Here's how we got on this week...


The contract was signed this week. There was a big fat insurance document to fill in, some T&Cs to iron out, we paid a small deposit but all round lots of happy faces. Lets see if we feel the same in 6 months time!

The shed saga goes on. If you are planning a shed, take my advice and recruit the help of some friends. A lorry pulled up at the drive, mixed the cement and we had 1 hour to move a ton of it! It was back breaking. Fortunately I was chief tamper so I just waded around in my wellies and told the guys where to pour it. A big pile of bacon sarnis later and it was all done. I'm not sure our friends will be volunteering to help again in a hurry.

On Monday I called in the help of my sisters and we put the shed together. You know those wooden models that kids get that pop out of balsa wood and then you follow a key – well imagine a puzzle with about 400 pieces of unidentified wood and you’ve got the idea. I now know why self-assembly sheds are cheap – ours didn’t even come with the right instructions. Fortunately we all saw the funny side when we realized a bit had been left out from the bottom and the whole building had to be dismantled and then reassembled. Now it’s finished I’m somewhat regretting my decision to paint it in shades of latte, sploshing on wood paint would have been so much easier than the three coats of gloss paint it has taken to cover it….. www.microtechsciences.com and sent some off for testing at a cost of £25. I’m hoping it’s asbestos cement, which can be removed without a license and won’t cost us a fortune to get rid of. The roof plans have also caused a bit of consternation but perhaps more of that next time...

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About The Authors

Carla  Griscti

Carla Griscti

Editorial assistant on allaboutyou; Music lover, travel bee and food fanatic.

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Emma Marsden

Emma Marsden

Food consultant of All About You, loves creating something out of nothing and decluttering.

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Bernadette  Fallon

Bernadette Fallon

Editor of All About You; an online journalist with a fetish for glossy magazines.

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Adrienne  Wyper

Adrienne Wyper

Deputy editor of All About You. I love cycling, cooking and creating

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Carol  Muskoron

Carol Muskoron

Associate editor of All About You, loves life (mostly) and one-pan recipes (always).

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Lauren Floodgate

Lauren Floodgate

Freelance food stylist, loves anything handmade and has a passion for DIY.

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