Questions people ask before they call.

Many single-storey rear extensions fall under permitted development, but the limits depend on your property type, whether it is in a conservation area, and whether previous extensions have used up the allowance. We will tell you honestly at the survey which route applies, and we work to either a planning approval or a lawful development certificate.

You can appoint your own, or we can recommend engineers and approved inspectors we work with regularly. Either way we book the inspections and are on site for them, so nothing is covered up before it has been seen.

If you are excavating within three metres of a neighbouring structure or building off a shared wall, a party wall notice is normally required. We will flag it at survey stage so there is time to serve notice — it is one of the most common causes of a delayed start.

The noisy phase is groundworks and the opening-up, which is usually two to three days of genuine disruption. The rest is manageable. We sheet and screen the working area, keep a single access route, and clear the site at the end of every day.

As a working rule you want at least 2.2 metres from the top of the existing ceiling joists to the underside of the ridge before conversion. Less than that and the options narrow to lowering the ceilings below or raising the ridge, both of which change the cost significantly. We measure this on the first visit.

Rooflight conversions and many rear dormers fall under permitted development, subject to volume limits and conservation area status. Hip-to-gable and anything to the front elevation usually needs a planning application. All conversions need building regulations approval regardless.

Only if it meets the fire escape and head height requirements and has building-control sign-off. A conversion without a completion certificate can hold up a sale or a remortgage, which is why we treat the certificate as part of the job rather than an optional extra.

Usually yes. Most of the structural work is done from outside via scaffold, and the opening into the house is left until late in the programme. There is typically one disruptive week when the stairwell is formed.

For a whole-house refurbishment involving a rewire and replaster, yes — it is faster, cheaper and safer. For phased work where we take a floor at a time, staying is workable. We will give you an honest view based on the scope rather than what is convenient for us.

Payment is by bank transfer in stages against completed work, set out in the written quotation. There is a deposit to secure the start date and order materials, then stage payments as each phase completes, with a final balance on handover.

Older properties nearly always hide something. When we find it we stop, photograph it, price the remedial work as a written variation, and you decide before we proceed. Nothing gets added to your bill without your agreement in writing.

Yes. Leasehold work usually needs freeholder consent and often a licence to alter, particularly for anything structural or for changes to flooring build-up. We will tell you what consents are needed before work starts.

Yes, and most of our kitchen work is exactly that. We will check the plan against the room before you place the order if you want us to — it is much cheaper to correct a plan than a delivery.

For a like-for-like replacement, usually two to three weeks. Where the layout changes or a wall comes out, three to five. We will set up a temporary sink and worktop where there is space for one.

Yes. For stone and quartz we coordinate the templater once the cabinets are level and fixed, which is typically a week before the worktop is installed.

A like-for-like replacement is typically ten to fourteen working days. A wet room, or a bathroom where the layout changes and the soil connection moves, runs to three weeks. Tanking needs curing time that cannot be rushed.

Usually yes, but it depends on the joist depth and the floor build-up available. A wet room needs a recessed former or a graded screed to get the fall, and that has to come out of the floor depth. We check this at survey.

Either. Most clients buy their own suite and tiles, which gives you full control over the look and the budget. We will check specifications against the room before you order.

Usually, yes. We take a profile from the existing skirting, architrave or panelling and have cutters made where the profile is not a stock one. It is the difference between fitted furniture that looks original and fitted furniture that looks added.

Where the room can be masked and ventilated properly, yes — a sprayed finish is noticeably flatter than a brushed one. For occupied houses we often finish doors off site and brush-apply the frames.

That is how it works best. Building the joinery into the main programme means power, lighting and wall build-ups are set out for it in advance rather than worked around afterwards.

We can supply at trade rates, or you can buy your own if you have specific colours in mind. Either way we will tell you which finish and which primer the substrate needs before you order.

Yes, and most of our decorating is done in occupied homes. We work room by room, protect everything, use dust-extracted sanders and low-odour products where possible, and clear down each evening.

April to October in practice. Most exterior coatings need surface temperatures above about 8°C and dry conditions to cure properly, so we do not push exterior work into the middle of winter.

Yes. We keep capacity for maintenance work alongside the larger projects, because a lot of our extension and renovation clients come from a small repair we did years earlier.

Yes. We deal with agents regularly — we can arrange access with tenants directly, report back with photographs, and invoice the agent or the landlord as you prefer.

We prioritise anything causing active damage — a leak, a failed roof, an insecure door or window. Call the number on this site and you will speak to one of the team rather than an answering service.