Loft conversions, extensions and renovations in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend and south Essex Look at the roof before the plaster goes on.

Often not. Many single-storey rear extensions are permitted development: up to 3 m beyond the rear wall of the original house for a semi or terrace, 4 m if detached, no more than 4 m high, and eaves no higher than 3 m within 2 m of a boundary. Other conditions apply, including similar materials and covering no more than half the land around the original house. Prior approval can allow 6 m, or 8 m if detached. A Lawful Development Certificate puts the answer in writing.

Source: Planning Portal.

Possibly, and not always with a full planning application. Some houses built between 1 July 1948 and 28 October 2018 can add a storey, one storey on a bungalow, under a permitted development right that needs the council's prior approval. A loft conversion inside the existing roof can also be permitted development: up to 40 cubic metres of added roof volume on a terrace, 50 on a semi or detached house, and not above the existing ridge. Neither right applies in a conservation area.

Source: Planning Portal.

Your district, borough or city council decides, not Essex County Council. Here that is Southend-on-Sea, Castle Point or Rochford. In a conservation area there is no permitted development for side extensions, cladding or roof extensions such as dormers. Southend lists 16 conservation areas, including Leigh and Leigh Old Town. Green Belt does not remove permitted development, but applications are tested against national policy on disproportionate additions, and Rochford's policy caps the increase at 25 per cent of the original floorspace. Check your council's planning map.

Source: GOV.UK technical guidance.

Yes, if you build at the boundary, work on a shared wall, or dig within 3 m of a neighbour's building and deeper than their foundations (6 m in some cases). You normally pay, as the owner doing the work. Your neighbour has 14 days to reply. For party wall work and excavations, silence counts as a dispute and surveyors are appointed. For a new boundary wall, silence means you build wholly on your own land. Talk to your neighbour first.

Source: GOV.UK, Party Wall etc. Act 1996 booklet.

Deeper foundations, and usually a bigger groundworks bill. Much of south Essex stands on London Clay, which shrinks when tree roots dry it. Inspectors and engineers work to the NHBC Standards on building near trees: at least 1.0 m in highly shrinkable clay away from trees, deeper within a tree's zone of influence, and an engineer's design beyond 2.5 m. Oak, willow, poplar and elm are among the high water demand species. We note trees, soil and drains at the first visit and state our assumed depth in the quote.

Probably, if the drain is shared. Since 2011 most shared drains have been public sewers, and you normally need the sewerage company's consent to build over one or within 3 m of it. For most of Essex that is Anglian Water. Essex & Suffolk Water supplies water only. Anglian Water says no application is needed where the design meets all of its standard criteria. Otherwise you apply. Building Control will usually ask for evidence before signing off, so locate the drains before the design is fixed.

Either we make the application or your designer does, and the quote says which and who pays the fee. It goes to your council's Building Control team or a private registered building control approver. A completion certificate needs signed statements from you, the principal designer and the principal contractor. At the end you should hold that certificate, the engineer's calculations, the electrical certificate, a gas certificate where relevant, product warranties and your planning decision or Lawful Development Certificate.

Source: GOV.UK.

Our guide price for a traditional brick and block extension starts at £2,500 per square metre, and a second storey adds £800 to £1,000 per square metre. Timber frame costs about the same as brick and block. All prices are subject to VAT and depend on ground conditions, structure, specification and finishes, and a site survey gives the accurate quotation. The calculator above uses published UK cost guides adjusted for Essex, and lists line by line what its figure includes. Small extensions cost more per square metre because foundations, steel, doors and set-up do not shrink with the floor area.

Our guide prices, per square metre of new floor: a Velux conversion £1,000 to £1,300, a rear dormer £1,700 to £2,100, a hip-to-gable £1,700 to £2,000, a front dormer £2,100 to £2,500, and a hip-to-gable with a rear dormer from £2,300. All are subject to VAT and depend on specification, structural requirements and finishes. A site survey gives the accurate quotation.

Often not. An outbuilding is usually permitted development if it is single storey, no more than 2.5 m high within 2 m of a boundary, not in front of the house, covers no more than half the garden, and is used for something incidental to the house, such as an office or a gym. Using one as separate living accommodation, such as a holiday let, generally needs planning permission, and one with sleeping accommodation needs Building Regulations approval. Our guide price for a garden room is £1,000 to £2,000 per square metre, subject to VAT.

Source: Planning Portal.

After the first visit you receive an estimate. Once you agree it, a booking fee covers the architectural drawings, the structural calculations and your start date. One week before work begins we ask for a deposit for the first materials and equipment hire. During the job, invoices are issued every Wednesday and are payable by Thursday or Friday morning, for the labour done that week, the materials for the following week and any plant hire. Nothing extra is built until you have a written price and have agreed it. Payment is by bank transfer to the company account in the name shown at Companies House.

For a scheme that needs planning, allow three to five months before work starts. The official target periods are eight weeks for a householder planning decision, 42 days for prior approval on a larger extension, five weeks (or two months by agreement) for a full plans Building Regulations decision, and one to two months for party wall notices. Councils can ask to extend them, and several can run together. On site, published guides suggest 10 to 16 weeks for a single-storey rear extension. A written programme comes with the contract.

Usually yes for a single-storey rear extension, because most of the work is outside the house until the knock-through. Expect some weeks without a kitchen, dust when the opening is formed and during plastering, noise, and short spells with the water or power off. Before the knock-through we build a sealed temporary partition. Openings are closed at the end of each day, floors on the route through the house are protected, and working hours are agreed with you before the start.

Start with Companies House: company number 17457424, incorporated 14 September 2026. The section above, We are new, lists what else you can check. We hold no trade association membership and have no published reviews. The Federation of Master Builders asks for 12 months of trading first. Ask us for our insurance certificate before you sign anything, and check it with the insurer named on it.

We do not offer an insurance-backed guarantee at present. The contract carries a defects period, during which we return and put right defects in our work at our cost. You also get the manufacturers' warranties on roof windows, membranes and glazing, and, when it is issued, the Building Control completion certificate with the engineer's calculations. Those are independent evidence that the work was checked against the Building Regulations. They are not a guarantee. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires work to be done with reasonable care and skill.