Are you thinking of extending your home but keep postponing it for the “best time”? Well you aren’t alone, as this topic often comes up during the initial telephone consultation with our clients. At Home Tales, we believe home renovation companies in London must be in the know, providing homeowners with a smooth and painless design and build process. As a ground floor extension company in London that highly values building strong relationships with our clients, we wanted to address when exactly the “best time” is to build a home extension.

The design stage: Approx. 2+ weeks

So you’ve taken the plunge to undertake a loft or ground floor extension to add further value to your property. What are the next steps? Firstly, we will send a member of our design team to your home to carry out a measured survey in order to create the planning drawings. Your designated designer will take the time to discuss any design ideas with you after obtaining all the necessary information. At this point, you can explain your vision with the designer and discuss possible layouts that would work with your existing interior. All extensions are made bespoke to each of our clients to best suit their needs.

Following this stage, this is where you leave the rest with us, as we’ll continue with the planning process, building regulations pack, and Party Wall notice (if applicable). The longest part is the planning process as it can take around 8 weeks for the local planning authority to consider all variables and come to a final decision. The detailed drawings/building regulations pack for the builders to read will take around 2 to 4 weeks to produce.

The build stage: Approx. 4 weeks

Once planning has been approved and your building regulations pack is completed, you’re all set to commence with the build! It’s important to note that once planning permission is granted, it is valid for 3 years and the extension must be built within this period.

Firstly, we would recommend you seek different quotes from multiple builders to find which contractor aligns with your budget and design better. We also have a fantastic builder that we regularly work with, and we would be happy to share their details with any of our clients. If all goes to plan this part should take around 3 to 4 weeks, depending on the scale of your project.

The overall time between initial instruction to the finished build (if everything goes smoothly) should be approximately 5-6 months from beginning to end. There may be some paperwork to do following this period, but you will no longer have to deal with any dust, loud noises, or lack of kitchen access from the construction.

When exactly should I build?

As we’ve mentioned before, there is no perfect time to build an extension as you will always be able to find an excuse not to go through with it. However, there is definitely a perfect window of opportunity. For example, when undertaking a ground floor extension you may want to plan this around a holiday or getaway you have coming up. The messiest part of the build is the demolition stage, which happens around week 1 to week 3, so take the chance to go on a long family break.

If you are planning on staying at home for the whole process, keep in mind that the central heating system can function normally for most of the build phase, but it may need to be disconnected for 1 to 2 days. For a loft conversion, when the scaffolding is up after a few weeks, there will be minimal disruptions to your home as builders will be able to access the loft from the outside of the property. This prevents builders from roaming through your hallways to get upstairs every day. The new staircase to the loft can be blocked off to limit the amount of noise and dust travelling in.

In the (surprisingly common) scenario that you would like to carry out a renovation while you or your partner are pregnant, there is a set deadline for when the build must be finished. That means you should plan backwards from the due date to make sure there is ample time to deal with any issues that may arise.

You can apply for planning at all times of the year, but we have found that during the Christmas period, local planning authorities seem to slow down. This is because staff may take leave during this time, so if you’re planning to submit for planning permission towards the end of the year, brace yourself for some delays in receiving their decision.

If you are thinking of undertaking a home renovation, our team would love to help you with your project. To discuss the details with us further, please contact us on 02070432378 or email us at hello@hometales.co.uk. Alternatively, book a free telephone consultation with us here. You will be able to pick an available slot that best suits your schedule.