Full House Renovation in Wandsworth
A whole property taken back and rebuilt to a single standard, managed by one team from first drawing to final handover.
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Extensions, loft conversions and full renovations across SW18, from the Tonsleys to Wandsworth Common.
Wandsworth, Wandsworth
Consistent Victorian stock, well suited to extending
Wandsworth is dense Victorian terracing built for a working population and now occupied largely by families who need more from it. The houses are consistent, the plots are regular and the alterations that work on one street generally work on the next.
That consistency is why so much of SW18 has already been extended, and why the council is well practised at dealing with the applications. It also means we know what we will find when we open one up.
Local knowledge
What building in Wandsworth actually involves
The Tonsleys and other designations
The Tonsleys conservation area and the streets around Old York Road carry designation, which restricts front elevations, windows and roof alterations. Much of the rest of SW18 is less constrained.
A borough used to extensions
Wandsworth Council handles a high volume of householder applications and prior approval notifications, and the local precedent on side returns and rear extensions is well established. That makes the consent route more predictable than in some boroughs.
Mid terrace means two neighbours
Most SW18 stock is mid terrace, so extension and loft work almost always requires party wall notices served on both sides. We serve them and manage the agreements as part of the programme.
What we build in Wandsworth
The pattern in SW18 mirrors Fulham: a narrow back addition with a wasted side return, a dark kitchen at the rear and a roof that will take a dormer. Filling in the side return and converting the loft are the two alterations that do the most for the house.
Where Wandsworth differs is scale. There is more of the stock, plots vary more between streets, and towards Wandsworth Common the houses get noticeably larger, which opens up double storey extensions and hip to gable conversions that a smaller terrace will not support.
- Side return and rear extensions
- Dormer and L shaped dormer loft conversions
- Double storey extensions on larger stock
- Kitchen renovations with structural openings
- Bathroom and ensuite installations
- Full house renovations back to brick
Old York Road and the Tonsleys
The Tonsleys, the grid of streets between Old York Road and East Hill, is one of the older parts of SW18 and carries conservation area designation. The stock there is earlier and smaller than the later Victorian terracing further south, and the controls are correspondingly tighter.
Work in a designated area has to be planned around the elevations that are protected. Rear alterations are generally achievable, front elevations, roof coverings and windows are not without consent. As always we establish the designation on your address before pricing.
Around Wandsworth Common
The streets bordering the common carry larger and later houses, many of them semi detached with hipped roofs and side access. Those two features change what is possible considerably.
A hipped roof takes a hip to gable conversion, squaring off the side to create real volume, and it can be combined with a rear dormer for a full additional floor. Side access means a build can be run without carrying every barrow through the house, which reduces both the disruption and the cost of protecting the existing finishes.
What we find behind the plaster
SW18 terraces were built fast and cheaply. Solid nine inch walls with no cavity, shallow foundations, lath and plaster ceilings and undersized joists are standard, and a century of alterations has added its own problems on top.
The recurring finds are rotten joist ends where the back addition meets the main house, cement render trapping moisture in solid walls, wiring from several different decades sharing a circuit, and gypsum plaster blown off lime beneath. We survey for all of it before we quote, so the contingency stays a contingency.
They gave us a written schedule with dates, then hit them. The steel work and building control inspections were all arranged without us needing to get involved, and the cost breakdown made it obvious what each trade was costing.
Homeowner, Wandsworth · Side return extension and loft conversion
What we do here
Our services in Wandsworth
House Extension in Wandsworth
Rear, side return and wrap around extensions that open up the ground floor and add genuine value to a London home.
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Loft Conversion in Wandsworth
Dormer, mansard, hip to gable and Velux conversions that turn dead roof space into a proper bedroom and ensuite.
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Kitchen Renovation in Wandsworth
Bespoke kitchens installed end to end, including the structural work, services, joinery and stone that sit behind them.
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Bathroom Renovation in Wandsworth
Wetrooms, family bathrooms and ensuites, tanked and tiled properly, with the first fix and second fix handled in house.
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House Refurbishment in Wandsworth
Sympathetic refurbishment of period and Victorian stock, from rewires and replastering to full internal reconfiguration.
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Velux & Roof Windows in Wandsworth
Roof window and rooflight installation, including flat roof lanterns, sun tunnels and full structural openings.
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Windows & Doors in Wandsworth
Sash window restoration, timber and aluminium replacements, bifolds and slim framed sliding doors, fitted and certified.
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Questions
Building in Wandsworth: common questions
Is a side return extension permitted development in Wandsworth?
Frequently yes, provided the depth, height and materials stay within the limits and the property retains its permitted development rights. Conservation areas including the Tonsleys change that, and flats have no permitted development rights at all. We check the position on your address before quoting.
How much disruption should we expect?
An extension is most disruptive at the point the rear wall comes out, which is usually a few days, and you will be without a kitchen for part of the programme. A loft conversion is easier to live through because most of the work happens above your ceilings via the scaffold. We agree temporary arrangements with you before we start.
Do you handle the party wall notices?
Yes. Most SW18 work is mid terrace, so notices go to both neighbours. We serve them, manage the responses and where a neighbour dissents we deal with the appointment of surveyors and the award. The statutory notice periods are built into your programme from the start.
Which parts of Wandsworth do you cover?
All of SW18: the Tonsleys, Old York Road, East Hill, Earlsfield, Southfields and the streets around Wandsworth Common. We also cover neighbouring Putney, Battersea, Balham and Wimbledon.
Free consultation
Planning work in Wandsworth?
Book a free feasibility visit. We will look at the property, tell you what the building will allow and put a written schedule of works in front of you.