More space, properly joined on

Single storey rear extensions often fall under permitted development, within depth, height and boundary limits that are tighter on a semi than a detached, and tighter again in a conservation area or on a flat. Double storey work and anything on the front nearly always needs a planning application. We work out which route your house is on at the survey and handle the application where one is needed, so you are not guessing.

If we are building up to or off a shared wall, or digging near it, the Party Wall Act applies and notices have to be served on the adjoining owner. It is a formality on most jobs but it is not optional, and getting it wrong is what turns a friendly neighbour into a dispute. We tell you what needs serving and when, and we work to keep access, noise and dust reasonable on their side of the fence too.

For a typical single storey rear extension, eight to fourteen weeks on site. The noisy, dusty part is the first fortnight, groundwork and breaking through, and the last part is finishing work that is largely inside the new space. Where the kitchen is going into the extension, we plan the sequence so you are not without a working kitchen for the whole programme, and we make sure there is a temporary arrangement before the old one comes out.

Yes, and that is most of the extensions we build. Because the same team does the structure, the electrics, the plumbing, the tiling, the flooring and the kitchen fit, the sockets end up where the appliances actually are and the floor runs through unbroken. It also means one price for the whole thing instead of a kitchen company arriving to find the space is not ready.

Yes. Plans and structural calculations go in, the inspections get booked at the right stages, foundations, drainage, steels, insulation and completion, and the certificate comes to you at the end. That certificate is the paperwork your solicitor will ask for when you sell, so it matters more than people expect.