Dated, costed and measured.
Photography of finished rooms is the easiest thing in the world to borrow from somebody else, so we have put the numbers next to it instead. Every project below carries what it cost, how long it took, and when it finished.
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01
A third bedroom and an en-suite, inside the permitted development allowance.
A four-bed family in a two-bed terrace, priced out of moving within the school catchment. Ridge height measured 2,640mm, which meant a conventional staircase without heroics. Party wall notice served ten weeks ahead — the neighbour dissented initially, resolved with an agreed single surveyor for £1,050 rather than the £2,800 two surveyors would have cost.
- Cost
- £54,200
- On site
- 11 weeks
- Added
- 31m²
- Route
- Permitted development
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02
Two bedrooms and a shower room where there had been a water tank.
A hipped roof wasting the entire side of the loft, squared off to a gable with a rear dormer. The new gable wall needed piled mini-foundations the 1930s cavity wall below could not take unaided. South-west facing glazing specified with solar control and cross-ventilation to avoid summer overheating — the client reports it is the coolest room in the house.
- Cost
- £67,800
- On site
- 13 weeks
- Added
- 42m²
- Route
- Permitted development
-
03
The one type the conservation officer would accept — and why.
A conservation area removes permitted development for roof extensions entirely, and a dormer was refused at pre-application. A mansard, which reads as a traditional roof form, was supported and approved in nine weeks at the first attempt. Every tonne of material went through the front door or over the roof by hoist — no rear access on this terrace.
- Cost
- £78,400
- On site
- 19 weeks
- Added
- 38m²
- Route
- Full planning permission
There is no photography on this template yet, and we would rather say so than fill it with stock images of somebody else's loft. Homeowners list stock photography as one of the reasons they rule a builder out, and they are right to.
The three jobs above are illustrative examples showing the level of detail a real case study gets — not completed work. They will be replaced with real projects, real numbers and real photography as we finish them.
Yours could be next.
A survey is ninety minutes and costs nothing — the first step every project above started with.