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.
Whatever type of house you own in Chelsea, we start by looking at how a whole-house renovation would fit it rather than offering a standard package. We cover SW3, SW5, SW7 and SW10 and neighbouring places such as Battersea, Fulham and Pimlico. One named person looks after you from survey to handover, and nothing is booked until you hold our figure in writing, fixed for the work described.
- Guide price
- £58,000–£156,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 8–24 weeks on site, depending on scope
- Postcodes
- SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and SW1W
- Planning rules
- England
- Local area
- Greater London
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does a whole-house renovation cost in Chelsea?
To help you plan, we show what a whole-house renovation typically costs in Chelsea instead of holding figures back for a sales call. The range is £58,000–£156,000 with VAT, using rates in London that are about 30% above the national guide. A free survey then fixes your actual price.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
| Light refurbishment | Decoration, flooring, minor repairs and perhaps one new kitchen or bathroom. | £19,500–£58,000 |
| Full refurbishment | Rewire, heating, plastering, new kitchen and bathroom, flooring and decoration throughout a 3-bed house. | £58,000–£156,000 |
| Renovation with structural changes | A full refurbishment plus wall removal, layout changes or extra bathrooms. | £130,000–£234,000 |
Expect these to shape the final quote:
- 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- Hidden problems such as damp, rot or outdated drainage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
- Strip-out of old kitchens, bathrooms, flooring and finishes
- Rewiring and new consumer unit by qualified electricians, with certificates
- Heating and plumbing upgrades by qualified engineers
- Flooring, internal doors, skirting and joinery
- Decoration and a final clean before handover
Homes in London
London's housing is dominated by Victorian and Edwardian terraces, often in yellow London stock brick, with Georgian terraces in central districts and mansion blocks across many inner areas. Outer boroughs have large belts of interwar semis, and there are extensive post-war council estates. Many houses have been split into flats, and conservation areas are widespread.
Terraces suit side-return extensions and rear dormer loft conversions; interwar semis commonly take hip-to-gable lofts. Shared party walls, restricted parking and conservation rules often shape the plans and the programme.
Building traditions across London also raise conservation and planning questions, so we check those for a whole-house renovation in Chelsea at the survey stage.
Planning and building rules in Chelsea
Because Chelsea falls under England's rules, the guidance below is the version relevant to you. Before sending a price, we check your property's position with the council.
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.
How does the job run?
A visit to your home
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.
Your fixed price
We turn the survey notes into a written quote. The price is fixed for the specification we agree, and the document sets out materials, scope and payment stages in plain language.
Booking the work
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 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
Whole-house renovations in Chelsea: questions
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.
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.
Which postcodes in Chelsea do you cover?
We cover SW3, SW5, SW7 and SW10, along with the rest of London. 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.
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.
Can I stay at home during the work?
In most cases, yes. Most people can live at home throughout, and we plan the work to keep disruption down by protecting floors, agreeing working hours and keeping access routes clear. Bigger jobs affecting kitchens, bathrooms or heating may mean a short spell with reduced facilities, and we talk this through with you at the survey.
Nearby towns
Coverage for Chelsea spans SW3, SW5, SW7 and SW10. Close by, Battersea, Fulham and Pimlico are covered too, and the rest of our UK-wide area follows the same survey-then-quote process from start to finish.