Rear, side-return and wrap-around extensions delivered as one contract — foundations to plaster, building control coordinated, planning support included. Fixed price, fixed programme.
Foundations to plaster typically 10–16 weeks on a single-storey rear.
An extension build is the construction of new habitable floor area attached to an existing property — single-storey rear or side, two-storey rear, wrap-around L-shape, or front porches. The job runs from groundworks (foundations, oversite, drains) through superstructure (masonry or timber frame), roof, windows and doors, services, plaster, joinery, kitchen and decoration. We act as principal contractor on the whole job.
Families needing more living space, downsizers upgrading the home they intend to retire in, landlords adding bedrooms to lift HMO income, and any homeowner whose ground floor doesn't work — the classic Victorian narrow kitchen, the dated 1960s lean-to, the disconnected dining room. Extensions are the most common way to add the space modern living needs without leaving the area.
When the existing footprint is restricting how the family lives — kitchen too small for a table, no downstairs WC, no utility, no real connection to the garden. Also when the existing structure (old single-skin lean-to, leaking flat roof, condensing wet kitchen) is failing and replacement makes more sense than repair.
Extensions are the most regulated and the most expensive home improvement most clients ever undertake. Done badly — wrong foundations for the soil, undersized steels, leaky roof junctions, condensation traps in poorly-insulated walls — they devalue the property and create 20-year problems. Done properly, they add 20–30% to the value and transform how the house lives.
Soil type and tree proximity dictate foundation depth and design (NHBC chapter 4.2). A 'standard' trench-fill quote without a site investigation is a future subsidence claim. We get the soil right or we don't quote.
Where a new flat or pitched roof meets the existing house, the lead flashing detail is critical. Done with mortar fillets or skimped lead, it leaks within 2–3 winters.
Modern thermal regs (Approved Doc L) demand continuous insulation around openings, in cavities and at floor/wall junctions. Skipping the insulation between blockwork and cill creates a cold bridge that grows mould.
Many extensions go ahead under Permitted Development — but PD has strict limits (depth, height, ridge, materials). Exceeding them is enforceable. We check PD against your specific deeds and conservation status before designs are signed.
Site visit, feasibility on permitted development or planning, indicative cost band. We coordinate architect, structural engineer and planning consultant — or work to your existing drawings.
Once drawings and engineer's pack are complete, we issue a fixed price broken down by package (groundworks, superstructure, roof, windows, services, finishes) with a week-by-week programme.
Foundations dug, inspected by building control, concreted. Oversite, drains, DPC. Masonry or timber-frame superstructure with cavity insulation. Roof on, building watertight.
Electrics, plumbing and heating first-fixed. Insulation and plasterboard. Plastered. Kitchen or other internal works second-fixed. Windows and doors fitted (FENSA-registered partner).
Final building control visit, completion certificate, electrical cert, FENSA cert. Decoration, snag, deep clean. 12-month workmanship guarantee, structural warranty available on larger projects.
Architect, engineer, contractor and trades coordinated by us. You don't manage subcontractors.
Building control sign-off, FENSA certificates, Gas Safe certificates — the pack a buyer's solicitor wants to see.
Typical single-storey rear extension on a Liverpool 3-bed semi: 15–25% value uplift, often more than the build cost.
Fixed price tied to the engineer's drawings. Variations only at your written approval — never sprung on you.
Sightlines from kitchen to garden, sockets where appliances actually go, lighting layered for cooking and entertaining. We design with you.
12 months on our workmanship. Optional 10-year structural warranty (LABC or CRL) available on larger schemes.
Extensions vary by footprint, structure and complexity. Below are the four most-built extension types in Liverpool and Merseyside, with the technical detail that makes the difference.
Typically 3–6m deep across the rear of a Victorian terrace or 1930s semi. Cavity-wall masonry or timber-frame superstructure on trench-fill or strip foundations. Flat roof in EPDM or GRP, or pitched roof with rooflights. Bifold or sliding doors to garden. The most common extension type — adds open-plan kitchen-diner-living space. 10–16 weeks.
Filling in the narrow side passage on a Victorian terrace — turns a 2.4m kitchen into a 4.5m+ kitchen-diner. Roof typically a glazed lantern or skylight for daylight in the new space. Party-wall agreements required for both neighbours. 8–12 weeks.
Combining a rear and side return into an L-shape. Creates a generous open-plan ground floor with three external walls of glazing potential. Steel beams over the original kitchen wall removal. Usually requires planning permission (exceeds PD limits in most cases). 14–20 weeks.
Doubles the value of a rear extension — kitchen-diner downstairs and bedroom or larger bathroom upstairs. Foundations need to be deeper and wider; party-wall awards needed for terraces and semis; planning permission required in most cases. Highest-value extension type per square metre. 16–22 weeks.
Foundation depth driven by soil type, tree roots and existing structures — typically 1m–2.5m trench fill for Liverpool clay soils, deeper near mature trees. Steel beams sized by structural engineer to the loads above, with bearing details onto padstones. Wind-post connections at new-to-old junctions to prevent cracking. We get the engineer in at quote stage so the price reflects what the build actually needs.
A loft conversion turns unused roof space into a habitable room — typically a bedroom, en-suite, home office or studio.
Explore Loft ConversionsA full property renovation is a coordinated programme of works — strip-out, structural alterations, services first fix, plastering, joinery, kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, decoration and snagging — delivered to a fixed scope, a fixed price and a defined timeline.
Explore Full Property RenovationsKitchen installation is the full job: strip-out of the existing kitchen, services first-fix (plumbing, electrics, gas), plastering, flooring, supply and fit of the new units, worktops, sink and tap, appliances, splashback, decoration and snag.
Explore Kitchen Installation
Free across Liverpool & Merseyside. Honest answer on what's achievable, with a realistic budget — within 7 days.
