Home renovations in London can require extensive planning due to the sheer density of historic buildings and sites. At Home Tales, providing our clients with an excellent array of services is our highest priority. We guide them smoothly through the design, planning, and building regulation process.

There’s no question that a home extension is a fantastic addition to any home. However, there IS a question of when the best time to build an extension is. In today’s post, we cover why a lot of people choose to undertake their home renovation project during the summer months. For some, summertime is the absolute best time to carry out any building works to their property.

Weather

Great weather is an undeniable factor in why many homeowners choose to carry out works during the summer. Especially in the UK, this is when motivation, productivity, and energy is at its highest. In the damp, colder months there are many factors that could affect the build of your extension. For instance, ground floor extensions require digging down to lay the foundations in place. If you were to build this during a frosty winter, frozen mud or even rainwater flooding would cause huge delays. Your builders would either need to work more intensely for longer, or simply wait for the weather to change and the ground to settle. It is also worth noting that dampness in any form i.e. rainwater or humidity, can prevent bricks from laying properly.

Home improvements that involve demolishing walls and roofs can leave the inside exposed to the elements. Although builders usually try their best to keep the open area covered, heat can be quickly lost due to a lack of insulation. In damp, cold weather, your energy bills would be much higher, and you would definitely feel the drop in temperature leaking in from outside. There is also a greater risk of heavy rainfall during this period, which could further delay your project. In the summer, you may even welcome such changes to your home. An open wall or roof could help refresh the stale air in your home, especially during those horrible heatwaves.

Such works also stir up a huge cloud of debris. The summertime is perfect for you and your family to escape to a park for a family day out. In contrast, during colder months, people tend to spend more time at home in order to escape the unpleasant temperatures. Furthermore, Autumn is a lovely transitional period for the whole family to settle into the newly renovated home. While the sun is out, why not pair your project with a garden renovation? On top of the large projects, consider replacing your old windows and doors in preparation for the Winter, or even re-paint the walls as they’ll dry much faster in the dry heat.

Holidays

Most of our clients find that when the kids are out of school and there’s nothing much to do at home, it’s the perfect time to book a holiday. Plan your building works to coincide with your travel plans to make sure you don’t have to be in the house and deal with the whole ordeal of loud noises, dust, and out-of-service amenities. This also means your children won’t be running around near a potentially dangerous building site!

This is also the best time to prepare for the next big holiday, Christmas! We know it’s a bit early to be excited for but imagine unveiling a nice new, cosy living space to your extended family and hosting the best Christmas dinner yet. To ensure you have enough time to prepare all your works before the festive season, we recommend looking for an architectural designer and contractor early in the year so you’re fully prepared. Instruct us to take care of the design phase for you and you can be as involved as you like. Some of our clients like to be a part of the whole process, whilst others like to sit back and let us do the work. We also have a fantastic, recommended builder who can take over the building works if you wish. You are entirely in control of when you would like to continue with the build phase, and with whom you’d like to carry this out with. However, we believe that with our team behind you, there’s no doubt you’ll have your new extension or renovation beautifully completed in no time!

To get help in preparing your summer renovation project, contact our lovely team, we would love to hear from you! You can call us on 02070432378 or contact us via email at hello@hometales.co.uk. Alternatively, book in a telephone consultation via our live diary here, for a time that best suits you. We offer a Standard consultation which is free of charge, and a Consultation+ which comes with more services and a video call.