Family lives disrupted and in conflict across Sheffield due to 1.7 month extension delays

The typical home extension project in Sheffield overruns by an average of 1.7 months, according to new research.

According to the findings, just one in six extension projects in the city runs to schedule. The findings show that the city in the UK with the longest average delays is Southampton, at 3.6 months, while the location with the shortest delays is Edinburgh, at one month.

Of the people in Sheffield who’ve had an extension in the last five years, a third said the delays ended up costing them more than they’d budgeted for, and two fifths said their house wasn’t ready for a significant event – such as Christmas, big birthdays or bringing home a new baby. A third of homeowners said the delays left them feeling stressed, two fifths lost sleep, and a fifth were less productive at work. Other knock-on effects include how well homeowners were able to socialise (10%) and children being unable to do their homework (20%).

Delays also led to conflicts, with a fifth saying it caused arguments in their household, and one in ten saying they fell out with their neighbours. Many have been involved with disagreements with those undertaking the work, with 20% saying they fell out with their builders and tradespeople throughout the delays.

The research also found that almost one in five homeowners having an extension built faced additional complications, including having to accommodate unforeseen challenges such as extra groundwork (18%), having to use multiple different trade teams (54%), their home being exposed while work was carried out (27%), complications with their design (27%), and mess elsewhere in their property (8%).

Alex Hewitt, Marketing Director for new building system hup!, which undertook the research, said: “A home extension project can often be a major undertaking, and potential delays are one of the main worries people have before building work begins. While our findings show there are reasons to be concerned about traditional methods of building, hup! has been designed as a new and transformative option to eradicate those fears.

“For example, hup! is five times faster to build, meaning what would usually take weeks or months will take days or weeks. This is because it’s delivered as a kit of parts which are connected together rapidly on site, and it can be built in any conditions meaning it isn’t subject to lengthy weather delays.

“There are additional benefits to hup!, too. For example, for those wanting to transform an old conservatory, it can be built onto an existing base which saves a homeowner more time, money and hassle, and it is installed by a single team who manage the project from end to end, meaning there aren’t four or five different trades on site at any one time.

“The hup! system is already having a big impact across the UK for homeowners looking for a faster, easier and more sustainable way to build. By using hup!, homeowners in Sheffield can worry less about the stress of potential delays and disruption, and instead focus on a brand new space which will change their lives.”