We did it - contract signed!

Yesterday we finally signed our building contract after seven weeks of almost daily phone calls or e-mails between us and the building group. It has been a long and frustrating couple of months why we waited for questions to be answered and new quotes to be done. Everything seemed to take so much longer then I thought it would and we haven't even started the build yet.

However I am glad we were thorough, so hopefully there won't be too many surprises during the build.

Now I thought I would give a few examples of things we questioned to give you an idea of what to consider if you are negotiating a building contract.

We asked to see what internal doors, external sliding glass doors and windows they were going to put in - so glad we did as they weren't what we wanted even though we had specified high quality in the beginning. Fittings such as these are worth checking as builders often use cheaper models so they can pass on a lower overall quote.

This was also the case with flooring, cornices and picture rails which weren't what we expected in all rooms.

Timeline - we were given a number of days but make sure you are clear what is considered a builders day and what contingencies have been included. It is also good to have a clear commencement and end date.

Anyway we may have sorted the contract but I am told that now the real fun and games begin especially as we are living in the house for the whole build.

Living in the house - the staged plan

As mentioned in previous posts we plan on living in our house while we renovate and extend. If it was just my husband and I this wouldn't be too much of an issue. We are happy to use a portaloo or shower for a while and move from room to room at a quick rate as different parts of the house are worked on. But with two kids under five, one a very active toddler this becomes a little more difficult and we have realised has to be planned out a lot more.

With this in mind we have decided on a two stage process. Step one to convert the main bathroom into an en suite, requiring us to move out of our bedroom into the lounge for a couple of weeks. Then a few months later step two, once we have moved back into our bedroom we will be able to use the lounge for all our living as the back walls get knocked out. Plus at this stage we loose currently our only toilet, hence the need to have one operating in the front of the house before this happens.

The other plan we have just realised we need to put in place (through a recent bathroom store expedition with two kids in tow) is a babysitting one, for when we need to pack up parts of the house or go hunting for fixtures.