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You may need planning permission if you are planning a larger extension. All extensions will need building regulations approval. An architect can assist with this and if planning permission is required. A reputable contractor will also be able to advise you if this is needed as well.

The answer is yes! Houses whose external walls have been insulated are more valuable than their uninsulated counterparts. And not only does it add to the value of a home, but also significantly reduces the amount of electricity consumption. This is a major turn on for potential investors which implies a greater demand and ultimately, a higher price. The real estate market is a very dynamic one which can be hard to predict at any particular time. The frequent changes in price are usually down to factors beyond the owners’ control, but if you’re looking to put up your house for sale in the near future, it would be a wise decision to consider ways in which you can increase its value. While renovating each room can be on the expensive side, a great solution would be insulate the external walls.

An insulated house is one that is well secured against the harmful impact of extremely high or low temperature, humidity and other atmospheric factors. Hence, the reason why a house with external wall insulation has a greater value which you would not want to miss out on. What’s more? You’ll get a great thermal insulation with the top notch materials like foamed polystyrene, high quality renders, mineral wool or polyurethane.

With an external wall insulation, you know the transaction will always be favourable on both ends. You get to smile to the bank, while the buyer also gets to enjoy great value for every penny spent. To employ the services of a reliable external wall insulation expert, simply conduct an in depth research from family and friends, online and other sources. Go through their online reviews and ask questions to become more familiar with the process and its value-adding potentials.

Refurbishing a house brings about a plethora of benefits. These includes an increased sale value, an improvement on your quality of life or even simply to make it more visually appealing. All these are great when you look at them, but one thing that happens to be an hindrance for several homeowners is the cost of getting the project done. You may wish to set a budget, plan and prepare before commencement of the project, but the fact remains that, when it comes to refurbishing a house, nothing is certain. In fact, it’s advised to always expect the unexpected and have a lot of cash in reserve just in case something goes wrong. There are a wide range of factors that can play a key role in the overall cost of a house refurbishment. Minor refurbishment that should cost around £30,000 can easily go up to over a whooping £150,000 for a total transformation. Most of this cost will be expended on labour, and the next most significant expense, which is sourcing materials.

In general, the cost of your refurbishment project will depend on some factors which includes the size of the project, the materials used, the refurbishment or renovation level, the location of the property, the quality of the contractor hired and lots more. To estimate the cost of refurbishing your property, you can follow these simple steps:

✓ Write down a detailed list of all the things that needs to be done per room and try to be as specific as possible.

✓ Carry out a research of the labour cost in your area as well as the raw materials’ cost (here, you can make use of guides such as home advisor).

✓ Add an extra 10 to 15 percent on top of the calculated estimate for uprisings and repairs.

✓ Talk to your contractor to get a more accurate quote.

If you’re having issues with the amount of space in your home and need an extra space without affecting your garden, loft conversion comes to mind. Not only is it a great solution to creating more living space within a home, but it’s also one of the most budget-friendly solutions you can count on to expand your space by thinking upwards rather than sideways. So if you’re thinking about converting your loft, one thing that almost immediately comes to mind is whether or not your house is suitable for loft conversion.

To answer the question of whether every house can have a loft conversion is a very simple one. Generally, not every house is suitable for loft conversion. This is due to the fact that each and every loft space - from the stairways below and floors to the rafters and the roof up above, is unique. Therefore, the best way to really figure out whether or not a house’s loft offers the potential for conversion is to get in touch with a loft specialist.

So what can make a house not suitable for a loft conversion? Let’s take a closer look!

✓ A house will not be suitable for a loft conversion if the height of the ceiling happens to be too low and it’ll not be possible to have it raised.

✓ If you do not own own the freehold to the loft space, you won’t be able to convert the loft. Surprisingly, this happens to be a common issue in London.

✓ You will not be able to convert your loft if you reside in a conservation area or in a listed building. But you can identify a design solution that’ll still comply with the conservation rules and keep planners happy.

