House renovation

Renovating a house or flat: order of works, rules and one builder

One local tradesperson gets your request – no ring-round.

Your request: House renovation

Free and without obligation. It goes to exactly one business.

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Free · no obligation · only one business gets your number

A full renovation is many trades in one house: stripping out, structural work, first-fix wiring and plumbing, plastering, second fix and decoration. The quality of the result depends as much on getting that sequence right as on any single trade. Tell us what the property needs, and your request goes, without your name, to renovation firms near you. One of them can take it, and we tell you which one before it sees your details.

Exactly one business. Your request is handed out once. After that, no other business sees it.
You know who will be in touch. Before the business receives your contact details, we send you its name, address and phone number.
Withdraw at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time – using the link in our email.

Survey first, then the scope

Most budgets go wrong because the scope was written before anyone lifted a floorboard. For an older house, a building survey from a chartered surveyor or a visit from a structural engineer tells you what is failing and why: roof coverings, chimneys, damp, timber decay, wiring age, drainage. That report becomes the backbone of the specification you give builders.

Separate what must be done from what you would like. Structural repairs, a weathertight roof, safe electrics and a working heating system come before a new kitchen. Refitting a kitchen and then chasing new cables through the walls behind it is money spent twice.

strip-out and any asbestos survey
structure, roof, chimneys and external walls
damp and timber repairs, drainage
first fix: wiring, pipework, heating, ventilation
insulation, plastering and screeds
second fix, kitchen and bathroom, flooring, decoration

Period properties and listed buildings

Victorian and older houses were usually built with solid walls, lime mortar and lime plaster. These walls handle moisture by letting it evaporate. Cement renders, gypsum plasters and plastic paints trap it, and a renovation that swaps one for the other can create the damp it was meant to cure. A builder used to period work will say so before you ask.

If the house is listed, you need listed building consent for any works that affect its character, inside or out, and carrying them out without consent is a criminal offence. In a conservation area, the council may also have removed some permitted development rights with an Article 4 direction, so replacing windows or doors at the front can need planning permission. Ask the council's conservation officer early; they are usually more helpful before a scheme is drawn than after.

Make a request

Building Control and certificates

Much of a renovation needs Building Regulations approval: removing load-bearing walls, new openings, replacing a large part of a roof or re-rendering a wall, new bathrooms with extra drainage, and changes to fire escape routes. Other parts can be self-certified by an installer in a competent person scheme, such as a Gas Safe registered engineer for the boiler, an electrician in a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT for new circuits, or a FENSA or CERTASS member for windows.

Keep every certificate and the Building Control completion certificate. A buyer's solicitor will ask for them, and missing paperwork can hold up a sale years later. Where walls, floors or roofs are substantially renovated, the regulations also expect their insulation to be improved where that is practical, which is worth building into the plan rather than discovering on site.

Asbestos, neighbours and empty homes

The Health and Safety Executive advises that any building built or refurbished before 2000 may contain asbestos, in textured ceilings, floor tiles, boxing, soffits or old flues. Before major work, a refurbishment and demolition survey by a competent surveyor finds it so it can be dealt with before the builders start breaking things open. Do not let anyone sand, drill or scrape suspect materials to find out.

Work on a wall shared with a neighbour, or digging near their foundations, can fall under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 in England and Wales, which requires notice before work starts.

If the house has not been lived in during the 2 years before work starts, builders can charge a reduced VAT rate on the renovation under HMRC's rules. A letter from the council's empty property officer is enough evidence. Insulation installed in homes is currently zero-rated for VAT, and the grants listed below can help lower-income households with energy upgrades.

Source: gov.uk · hse.gov.uk

How the renovation reaches one firm

Your request is shown, without your name, address or phone number, to renovation businesses in your area. Only one of them can buy it. When it does, it pays Offrano, the request disappears from the shop, and before the firm sees your details we email you its name, address and phone number. The service costs you nothing.

There is no guarantee that a firm takes the request; if none does within 21 days, it is withdrawn. You never have to accept a quote. Offrano confirms that the buyer is a registered business but does not inspect its work, so ask to see recent jobs and check any scheme membership, such as TrustMark or Gas Safe, on the scheme's own website.

Services

Related services

Guides on House renovation

Frequently asked questions

In what order should a house renovation be done?

Roughly from the outside in and from the structure out: survey and strip-out, structural and roof work, damp and drainage, then first-fix wiring and plumbing, insulation and plastering, and finally kitchens, bathrooms, floors and decoration. Doing the finishes before the services is the most common and most expensive mistake.

Do I need planning permission to renovate my house?

Internal renovation of a house usually does not need planning permission, but extensions, changes to the outside in a conservation area and anything on a listed building often do. Building Regulations are a separate question and apply to structural work, drainage, electrics, heating and some window and roof work regardless of planning.

Can I pay less VAT on renovating an empty house?

Yes, if the home has not been lived in during the 2 years immediately before work starts, a VAT-registered builder can apply a reduced rate to the renovation. You will need evidence such as a letter from the council's empty property officer.

Source: gov.uk

Should I use lime or cement on an old house?

For solid-walled houses built with lime, repairs usually need lime mortars and plasters so the walls can dry out. Cement-based materials can trap moisture. Ask for a builder with experience of period properties and, for listed buildings, agree materials with the conservation officer.

Who checks the builder's work?

Building Control checks the parts covered by the Building Regulations, and competent person schemes cover their members' self-certified work. Offrano does not inspect work. For everything else, a written specification and staged payments linked to completed work protect you best.

How many renovation firms get my request?

One. As soon as a single firm buys it, the request is removed from our shop. You are still free to ask other builders yourself.