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.
Tunbridge Wells sits within our coverage for a whole-house renovation, as do neighbouring Tonbridge, Crowborough and Sevenoaks. Before giving a price we want to see the property: the condition of what's there now, the access, and anything that might need extra work. The guide range for the South East is £50,000–£134,000 including VAT, and your written quote will spell out exactly what that covers.
- Guide price
- £50,000–£134,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope
- Postcodes
- TN1, TN2, TN3 and TN4
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Kent
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
What should you budget for a whole-house renovation in Tunbridge Wells?
Here is how the guide price for a whole-house renovation breaks down in Tunbridge Wells. We start from national figures and adjust for the South East, which comes out about 12% above the national guide. The resulting range, VAT included, is £50,000–£134,000, and a survey, at no cost to you, firms it up.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Tunbridge Wells |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
What moves the price up or down:
- 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?
- Strip-out of old kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and finishes
- 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
- Decoration and a final clean before handover
Building in Tunbridge Wells
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.
Victorian terraces suit loft rooms and rear extensions; weatherboarded and timber-framed buildings may need cladding repairs and lime work. Newer estate homes often take garage conversions, porches and landscaping.
For a whole-house renovation in Tunbridge Wells, this means checking things like wall construction, roof structure and existing services before we put a figure on paper.
Permissions for a whole-house renovation in Tunbridge Wells
Planning law differs across the UK. For a home in Tunbridge Wells, it is the England rules below that count, and we check them with the council ahead of any quote.
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
Survey and measure
A free survey comes first. It gives us what we need to price a whole-house renovation properly, including dimensions, existing materials and access for deliveries, and gives you the chance to ask anything you like.
Price and scope agreed
Next you receive a written quote with a fixed price for the agreed specification. It lists what is included, what is not, and how payments are staged, so you can compare it properly.
Dates and permissions
Before anyone starts, we confirm the programme in writing, check whether consents are required and arrange deliveries. If a skip or scaffolding on the road needs a permit, we apply for it.
The work itself
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
Common questions
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.
What happens at the survey?
We visit your home at a time that suits you, look at the area involved, take measurements and check access, condition and any services that might be affected. We talk through what you want from a whole-house renovation, explain the options and answer questions. There is no charge and no obligation; afterwards we send a written quote.
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.
Can you combine a whole-house renovation with other work?
Yes. Because we manage several trades under one contract, we can plan a whole-house renovation alongside other work on your Tunbridge Wells home, such as new windows with rendering, or a kitchen refit with an extension. Combining jobs can reduce repeat set-up such as scaffolding, skips and access, and every element is listed and priced in the same written quote.
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.
Nearby towns
Coverage for Tunbridge Wells spans TN1, TN2, TN3 and TN4. Close by, Tonbridge, Crowborough and Sevenoaks are covered too, and the rest of our UK-wide area follows the same survey-then-quote process from start to finish.