House renovation and refurbishment in London

It is driven by floor area, how much structure moves, and whether the services are replaced or patched. A cosmetic refresh and a full refurbishment of the same house are different projects with different numbers. Our cost guides break down where the money goes room by room. We give a range after the first walk-round and a fixed price once the schedule of work is agreed.

For a small flat with sound services and no structural change, it can cover a great deal. For a three-bed house needing a rewire, a replumb, a kitchen, two bathrooms and structural work, it will not. The useful question is which rooms and which systems the budget reaches. Tell us the figure early and we will tell you what it buys before you commission drawings.

The parts you cannot see. A full rewire and replumb, structural openings with steels, drainage alterations and floor build-ups usually account for more than the kitchen and bathrooms that people budget for first. Fittings are easy to price and easy to change; buried services are neither, which is why they belong in the fixed price rather than in a provisional sum.

Internal work rarely needs planning permission, but Building Regulations apply regardless. Permission does come into it if you change the external appearance, convert the house into flats, or alter a listed building. In a conservation area or under an Article 4 direction, window replacement and front elevation changes are controlled. We confirm the position for your address before pricing.

On site, ten to fourteen weeks for an empty two-bed flat, sixteen to twenty-four for an empty three or four-bed house, and twenty-four to thirty-two for the same house occupied throughout. Occupied work is slower because the sequence has to keep a kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom usable at every stage rather than following the fastest order.

Often yes, and it costs time rather than quality. We phase the work floor by floor, keep one bathroom and a working kitchen at all times, and seal the working areas. Expect the water and power to go off on named days. Where a full rewire and a replumb happen at once, most households find a few weeks away cheaper than the extra weeks on the programme.

Yes. Survey, layout drawings, structural calculations and the approvals are part of the contract, and the person who will build the work is involved while the drawings are still changing. If you already have an architect we will work to their drawings instead and price against them, which suits projects where the design is settled before a contractor is chosen.

Both change what is possible and how long consent takes. A listed building needs listed building consent for internal alterations as well as external ones, and unauthorised work is an offence rather than a planning breach. In a conservation area, windows, doors, roof materials and front elevations are controlled. We establish the designation for the address at the survey and build the consent period into the programme.