Building work in London, explained
What the work costs, what permission you need, and what is actually happening behind the plaster. Written from jobs we have delivered in London. Every price is quoted as a band, and each guide says what would narrow it.
Written for the person paying for the work
Most building advice online is either a lead-generation form with a paragraph attached, or a trade article assuming you already know what a lintel does. These guides sit in between: enough detail to hold a real conversation with your builder, without pretending a price can be certain before anyone has opened a wall.
Most are written for homeowners. The commercial ones are for whoever is running an office fit-out — different building, different constraints, and a different first step, because the estimator prices residential work only. Use the filter to see one or the other.
Within each, they are grouped by the question you are actually asking, in the order the questions tend to arrive — or search, if you already know the subject.
All 47 guides, grouped by the question they answer.
What it costs
11 guidesReal figures for the main types of work in London, each quoted as a band — because the width of the band is what tells you how much is still unknown.
Extend or Just Renovate: One House, Two Prices
We priced the same Battersea terrace twice — with the rear extension and without. The gap was £38,532 and four weeks, and 68% of it sat in two trades.
Read the guideKitchen Renovation Cost in London 2026
The build stack for a London kitchen is £8,807 and barely moves. The product stack swings six-fold. Which half your quote is arguing about decides everything.
Read the guideBathroom Renovation Cost in London 2026: Every Line
A full strip-out and re-tile of a 4.08 m² London bathroom is £11,387 of build work before you choose a tap. Every line, net of VAT, with the clause behind each rule.
Read the guideOffice Fit Out Cost in London 2026: £ Per Sq Ft
London Cat B office fit-out runs £65–£175 per sq ft net in 2026. What sits inside the rate, the figures that shape your layout, and what the rate leaves out.
Read the guideKitchen Extension Cost in London 2026
Kitchen extension costs in London for 2026: side-return £90k–£160k, rear £110k–£210k, wraparound £170k–£320k. The kitchen included, not a separate line.
Read the guideParty Wall Agreements in London: What They Cost and How 2VP Handles Them (2026)
A party wall surveyor in London costs £800–£1,500 with one Agreed Surveyor. Notice periods, timings, and what happens when a neighbour dissents.
Read the guideBespoke Joinery Cost in London 2026: Fitted Wardrobes, Kitchens and Built-ins
Bespoke joinery costs in London for 2026: £1,800–£3,500 per linear metre. Fitted wardrobes, alcove shelving, media walls and kitchens, with what drives each price.
Read the guideNew Build Cost in London 2026: What to Budget Per m²
New build house costs in London for 2026: £1,800–£3,200 per m². Cost by specification tier, what's included, planning essentials and how it differs from renovation.
Read the guideFull House Renovation Cost London 2026: What to Budget
Planning a full house renovation in London? Here's what it actually costs in 2026 — room by room, finish tier by tier, with real numbers from completed projects.
Read the guideHouse Extension Cost in London 2026: Rear, Side Return and Wrap-Around
House extension costs in London for 2026: single-storey rear £78k–£140k, double-storey £120k–£200k. What's included, planning notes and how to compare quotes.
Read the guideLoft Conversion Cost in London 2026: The Complete Guide
Loft conversion costs in London for 2026: Velux £35k–£60k, dormer £55k–£95k, mansard £80k–£140k. Real prices, planning notes and what moves the final bill.
Read the guideBefore you commit
21 guidesPermissions, party walls, and how to read two quotes for the same job. The decisions that are cheap to change now and expensive to change later.
Hammersmith Loft Conversions: What W6 Allows
40 cubic metres on a terrace, 50 on anything else — the Class B limits, what Hammersmith's conservation areas remove, and what the Article 4 does not touch.
Read the guideYour Builder Has Overrun. What Now?
A 32-week programme that ran close to two years. What to do first when a London build has stalled: stop paying, check the record, measure what is covered up.
