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.
In Gillingham, as anywhere in Kent, the price of a whole-house renovation is driven mainly by size, materials and access. Across the South East our guide sits at £50,000–£134,000 with VAT, but restricted parking, a narrow side passage or extra preparation can move the figure either way. That is why every price we give follows a visit to the house.
- Guide price
- £50,000–£134,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope
- Postcodes
- ME7 and ME8
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Medway
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does a whole-house renovation cost in Gillingham?
No two jobs cost exactly the same, but the ranges below give a fair picture of a whole-house renovation in Gillingham. Pricing for the South East runs about 12% above the national guide, and the overall guide is £50,000–£134,000 with VAT included. We'll confirm your figure after surveying the property for free.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Gillingham |
|---|---|---|
| Light refurbishment | Decoration, flooring, minor repairs and perhaps one new kitchen or bathroom. | £17,000–£50,000 |
| Full refurbishment | Rewire, heating, plastering, new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decoration throughout a 3-bed house. | £50,000–£134,000 |
| Renovation with structural changes | A full refurbishment plus wall removal, layout changes or extra bathrooms. | £112,000–£202,000 |
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’s included?
- 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 Gillingham
Kent's older buildings include oast houses, weatherboarded cottages, Wealden timber-framed houses and Kentish ragstone walls. Medway towns have long rows of Victorian terraces, Margate and Ramsgate have Regency and Victorian seafronts, and Ashford, Maidstone and Dartford have seen large new estates alongside interwar and post-war housing.
One of England's sunnier, drier counties, but Thanet and the coast are windy, and Weald and London Clay soils can shrink in summer.
For a whole-house renovation in Gillingham, this means checking things like wall construction, roof structure and existing services before we put a figure on paper.
Planning and building rules in Gillingham
For anyone in Gillingham, 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.
The four stages
We look at the job
Book a visit and we'll come to you. The survey covers measurements, the state of what's there now and any obvious constraints, so the price that follows is based on your actual home, not an average.
Your fixed price
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.
Getting ready
Once you accept, we agree start dates, order materials and deal with any planning, building control or neighbour notices the job needs. You'll know who is coming and when before work begins.
Finish and handover
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.
What you can expect from us
Questions about a whole-house renovation in Gillingham
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 postcodes in Gillingham do you cover?
We cover ME7 and ME8, along with the rest of Kent. If your postcode is not listed, get in touch anyway: our coverage is UK-wide, and we can usually arrange a survey wherever you live. Enter your postcode in the guide-price tool or contact form and we will confirm.
How long will a whole-house renovation take?
On a typical home, allow 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope. Larger projects, older buildings and extra work found once things are opened up can extend that, while simpler jobs may be shorter. Your quote includes an estimate of time on site, and your point of contact keeps you updated on the programme as the work progresses.
What contingency should I allow?
A contingency is money set aside for problems found once work starts, such as rotten joists, hidden damp or wiring that is worse than expected. For older houses, setting aside at least 10–15% of the build cost is sensible. We look for warning signs during the survey and price known issues upfront. If something unexpected is found, we explain it and price it before carrying on.
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.
Also covering areas around Gillingham
Live in Gillingham? Our coverage takes in the ME7 and ME8 postcode areas and reaches out to Chatham, Rochester and Strood, so homes on the outskirts and in the next town along are included.