What's a synonym for renovate?

Refurbish is the closest synonym for the verb renovate, and restore, revamp, overhaul, modernise and do up all sit nearby. They're not interchangeable, though. Each one describes a slightly different kind of building work, and using the right verb tells a builder a lot about what you actually want.

Refurbish leans towards fittings and finishes: you refurbish a bathroom or an office, updating what's there without touching the structure. Restore means taking something back to how it was, so you restore a fireplace or the original floorboards in a Victorian terrace, not a 1990s kitchen. Overhaul is the heavy one. When we overhaul a house we're stripping it back, rewiring, replumbing, redoing the lot. Modernise is specific too: bringing an old property up to current standards, usually the electrics, heating and insulation in something like a 1930s semi that hasn't been touched in decades.

Revamp and do up are the informal end. Revamp suggests a cosmetic lift, paint and new fixtures rather than building work. Do up is what most of our clients actually say ('we've bought a flat in Sydenham to do up'), and it stretches to cover anything from a repaint to a structural job. If you're describing work to a builder, pick the verb that matches the scope. Say restore and we'll price for matching period detail. Say overhaul and we'll price for opening up walls and starting again.