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 are planning a whole-house renovation anywhere in Hertfordshire, including Watford, Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage and St Albans, we can visit, measure up and talk through the options. The planning and building regulations we work to are those for England, and we check them for your address before quoting. Prices remain guide figures for the East of England, at £47,000–£126,000 including VAT, until the survey is done.
- Guide price
- £47,000–£126,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope
- Planning rules
- England
- Price level
- About 5% above the national guide
- Towns listed
- 19
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
Whole-house renovations prices in Hertfordshire
The table below shows guide prices for a whole-house renovation in Hertfordshire. They are based on rates in the East of England, which run about 5% above the national guide, giving an overall range of £47,000–£126,000. All figures include VAT and are firmed up after a free site survey.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Hertfordshire |
|---|---|---|
| Light refurbishment | Decoration, flooring, minor repairs and perhaps one new kitchen or bathroom. | £16,000–£47,000 |
| Full refurbishment | Rewire, heating, plastering, new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decoration throughout a 3-bed house. | £47,000–£126,000 |
| Renovation with structural changes | A full refurbishment plus wall removal, layout changes or extra bathrooms. | £105,000–£189,000 |
The main things that change the figure:
- Whether rewiring, new heating and full replastering are needed
- Kitchen and bathroom specification
- Structural or layout changes and associated approvals
- Hidden problems such as damp, rot or outdated drainage
Scope of the work
- Room-by-room survey and a planned order of works
- Rewiring and new consumer unit by qualified electricians, with certificates
- Plastering, skimming and repairs to ceilings and walls
- New kitchen and bathroom fitted to your chosen specification
- Flooring, internal doors, skirting and joinery
- Decoration and a final clean before handover
Housing across Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is home to the first garden cities, Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City, and the post-war new towns of Stevenage, Hatfield and Hemel Hempstead. Watford and St Albans have Victorian terraces and Georgian streets, interwar semis line the commuter suburbs, and brick-and-flint cottages appear in Chiltern villages to the west.
New-town and garden-city homes often suit extensions, window replacement and roofline renewal, though some garden-city estates have their own design guidance. Victorian terraces commonly take loft rooms and side-return extensions.
Generally dry with chalk and clay soils; clay areas can move in long dry spells, and mature trees near houses need considering for foundations.
Do you need permission in Hertfordshire?
For anyone in Hertfordshire, the relevant framework is England's. The summary below is general, so we always contact the council about your address before putting a price in writing.
Internal work such as a new kitchen, bathroom, flooring, plastering or decorating does not need planning permission in England, unless the house is listed, when listed building consent may be needed even for internal changes.
Some internal work is covered by Building Regulations: new electrical circuits and work in bathrooms (Part P), new drainage, structural changes, extractor ventilation and any new window. Notifiable work is certified by a registered installer or by building control.
Rules change and every property is different, so we check the planning history and constraints for your address before we quote.
From survey to handover
Free site survey
It starts with a survey at the property, free of charge. We check condition, access and services, ask how you want the finished result to look, and answer any questions you have about a whole-house renovation.
Price and scope agreed
After the survey we send a quote for a whole-house renovation that fixes the price for the scope we've agreed. If you want to change materials or scope, we revise it in writing before anything is booked.
Plan and prepare
With the quote agreed, we book the work in and handle preparation: permissions where needed, building control notifications, material orders and access arrangements for your Hertfordshire property.
Build and hand over
The work is carried out to the agreed specification, with floors and furniture protected and the site kept tidy. At the end we clean up, walk through the finished job with you and hand over any certificates.
What you can expect from us
Questions about a whole-house renovation in Hertfordshire
In what order should renovation work be done?
A renovation should follow a set order so finished work is never damaged by later trades. It usually runs from roof and structural repairs, through strip-out, first-fix electrics and plumbing, then plastering, second-fix electrics and plumbing, kitchen and bathroom fitting, flooring and finally decoration. Windows are usually fitted before plastering. We plan the programme around this sequence so each trade follows on smoothly.
How much will a whole-house renovation cost in Hertfordshire?
As a guide, expect to pay £47,000–£126,000 including VAT for a whole-house renovation in Hertfordshire. That range is adjusted for the East of England, which runs about 5% above the national guide. Where your project lands depends on size, materials, access and the condition of what is already there. We confirm a fixed price in writing after a free survey of your home.
Do you cover Watford, Hemel Hempstead and Stevenage?
Yes. As well as Hertfordshire, we cover Watford, Hemel Hempstead and Stevenage and the rest of Hertfordshire. Our coverage is UK-wide, so the process is the same wherever you are: a free site survey, a quote in writing that fixes the price for the agreed scope, and one point of contact while the work is planned and carried out.
How much does it cost to renovate a whole house?
A full refurbishment of a typical 3-bed house costs £47,000–£126,000, covering rewiring, heating, plastering, a new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decoration. A light refresh costs much less, while renovations with structural changes cost more. The biggest variables are the condition of the house and the kitchen and bathroom specification. We survey every room and give you a written price for the agreed scope.
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.
Towns in Hertfordshire
Choose your town from the list to see how we price and plan a whole-house renovation in your part of Hertfordshire, including typical time on site.