A single-storey extension is a new ground-floor room built onto your house, usually at the rear or side, with its own foundations, walls and roof, creating a bigger kitchen, living space or bedroom without moving home.
Across Leicestershire, people look into a single-storey extension to replace something worn out, to make the house work better for them, or to get it ready for a sale. We cover Leicester, Loughborough, Hinckley and Coalville and the smaller towns around them, working to the rules that apply in England. Expect a guide of £33,500–£72,000, VAT included, in the East Midlands, and every quote follows a free visit.
- Guide price
- £33,500–£72,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 10–16 weeks on site
- Planning rules
- England
- Price level
- About 4% below the national guide
- Towns listed
- 9
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does a single-storey extension cost in Leicestershire?
Budgeting for a single-storey extension in Leicestershire? The numbers below include VAT and are adjusted for the East Midlands, where costs are about 4% below the national guide. The headline range is £33,500–£72,000. 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 Leicestershire |
|---|---|---|
| Small extension (8–12m²) | A modest rear or side extension, such as a utility room or a slightly larger kitchen. | £21,000–£38,500 |
| Typical rear extension (15–25m²) | A kitchen-diner or family room with bifold doors and a rooflight or lantern. | £33,500–£72,000 |
| Large or wrap-around (30m² plus) | A wrap-around or wide rear extension, often with structural steelwork into the house. | £67,000–£125,000 |
The main things that change the figure:
- Floor area, shape and number of corners
- Roof type, rooflights, lanterns and the amount of glazing
- Ground conditions, foundation depth and drains to divert
- Steelwork needed to open into the existing house
What’s included?
- Cavity walls built and insulated to building regulations
- Flat or pitched roof, with rooflights or a lantern if specified
- Steel beams to open into the existing house
- Windows and external doors, including bifolds if chosen
- Plastering, screed floor and internal doors
- Building control inspections and completion certificate
Housing across Leicestershire
Leicester has extensive Victorian red-brick terraces and interwar semis, with newer estates on the city's edges. Charnwood granite appears in walls and buildings in the north-west, Swithland slate on older roofs, and villages towards Rutland use ironstone and limestone. Loughborough, Hinckley and Market Harborough mix Victorian centres with post-war and recent housing.
Terraced homes often suit loft rooms and kitchen extensions, and semis commonly take side extensions and garage conversions. Older stone properties may need lime repointing and roof slating repairs.
A moderate, fairly dry Midlands climate, with winter frosts and clay soils that can move in dry summers.
Do you need permission in Leicestershire?
Because Leicestershire 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.
In England, many single-storey rear extensions are permitted development: typically up to 3 m deep on a semi-detached or terraced house and 4 m on a detached house, no more than 4 m high, and covering no more than half the land around the original house. Larger rear extensions can go through the prior approval process. Side extensions, flats, listed buildings, conservation areas and homes where permitted development rights have been removed need planning permission.
Building Regulations approval is needed for almost every extension, covering foundations, structure, insulation, drainage, ventilation and fire safety. If the work is on or near a shared wall or boundary, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply.
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
Survey and measure
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.
Quote in writing
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.
Booking the work
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
On site, the agreed plan is followed and any change is put in writing first. At completion we do a final clean, go through the snagging list with you and leave you with the relevant documents.
What you can expect from us
Questions about a single-storey extension in Leicestershire
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.
Can we stay at home during the build?
Most people stay at home while we build a single-storey extension, because the new structure goes up outside before we break through. The disruptive part is usually the last few weeks, when we open into the house and fit the kitchen. We put up dust screens, keep a safe route through the house and agree a temporary kitchen setup if needed. Water and power are only off for short, planned periods.
What does a typical extension build look like week by week?
A typical single-storey extension follows the same order: clearing the site and digging foundations, building walls up to roof level, then fitting the roof and windows to make it weathertight. Electrics, plumbing, insulation and plastering follow. The last stage is opening into the house, laying the screed and fitting doors and finishes. Building control inspects at key stages, and we book those visits for you.
Do I need planning permission for a single-storey extension?
Whether you need planning permission depends on the extension's size and height, how close it is to boundaries, your home's location, whether it is listed or in a conservation area, and which UK nation you live in. In England, many rear extensions up to 3m deep on a semi or terrace, or 4m on a detached house, can be built under permitted development. We check the rules that apply to your home 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.
Towns in Leicestershire
Below is our list of Leicestershire towns for a single-storey extension. If yours isn't shown, we may still cover it, so it is worth asking us directly.