Read the guideOffice Lighting Standards for a London Fit-Out
Part L caps the watts your office lighting burns and never names a lux level. That figure sits in a standard, not the law — so your spec is the only control.
Read the guideDouble Storey Extensions: The Two Rules That Decide Yours
A rear extension of more than one storey has to pass a 3 metre depth test and a 7 metre boundary test — and in a conservation area it passes neither.
Read the guideBasement Conversions: The Notice That Governs the Job
Dig within 3 m of a neighbour and below their foundations and you owe a notice — and they can require you to underpin their house at your expense.
Read the guideOffice Air Conditioning: The 12 kW Duty You Already Cross
Four 5 kW splits are one 20 kW system in law, and that triggers a 5-yearly inspection duty. What the report must tell you, and what the F-gas phase-down does next.
Read the guideDesign and Build vs Traditional: Who Carries the Gap
The 2 routes differ in one thing: who pays when the drawings and the building disagree. What each costs you, and why neither removes variations.
Read the guideFitted Suite or Your Own Fit-Out: How to Choose
Cat A+ hands you a finished office and hands you someone else's decisions. The 5 questions that settle it, and the reinstatement clause that outlives the choice.
Read the guideWhich Loft Conversion Type: Head Height Decides First
Measure 1.9 m before you choose a loft type. What the four types cost in roof, in planning and in the room below — and which your head height rules out.
Read the guideOffice Strip-Out: What Leaves, and What You Must Record
A strip-out is priced by what leaves the building, not by floor area. The 3 drivers, the waste duty you carry as a tenant, and why the records outlive the job.
Read the guideLicence to Alter: The Item That Sets Your Date
The Licence to Alter, not the build, is usually the critical path on a London fit-out. What section 19(2) gives you, what it does not, and who pays.
Read the guideDilapidations: What You Agree to Hand Back
A schedule of dilapidations is a claim, not a bill. The statutory ceiling on it, the proviso that can wipe it out, and the four things to settle before you sign.
Read the guideHow to Avoid a Bad Builder: The Checks That Take One Afternoon
Most bad builds are decided before anyone lifts a tool. The 4 checks that filter out a bad builder in an afternoon, and the paperwork that settles the rest.
Read the guideYou Are the Client Dutyholder: What the Building Safety Act Put on London Homeowners
Since 1 October 2023 every homeowner having building work done in England is a dutyholder in law. What that means on an extension, and what does not apply to you.
Read the guideHouse Extensions in Fulham SW6: What Hammersmith & Fulham Actually Allows
Three metres, or six with prior approval — then 48 conservation areas and a borough-wide Article 4 that can override both. A Fulham contractor on SW6 planning.
Read the guideThe Pricing Pattern That Makes Homeowners Overpay — and How to Check for It
Front-loading moves money forward, not away. Check the value of every stage: at first fix, roughly 50% paid against 50% built is the sanity test.
Read the guideTwo Quotes, One Job: Stop Asking Which Is Cheaper and Ask What Is Inside the Price
The gap between two quotes is usually two legitimate ways of building the same thing — and nobody telling you which one was priced.
Read the guideConservation Area Loft Conversion London 2026
Converting a loft in a London conservation area: why it needs full planning permission, what officers approve, and what the extra cost is.
Read the guideHip-to-Gable Loft Conversion Cost London 2026
What a hip-to-gable loft conversion costs in London in 2026, when it needs planning permission, and the Building Regulations it triggers.
Read the guidePermitted Development Rules: London Extensions 2026
Permitted Development in London 2026: rear extensions to 3m (4m detached), 4m high. Limits for extensions, lofts and outbuildings, and when they don't apply.
Read the guideThe Side Return Extension: A Complete London Guide for 2026
Side return extension costs in London: £55k–£90k standalone, £95k–£165k as an L-shape. Planning, structural options and how to design one that works.
Read the guideWhat happens on site
15 guidesFrom the Field School: what your builder is actually doing behind the plaster, and what is worth asking about while the wall is still open.
