A whole-house renovation is a planned refurbishment of an entire home, typically combining rewiring, heating, plastering, new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decoration, and sometimes layout changes, carried out in a logical order under one project.
If you have a whole-house renovation on your list for a property in Edinburgh, we can help from the first measurements to the final clean-up. For a typical home, plan for 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope, though larger or more complex jobs take longer. We cover postcodes EH1, EH2, EH3 and EH7 and nearby Musselburgh, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik, and every quote we send is fixed for the scope described in it.
- Guide price
- £43,000–£115,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope
- Postcodes
- EH1, EH2, EH3, EH7 and EH8
- Planning rules
- Scotland
- Local area
- City of Edinburgh
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Whole-house renovations prices in Edinburgh
Budgeting for a whole-house renovation in Edinburgh? The numbers below include VAT and are adjusted for Scotland, where costs are about 4% below the national guide. The headline range is £43,000–£115,000. Nothing is final until we have measured up at a free survey and agreed the specification with you.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Edinburgh |
|---|---|---|
| Light refurbishment | Decoration, flooring, minor repairs and perhaps one new kitchen or bathroom. | £14,500–£43,000 |
| Full refurbishment | Rewire, heating, plastering, new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decoration throughout a 3-bed house. | £43,000–£115,000 |
| Renovation with structural changes | A full refurbishment plus wall removal, layout changes or extra bathrooms. | £96,000–£173,000 |
The main things that change the figure:
- Size of the house and number of rooms being renovated
- Whether rewiring, new heating and full replastering are needed
- Kitchen and bathroom specification
- Structural or layout changes and associated approvals
What do you get?
- Room-by-room survey and a planned order of works
- Rewiring and new consumer unit by qualified electricians, with certificates
- Heating and plumbing upgrades by qualified engineers
- Plastering, skimming and repairs to ceilings and walls
- New kitchen and bathroom fitted to your chosen specification
- Flooring, internal doors, skirting and joinery
Building in Edinburgh
Edinburgh's New Town is a planned Georgian sandstone townscape within a World Heritage Site, and districts such as Marchmont and Leith have Victorian tenements. Bungalows and villas fill the suburbs, Midlothian has former mining villages, Livingston was built as a new town, and East Lothian villages often have red pantile roofs.
Listed and conservation-area homes need careful window and stone repairs. Bungalows commonly suit loft conversions and dormers, and suburban semis take extensions and garage conversions.
Whatever era your Edinburgh home dates from, we plan a whole-house renovation around how it is actually built rather than a one-size-fits-all specification.
Planning and building rules in Edinburgh
England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland each handle planning a little differently. Edinburgh comes under Scotland, covered below, and we raise any questions with the council before your quote is finalised.
Internal improvements do not need planning permission in Scotland unless the building is listed.
Like-for-like kitchen and bathroom replacements do not normally need a building warrant, but structural changes and some drainage or heating alterations do, and electrical work must meet the building standards.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
What happens after you get in touch?
We look at the job
First, someone visits your home in Edinburgh to see the space, take measurements and note anything that could affect the work, such as access or the condition of what is there. There is no charge for this visit.
Your fixed price
We put everything into a written, fixed-price quote: the specification, what's excluded, staged payments and the expected time on site. Take whatever time you need to decide; there's no pressure to commit.
Dates and permissions
Next comes planning the work itself. We set a start date that suits you, line up the right trades, and make sure any approvals for a whole-house renovation are in place before the first day on site.
On site to finish
The job proceeds in the order set out in the programme, with dust and debris kept under control. Finally we tidy away, inspect the work together and pass the finished project over to you with its paperwork.
Working with SK Home Improvements
Frequently asked questions
What happens if you find damp or rot?
If we find damp or rot during a renovation, we stop that area, show you the problem and explain the likely cause, such as a leaking gutter, bridged damp-proof course or poor ventilation. We then give you a written price to fix the cause and repair the damage before carrying on. Treating the cause matters more than treating the symptom, so we focus on that first.
Can we live in the house while it is renovated?
Living in a house during a full renovation is possible but hard, especially while rewiring, plastering and the kitchen and bathroom are being done. Many people move out for the noisiest weeks or stay elsewhere for the whole project. If you stay, we can phase the work room by room and keep one bathroom and a basic kitchen working for as long as possible. We discuss this at the survey.
Which parts of a renovation need building regulations approval?
Several parts of a renovation fall under building regulations, including rewiring and new circuits, new boilers and heating systems, structural changes such as removing walls, replacement windows and changes to drainage. Some of this is self-certified by suitably registered trades, and some needs building control approval. In Scotland a building warrant may be needed for certain works. We arrange the right approvals and certificates.
Do I need planning permission in Edinburgh?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Edinburgh is in Scotland, so Scotland's rules apply. Many smaller jobs need no planning application, but some still need building control approval. We check what applies to your address before quoting.
Is the price fixed?
Yes, for the specification we agree. Your written quote sets out exactly what is included at a fixed price. It only changes if you ask for something different, or if a problem the survey could not reasonably reveal later needs extra work. In either case we explain the change and confirm it in writing before going ahead.
Nearby towns
We welcome enquiries from all EH1, EH2, EH3 and EH7 postcodes in Edinburgh, plus Musselburgh, Bonnyrigg and Penicuik. Each one gets the same survey at no charge and a written price fixed for the work described.