A full house renovation provides an exciting opportunity to breathe new life into a property and create the living space of your dreams. A successful renovation can create a home that perfectly suits your lifestyle and your family and also add significant value. However, transforming a property is a daunting task that involves numerous steps and complexities to make your ideas a reality.
At Good London Builders, we have guided a wealth of London homeowners through successful renovations from planning to completion. Here is a handy checklist to help you get started on the process.
Define your vision and budget
What do you want to achieve from this renovation? Are you looking to add additional floorspace with an extension, reconfigure the property to make it better fit your lifestyle, or simply upgrade the aesthetics to match your taste? Whatever you want to achieve, it is a good idea to carefully sketch out your goals in detail and decide on what you consider a requirement or a nice-to-have along the way.
Alongside this project outline, it is useful to start to estimate your budget. This should be realistic and include everything from material and build costs to architect and interior designer fees if required. You should also consider any costs involved with alternative accommodation for the duration of the renovation if you do not want to live in the building site and add a 10-15% contingency fund to the final figure to cover any unexpected additional costs.
Examine the relevant laws and regulations
Compliance with relevant laws and regulations is critical for a smooth renovation. These can vary between each London council and depend on where you live and the type of property you live in, but you should generally consider:
Planning permission
Planning permission is required for some significant structural alterations to properties such as adding extensions, or if your property is listed or in a conservation area.
Building regulations
All building work should meet the basic building regulations, which are the technical standards that cover elements such as fire safety and structural integrity.
Party wall agreements
If your renovation includes work on or near a wall you share with your neighbours then you may need to seek a party wall agreement.
Assemble a professional team
A successful renovation requires close collaboration between project managers, structural engineers, planning consultants, architects, interior designers, contractors, and others and so finding the right team is critical. These people could be working on your property for weeks or months, and so it is important that you like them and are comfortable before any work starts.
Your renovation journey
Once you have an outline of what you want from your renovation and have a team in place then the real work can begin.
Stage 1: Detailed design and approvals
From your original outlines, your architect and/or builder will help create architectural drawings, add detailed specifications, and make the relevant structural calculations required. They will then submit any relevant planning and building regulation applications. Once submitted, planning permission in London can take up to eight weeks for householder/minor applications and 13 weeks for more major/complex builds, so patience is key at this stage.
Stage 2: Preparation and structural work
Once planning is approved then the real work can commence. This stage includes the major structural alternations, which can be everything from demolition or striping out, to groundworks for an extension, building new walls, or installing new steel support beams. If at all possible, you probably do not want to be living on-site during this stage due to the noise, dust, and disruption to electricity and water supplies.
Stage 3: First fix
The first fix is where any new internal pipework, cabling, heating, and insulation is added before the surfaces are sealed and plastered.
Stage 4: Plastering and second fix
The second fix is where the property starts to take shape. The walls and ceilings are boarded or plastered, doors, lighting fixtures, electrical sockets, and skirting boards are fitted, and kitchens and bathrooms are installed.
Stage 5: Decoration and finishing touches
This stage is where interior design comes in. The walls are painted, wallpaper hung, tiles, floorboards, or carpets laid, and the site cleaned up and ready to become your dream home.
Example: A full house refurbishment in Kensington by Good London Builders
Work in progress
Completed renovation
A full London house renovation is a significant undertaking and working with the right team is key to its success. At Good London Builders, we have renovated a number of period and modern properties across the capital and are committed to delivering renovations on time and within budget (read some testimonials from some of our happy customers here).
Are you ready to discuss your plans for a property renovation? Call us on 0207 978 5097 today or contact us online.