When Repointing Has Failed, and What Goes Back
Cement pointing on a soft London brick sends the damage into the brick instead of the joint. How to read a failed joint, and the mix that goes back.
Read the guideThe Budget Kitchen Trap: What We Found on the IKEA-Carcass Kitchens We Built
Flat-pack boxes with bespoke fronts look the part. On the kitchens we built that way, the hardware went first — and three suppliers meant nobody to call.
Read the guideA Seamless Kitchen Worktop, Formed in Place: One Material Over the Tiles You Have
Worktop, island, splashback and floor in one continuous surface, bonded over what is already there. Three metres with no join, and curves cost nothing extra.
Read the guideThe Low-Waste Office Fit-Out: Refinishing Over What Is Already There
An office refurbishment that sends nothing to a skip: a seamless resin floor bonded over the one already down, at 2 to 3 mm, in a building that keeps trading.
Read the guideThe Steel Beam: Fire, Movement, and How Your House Is Held While It Goes In
Three things around a steel beam that people never check: how it is fire-protected, why it settles afterwards, and what is holding the house up while it is fitted.
Read the guideCheck Your Water Pressure Before You Renovate — Not After the Tiling
Pressure and flow are different numbers and only one of them fills a bath. Measure both at the highest, furthest outlet before the design is fixed.
Read the guideCracks Above Windows and Doors: The Lintel, and the Wall It Sits On
A diagonal crack out of a window corner is rarely the plaster. Check two things: 150mm of lintel bearing each end, and masonry strong enough to carry it.
Read the guideWhy Walls Get Damp: The Damp-Proof Course and the Weep Holes
Damp is rarely bad luck. Two numbers keep a wall dry: the DPC sits 150mm above outside ground, and weep holes appear every 900mm. Check both from the garden.
Read the guideElectric vs Water Underfloor Heating: The Honest Answer for a Kitchen
Electric is cheap to fit and expensive to run, so people stop using it. Wet suits the 55°C standard the regulations now require. Sometimes a radiator wins.
Read the guideFire-Stopping: Ask for the Photographs Before the Walls Close
Expanding foam is not fire-stopping. Every service penetration needs a tested seal, and Regulation 38 entitles you to the record. Ask before the boards go on.
Read the guideWhy Foundation Depth Changes on Site — and Why That Is Honest
The drawing proposes a depth. The ground decides it and building control confirms it in the open trench — which is why depth is the most common genuine variation.
Read the guideMicrocement, Macrocement or Resin: They Look Identical, and They Are Not the Same
Two families, not three products. Cement-based is rigid and cheaper; resin flexes and is waterproof. Test the floor for span ÷ 360 deflection before you choose.
Read the guideA New Bathroom Without the Demolition: Going Over the Tiles Instead of Ripping Them Out
Overlaying an existing bathroom skips the skip. Two tests decide it: are the tiles sound, and does the floor deflect more than span ÷ 360?
Read the guideSlim Steel Doors: Ask One Question Before You Order — Thermally Broken?
Steel conducts heat roughly 50 times faster than timber. On an external elevation a slim steel door must be thermally broken and meet 1.4 W/(m²·K).
Read the guideUnderpinning Explained: Why It Costs More, and When to Avoid It
Underpinning is ordinary concrete priced by sequence. Short designed bays, poured one at a time — that queue is the cost, and it is what holds the house up.
Read the guideThe home you actually want, finished on the date in the contract — and you watch every day of it happen from your phone.
You answer 3 questions. We do the drawings, planning, party wall, trades and snagging.
- 10% to mobilise, then weekly against work already done — with 5% held past handover: 2.5% released at practical completion and 2.5% at the end of the 12-month defects period
- £550 survey fee credited in full against your contract
- Every variation priced and signed before a penny is spent
No email needed to see your range. Quotes hold for 21 days, then materials re-price.
We are not the cheapest. If price is the only factor, we may not be the right fit — and that is fine.