There are so many benefits that comes with building a porch in your home premises. It’s an extra space where a lot can be achieved such as drying a dripping wet dog, taking off your dirty shoes or boot and lots more. So if you’re considering to construct a porch, it’s definitely going to be a wise decision. However, before you get started, there’s a need to determine if you’ll need planning permission for a porch. It’s important to take note that planning laws are dynamic and can be updated at any point, so be sure only to use trusted sources only as your guide. If you’re the homeowner or landlord, it’s entirely your responsibility to obtain the right approval for any development project you wish to carry out within your premises.

A Porch can not be termed as an extension and neither is it a conservatory, they’re basically built to the home’s front covering the main entrance using a stone base or a brick. As a result, a porch does not need planning permission due to the fact that it’s covered by the permitted development rights if the specific guidelines for porches are complied with. Below are the instances where you WILL need planning permission for a porch.

✓ If the floor space is more than 3sqm (the wall inclusive).

✓ The highest point has a height of more than 3 metres.

✓ If the porch is situated within 2 metres of a boundary directly facing on to the road.

You may need planning permission if the house is a listed building, designated area or falls under an Article 4 Direction.

In order to build a porch without planning permission, you need to consider all the criteria stated above. You can also visit the Planning Portal website to get more detailed information before getting started.

Are you about to start a new construction job when it’s a heavily rainy period? Or perhaps you’re just interested in knowing how bricklayers work. Well regardless of your purpose, one thing you should know is laying of bricks has a few rules and one of them is not to lay a brick wall when its raining. This is mainly because your structure’s quality and integrity would be heavily compromised if water comes in contact with the mortar before it gets the time to dry. However, with the help of a concrete protective tent, you can prevent water from coming in contact and damaging the mortar. So let’s look at the procedures to follow to work in the rain!

lDetermine The Concrete Protective Tents Required

• Concrete protective tents come in various sizes so you have to know what’s required to get the job done.

• Firstly, calculate the amount of space required to lay the brick wall

• Then, incorporate the appropriate size and number of tents.

lSet Up The Tents

• Follow the manufacturer’s instruction to set up the tents

• Once installed, the tent should extend past the location for the bricklaying and slope downwards.

l Access The Area

• Inspect the location during rainfall to ensure water is not sneaking through.

lBuild a Lumber Frame

• Use 2 to 4 pieces of lumber to build a frame.

• Set it into the ground depending on the size of your wall

lApply Concrete or Mortar

• Fill up the frame with either concrete or mortar.

• Follow the manufacturer’s instruction to allow the mixture to cure.

lPrepare the Brick Wall’s Mortar

• Mix the mortar for the brick wall construction

• Follow the manufacturer’s instruction for the process.

When you’re done laying the bricks, you can remove the protective tents once you’re certain the rain has stopped. Exposure to sun and air will speed up the curing process, which is quite important to protect the integrity of your structure.

Over the years, more and more home and property owners are beginning to realize the huge benefits that can be derived from loft insulation being a worthwhile investment. It’s quite worrisome the way in which energy bills have soared over the past 10 years and loft insulation is a considerable affordable energy efficiency measure that can go a long way to help increase your home’s energy savings.

As far back as the 1980’s, the standard when it comes to insulation thickness was 25 mm to 50 mm which was, at the time, considered to be sufficient. However, building regulations have changed the norm that now states that a new build needs to possess 270 mm of insulation in the loft in order to achieve the required u-value of less than 0.16/m2k based on the standard rock wool or sheep wool insulation.

Generally with loft insulation, there’s a law of depreciating returns which implies that the first couple of insulation centimetres will save you many times the cost of the installation, however an extra layer or centimetre is going to add less value to the point where it’ll no longer be wise or worthwhile to add any further centimetre. Therefore, with cheaper energy prices 30 years back, that additional couple of centimetres was not just worthwhile, but with the recent alarming rises in costs of fuel, that additional £10 savings per year has all of sudden changed to £30 which makes it become a lot more attractive.

If you already have 270 mm of loft insulation, regardless of the material you’re looking to add you’re most likely not going to benefit from a top up. The cost of the materials and installation will definitely be too high for the couple of pounds it’ll save you per year.

The best type of insulation for your property will depend on the type of walls and any insulation that’s already present. It’s usually a good idea to have some form of wall insulation as well as loft insulation, as this helps to prevent heat loss in both areas.