Residential renovation
We renovate flats and houses across West London and Essex under one contract: strip-out, plaster and render repair, joinery, the trades in between and the decoration that finishes it. One specification and one fixed price. Projects run up to around £300,000, with a 12-month defects period on the building work when we are done. You get one named contact from survey to handover.
What is included
- A survey and a written specification that itemises every trade and every material, with each provisional sum named before you see a price
- Strip-out, plaster and render repair, carpentry and joinery and the decoration to finish, all carried in house. Gas and electrical work goes to the same long-standing subcontractors we have used for years, who hold the certification and issue it
- Conversions: garage to wet room, accessibility works and the alterations that make a period flat work as a modern one. We have turned a garage into a bathroom, and at a flat in Maida Vale, W9, we fitted decoupled acoustic ceilings to five rooms, built a new bathroom and decorated throughout
- Acoustic and soundproofing works where a wall, floor or ceiling needs it
- A named project lead you meet at survey, with our operations director on site day to day, RAMS written by him and a weekly written progress report with photographs for every client
- A six-month visit on projects over £15,000 and a 12-month defects period on renovation and building works, unless the contract says otherwise
What is not included
- Planning drawings and full architectural design schemes, which come from your architect or designer. We build strictly to them and flag in writing where site conditions require adjustments. For straightforward bathroom layouts we handle the design in-house, but we do not operate as an architectural design practice.
- Structural engineering, building control fees and other third-party costs, which are yours. We are happy to arrange them for you, and we set out on the estimate what we expect them to come to
- Kitchens, bathrooms and appliances as supply items unless the specification includes them. We are happy to buy them for you or to help you buy them, charged at cost plus an agreed margin, and we confirm every purchase with you and add it to the order before we spend anything
Typical projects
- A period flat taken back to the brick in the rooms that need it and refinished throughout, with the acoustic work done while the walls are open
- A house with a wet room where the garage was, or a ground floor reworked for step-free living. Where works are required due to a disability, qualifying adaptations such as accessible wet rooms, ramps, widened doorways and lifts can be zero-rated for VAT under HMRC Notice 701/7.
- A refurbishment for a landlord or a managing agent between tenancies, priced to a programme, see managing agents
Are you the principal contractor on a renovation?
Where a renovation involves more than one contractor, we hold the principal contractor role under CDM 2015. We plan the construction phase, write the construction phase plan, set the site rules and coordinate the other trades. We are independently assessed for it: we hold both approved scopes on the SSIP register, Contractor and Principal Contractor.
Are you a main contractor or a decorator?
A specialist contractor, and decorating is where we started. It is still the finish on every renovation we run, which is why our projects end with a decorated room rather than a room waiting for the decorator. One contract, one specification, one price, one firm answerable for the building.
How do you price a renovation?
Fixed. The specification names every item, and we fix the price for what it describes. Where we cannot see something at survey, such as what sits behind a boxed-in pipe or under a floor, we price it as a named provisional sum and say so. You know before you sign which lines can move and why.
Who runs the job day to day?
A named lead, and you meet him at survey. Our operations director runs the site day to day and moves between our jobs several times a day, and a working foreman holds the site while he is away. You get a weekly written report with photographs while we are on site, and we put decisions to you in writing.
What happens after handover?
A 12-month defects liability period on all building work, unless your contract specifies otherwise. Projects over £15,000 include a scheduled six-month return visit for snagging. Decorating and finishing carry our two-year workmanship guarantee, and bespoke joinery we manufacture carries a ten-year guarantee.
Recent projects
At a flat in Maida Vale, W9, we renovated throughout under one contract. We fitted decoupled acoustic ceilings to five rooms, built a three-quarter bathroom and decorated the whole flat once the trades were out. The acoustic work went in while the ceilings were open, which is the cheapest time it will ever be done.
Indicative cost
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A bathroom is usually £7,500 to £20,000.
A garage or loft conversion is £25,000 to £45,000.
A whole flat renovation runs from £40,000 to £120,000.
We take on public projects up to around £300,000.
What moves it: how much of the existing layout stays, whether the work needs structural alteration, the level of the sanitaryware and joinery and whether anyone is living there while we work.
Frequently asked questions
Do you work with our architect or designer?
Yes. We build to your architect's drawings and schedule of finishes, and where the building disagrees with a drawing we raise it in writing before proceeding. For bathroom schemes we can handle straightforward layouts in-house. We do not have tied design partners, so we work collaboratively with whichever architect or interior designer you choose to appoint.
Can you do the acoustic work at the same time?
Yes, and it is the best time to do it. We can build the soundproofing into a wall, floor or ceiling while it is open, which disrupts the house far less than the same work in a finished room. See acoustic and soundproofing works.
Is VAT charged on accessibility works?
Certain works for a disabled person qualify for VAT zero-rating in their private home. This includes bathroom and wet room adaptations, access ramps, widening doorways or passages, and installing lifts. It does not apply to general renovation, new kitchens or standard redecoration. We set out the applicable VAT treatment line by line on your quotation based on your eligibility declaration under HMRC VAT Notice 701/7.
How long does a renovation take?
A one-bedroom flat is 8 to 16 weeks. A three-bedroom house is 14 to 18 weeks, and a whole period house 20 to 34 weeks. Conversions go by type: a garage is 2 to 4 weeks, a Velux loft 4 to 6 weeks, a dormer 10 to 12 and a mansard 12 to 16. The programme goes out with the quotation.
Tell us about the project.
We reply within one working hour, 7:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. Outside those hours, first thing the next working morning.
Enquiry form
Thank you. Someone from our office will call or email you within the hour if it is a working day, or first thing the next working morning.