South London Renovation FAQs

We cover 25 London boroughs across South East, South, and South West London including Dulwich, Clapham, Bromley, Greenwich, Battersea, Camberwell, Crystal Palace, Lewisham, Croydon, Beckenham, Sydenham, and Putney. Our office is in Anerley (SE20) and most projects sit within a 30-minute drive. The Areas page has the full list with what we typically build in each borough.

Yes — public liability, employer's liability covering the team, and professional indemnity cover. The certificates and renewal dates sit with our CHAS accreditation, and we send copies to you before contracts are signed. Building Control, your party wall surveyor, and your buyer's solicitor at sale time will all ask to see these, and we hand them over without prompting.

NICEIC approved for electrical work — notifiable circuits get Part P notifications done in-house without an external electrician. FENSA registered for glazing, so every window and door gets a certificate your solicitor will want at sale time. CHAS accredited for health and safety, and Gas Safe registered for boiler and pipework. All accreditation numbers are held against the registered company, No. 12721034 — not a sole trader using someone else's credentials.

Three ways: call 020 3920 9617, fill the contact form, or send a WhatsApp. Richard does the site visit himself, usually within 5 working days — a 45-minute walkthrough of what you want, what's possible, and what's not a fit for us. The itemised written quote follows within a further 5 working days, with every trade, material, and fee listed. No deposit, no obligation.

Most South London kitchen extensions start from around £55,000 in 2026. A standard 3-4 metre rear extension on a Victorian terrace with bifolds, structural steel, foundations on London clay, and mid-range finishes starts from around £55,000; wraparounds on 1930s semis start from around £70,000. Crittall glazing, roof lanterns, and bespoke joinery push higher. Fixed-price contract before any work starts, and the borough cost calculator gives a ballpark in two minutes.

Most single-storey rear extensions fall under permitted development, so no planning application is needed — but the limits are specific: 3 metres projection for a terraced house, 4 metres for a detached one, and nothing forward of the front wall. Conservation areas, flats, and anything larger need full planning. We check your property on the council planning portal before quoting. Where it's permitted development we apply for a Lawful Development Certificate (£129) so you have written proof from the council when you sell, and if a full application is needed we handle the drawings and submission.

Ten to fourteen weeks for a standard 3-4 metre rear extension on a Victorian terrace, weather permitting. Side returns and wraparounds add 2-4 weeks. The schedule runs: weeks 1-2 groundworks and foundations, 3-4 steelwork and walls, 5-6 roof and weatherproofing, 7-9 first-fix and plaster, 10-14 kitchen fitting, painting, and snagging. You get a week-by-week programme of works with the quote and photo updates throughout the build.

A full bathroom renovation starts from around £7,000, with the final figure driven by the size of the room and the fittings you choose. En-suites and cloakrooms sit at the lower end, while large bathrooms with premium fixtures cost the most. Every job is priced after a site visit and fixed in writing.

Two to four weeks from strip-out to handover. A cloakroom or simple en-suite runs 2 weeks; a full family bathroom with new tiling, underfloor heating, and a reroute on the cast-iron soil stack runs 3-4 weeks. We run one trade through at a time so disruption stays contained to the bathroom itself, and if it's your only WC we can fit a temporary unit on the landing for the duration of the work.

Either. We have trade accounts with the main London bathroom suppliers which typically save 15-25% on retail, and we bring sample boards to the site visit. If you've already chosen fixtures or want to source them yourself, that's fine — we factor it into the quote and price the fit-only labour. Bring spec sheets to the site visit so we can flag anything that won't work with the existing plumbing or stack layout before you commit to buying.

Four types. Rear dormer is the standard — adds a double bedroom plus en-suite on a Victorian terrace. L-shaped dormer takes the dormer over the rear addition too, giving a master plus a second smaller room. Hip-to-gable suits semi-detached and end-of-terrace, replacing the sloping hip with a vertical gable. Mansard delivers the most space but costs the most and almost always needs planning. Richard recommends the right type at the survey based on roof shape, budget, and how the space will be used.

Most rear dormers and hip-to-gable conversions fall under permitted development — no planning application, but we apply for a Lawful Development Certificate (£129, 6-8 weeks at most councils) so you have written proof from the council when you sell. Mansards, properties in conservation areas, listed buildings, and any front-facing dormer need full planning. The current Class B limit is 40 cubic metres of extra roof space for a terrace, 50 for a semi or detached. We check this on the council planning portal before quoting.

In most South London terraces and semis a well-built loft adds a double bedroom and en-suite — the rooms that take a property from two beds to three, or three to four, which is the jump that moves the asking price. Industry estimates put the uplift at around 15-20% in London, though the real figure depends on your postcode and the finish. What protects that value at sale is the paperwork: Building Control sign-off, the Lawful Development Certificate, and FENSA certificates for the new glazing. We hand all of it over at completion.

Permitted development rights let you carry out certain building works without a full planning application. For houses that covers single-storey rear extensions up to 3 metres on a terrace or 4 metres on a detached house, and loft conversions up to 40 cubic metres of extra roof space on a terrace or 50 on a semi or detached. Flats, maisonettes, listed buildings, and properties in conservation areas don't get these rights. Even where work is permitted development, we apply for a Lawful Development Certificate so you have written confirmation from the council — buyers' solicitors ask for it at sale.

If the work touches a shared wall, cuts into it for steel beams, or involves digging foundations within 3 metres of a neighbour's property, you serve notice under the Party Wall Act 1996 — usually two months before work starts. Most cases settle with a signed consent letter; where a neighbour dissents, a party wall surveyor draws up an award and the cost falls to you as the building owner. We flag at the site visit whether your project needs it, give you the notice templates, and build the notice period into the schedule so it doesn't hold up your start date.

Building Regulations are the standards every extension, loft conversion, and structural alteration has to meet — structural safety, fire escape, insulation, ventilation, and drainage. They're separate from planning permission: a job can be permitted development and still need full Building Control sign-off. We submit the application, book the inspections at each stage (foundations, steel, drainage, insulation, completion), and give you the final certificate. Keep it safe — it's the document your solicitor and your buyer will ask for at sale.

Yes. We manage planning applications, Building Regulations submissions, party wall processes, and obtain all necessary certificates and sign-offs including NICEIC electrical certificates and FENSA glazing certificates.

Yes. Every project is priced as a fixed-price written contract after the site visit — the figure you sign is the figure you pay. The only thing that moves it is a variation you ask for, like upgrading a worktop or adding a rooflight, and that gets quoted and agreed in writing before we do it. We don't price low to win the job and claw it back through extras mid-build; the itemised quote lists every trade, material, and fee up front.

Bank transfer (BACS) only. Payments go to All Well Property Services Ltd, account verified against Companies House No. 12721034. The schedule is tied to verifiable milestones: deposit on contract, then stage payments at foundations complete, weatherproof, first-fix, and completion. You never pay for work that hasn't been done. The full schedule is in the contract before you sign.

Yes — typically 10-15% of the contract value, paid against a signed contract and a programme of works with start and end dates. The deposit covers material ordering (kitchens, bathrooms, structural steel all have 4-8 week lead times), skip and scaffold deposits, and getting trades booked into the schedule. We can't hold a start date or order materials without it. The balance follows the stage-payment schedule in the contract.