Sidereturn - is it hell? Post Reply

[NorthcoteLuvvie]

Hi NappyValley
We're thinking of having a side return done but I've heard so many nightmare dinner party stories that I'm a bit worried to say the least.

Everyone seems to say that it is hell to live through and that your whole life turns to dust!

Is it that bad? Do we move out? Don't they start building temporary kitchens in your lving room?

Please share as we REALLY want it done but are quite freaked out!

NCL

[scrappybluecat]

Certainly very dusty but not too bad at all with good building firm. We lived upstairs with a temporary kitchen and ate lots of ready meals and it was fine. Suggest you get EVERYTHING agreed before they start and ideally have one company doing everything otherwise its always the plumber blaming the electrician etc etc. Hope this helps and good luck!

Scrappybluecat

[SJ1979]

Hello,
We're in the same boat, need a side return done, but cannot afford to rent short-term and move out temporarily. My husband says he'll stay 'on site' at all times, as he loves all of that, and likes picking up on any mistakes the builders make. I half thought of taking a couple of weeks off work and taking our daughter to stay with my parents during the real nitty gritty dusty part!
Would certainly recommend you get one company to do the lot, and can highly recommend LJS Property who've just completed our top floor renovations and provide everything right down to carpet fitters etc at very reasonable and competitive prices, we lived through that dust... so I am beginning to get used to it now! http://www.ljsproperty.com
Hope this helps and good luck!

[Fleur]

My first post on this site although I do browse lots

I think that having a side return is a bit like childbirth - pretty awful at the time and then just amazing when its over. I love ours and cant imagine being without it.

But, I agree with the other posts, there is masses of dust and it does seem to hang around for quite a while, it was the thing that got me down the most

Try Hurlingham - we had them recommended to us and I have to say that they were great, very, very helpful and professional. Nothing was too much trouble.

http://www.hurlinghamdevelopments.co.uk/

Good luck,
Fleur

[Northcote Mum]

hi there - well a side return or a refurb of any description is not without its dust and distruption no matter which building firm you contact and deploy.

Having rennovated one full house and then had a side return completed, I can highly recommend Hurlingham Developments www.hurlinghamdevelopments.co.uk - I think they advertise on this site also. They were professional and cleaned up after themselves on entry into my house and also after each days work. They are used to dealing with mothers and babies / children as seemed to be very considerate with me and all my additional needs as a mother that needed to blend and cook in the kitchen.
Hope that helps its not as bad as it seems although it may seem daunting at first. Hope that helps and good luck

[jeanatbalmain]

The key to a successful building project is planning, planning, planning. It can be a roller coaster of emotions but if you focus on the end result you'll get there.
We can help with the whole project from design through construction to completion - as much or as little as you need, all project managed.
Without doubt there will be dust but we try to keep our sites as clean as possible. We advise our clients to allocate a room in the house to storage and put everything in there you don't need for the duration of the project and seal it up.
We can set up a temporary kitchen and washing machine but it will inevitably feel a little like camping - but focus on the end result. We haven't had a client yet who says it wasn't worth it.
Please call in to see us - Balmain London Ltd, 59 Broomwood Road - (opposite SDS) 020 7223 6333