Full House Renovation
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
Building your dream extension should be exciting, not overwhelming
Building your extension to your exact specifications should be an exciting project, not an overwhelming one. Our team of designers, architects and engineers work with you at every stage to make sure it becomes a reality.
- Rear, side return, wrap around and double storey extensions
- Structural steels designed and certified by our engineers
- Permitted development and full planning applications handled
- Party wall notices served and agreements managed
- Roof lanterns, bifolds and slim framed sliding doors fitted in house
- Building control sign off and warranties issued at handover
The side return, and why it works so well here
The side return is the strip of land beside the back addition on a Victorian terrace, and across Fulham, Battersea and Wandsworth it is usually wasted. Filling it in typically adds two to three metres of width to a dark galley kitchen and turns it into a genuine open plan kitchen and dining space with a glazed roof over it.
It is the single highest value alteration available on most terraces in south west London, because it uses land you already own, it rarely needs full planning permission and it fixes the layout problem that most Victorian terraces have: a narrow, dark kitchen at the back with no connection to the garden.
Rear and wrap around extensions
A rear extension pushes the back of the house out into the garden. A wrap around combines that with the side return infill, taking the full width of the plot and giving the largest gain of any single storey option.
Both change the structural picture significantly. The rear wall of the original house usually has to come out and be replaced with steel, and where you are also removing the wall between the old kitchen and the reception room, the steels have to be designed as a frame rather than as separate beams. That work is calculated by our structural engineers and certified before anything is cut.
- Single storey rear extensions
- Side return infill extensions
- Full width wrap around extensions
- Double storey and over structure extensions
- Basement and lower ground extensions
- Garden rooms and outbuildings
Permitted development or full planning?
Many single storey rear extensions in south west London fall under permitted development, which means no planning application is needed provided the depth, height and materials stay within the limits. On a terrace or semi the standard limit is three metres deep, extendable to six under the larger home extension process with a prior approval notification to the council.
That changes in conservation areas, and large parts of Chelsea, Kensington and central Fulham are covered by them. It also changes on flats, on listed buildings and where permitted development rights have been removed by an Article 4 direction. We check the constraints on your specific address before we quote, so the route we price is the route you can actually take.
Party wall agreements
If you are excavating within three metres of a neighbouring property, or cutting into a shared wall, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies. On a terraced house that almost always means both neighbours have to be served notice.
Notices carry statutory response periods, and if a neighbour dissents a surveyor has to be appointed and an award prepared. We build those periods into the programme from the outset. It is the most common reason an extension slips when it is not planned for properly.
Questions
House Extension: common questions
How much does a side return extension cost?
Cost depends on the width, the glazing specification and how much of the internal layout changes. The variables that move the number most are the roof glazing, the door system and whether the existing rear wall has to be replaced with steel. We give you a written cost breakdown itemised by trade after the feasibility visit, so you can see exactly where the money goes.
How long will the build take?
As a guide, a single storey rear or side return extension runs ten to fourteen weeks on site once you have consent, with a further six to twelve weeks beforehand for drawings, structural calculations, consents and party wall notices. Your written schedule gives dates specific to your property.
Can we stay in the house while it is built?
Usually yes. Most of the work happens outside the existing footprint until the point where the rear wall is opened up, and that phase can be sequenced to keep the disruption to a few days. You will be without a kitchen for part of the programme, so we agree a temporary kitchen arrangement with you before we start.
Will an extension add value?
In south west London an extension that adds usable floor area and fixes a poor layout normally does. We are builders rather than valuers, so for a figure specific to your street speak to a local agent. What we can tell you is what is structurally achievable on your plot and what it will cost to build properly.
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Free consultation
Ready to talk about your extension?
Book a free feasibility visit. We will look at the plot, tell you what is achievable under permitted development and put a written cost breakdown in front of you.