The Smart Solution for Refurbishments · All 32 London boroughs
Refurbishments in London
Whole-house and single-room refurbishment across London — one team, one contract, from first-fix to final decoration.
Open-plan refurbishment
Open-plan interior with recessed spotlighting after refurbishmentWhat we do
For total peace of mind, online project tracking and a complete one-stop-shop — from plastering and tiling to the installation of underfloor heating or spotlight fittings — look no further than S S Builders London. We refurbish period terraces, ex-local-authority flats and new-build apartments across all 32 London boroughs, and we take the whole job: no chasing six different trades, no gaps between them where the programme quietly slips.
Included as standard
- Full survey and fixed written scope before any work starts
- Strip-out, waste removal and skip management
- Plastering, tiling, carpentry and decorating by our own trades
- Electrical first and second fix, certified on completion
- Plumbing, heating and underfloor heating installation
- Kitchen and bathroom supply and fit
- Online project tracking with photo updates
- Payment in arrears of work completed
- Typical timescale
- 2–10 weeks depending on scope
- Coverage
- 32 boroughs
- Payment
- In arrears
- Trading since
- 2008
What needs approval in a refurbishment
Internal refurbishment rarely needs planning permission, but plenty of it is notifiable under the Building Regulations. Electrical work in a dwelling falls under Part P; new or altered drainage, structural openings and replacement windows all require building control involvement.
Removing a wall is the usual trigger. If it is load-bearing — and in most London terraces the spine wall is — it needs a structural engineer's calculation, an adequately sized beam, correctly sized padstones, and a building control inspection before it is covered up.
Listed buildings are a separate regime entirely: listed building consent is required for internal alterations as well as external ones, and it applies to features people often assume are cosmetic, such as original panelling, staircases and fireplaces.
Where the property is a flat, the lease usually requires the freeholder's written consent for alterations, and often for changing floor coverings. That consent takes time to obtain and should be started before the programme is fixed.
The limits above are the national permitted-development rules for England. Your borough may restrict them further through a conservation area or an Article 4 direction — we confirm the position for your address in writing before quoting.
Our work
Refurbishments we have completed
Answers
Refurbishments — common questions
Do I need planning permission for refurbishments in London?
It depends on the property type and what is proposed. Many single-storey rear extensions and loft conversions fall under permitted development, but those rights do not apply to flats and are restricted in conservation areas or where an Article 4 direction applies. We check the planning position for your specific address before quoting, and tell you in writing which route applies.
How do you price the work?
From a site survey, written up as a fixed and itemised scope before any deposit is discussed. If something genuinely unforeseen appears once work is opened up, it is priced and agreed in writing before we continue — never added to the final invoice after the fact.
When do I pay?
In arrears of work completed. You pay for work that has been done and inspected, not for work that has been promised. This has been how the company operates since 2008.
Do you handle Party Wall notices?
Yes, where the work requires them. Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, notifiable work on a shared wall needs 2 months written notice to the adjoining owner, while excavation near a neighbouring structure and building at the line of junction need 1 month. We serve the notices and manage the award process as part of the job.
Will I get certificates at the end?
Yes. Electrical work is tested and certificated under Part P, and building control issues a completion certificate where an application was required. You receive the handover pack — it is what a buyer's solicitor will ask for when you eventually sell.
How long will it take?
It depends entirely on scope, and we give a programme with the written quote rather than a guess on the phone. What we will not do is start a job we cannot resource, which is the usual reason a build stalls halfway through.
By area
Refurbishments across London
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Refurbishments by area
Also from us
Our other core services
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Get a price for your refurbishments
A picture and a postcode tells us more than any enquiry form. You will get a straight answer about cost and whether it needs planning permission.