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.
Anyone planning a single-storey extension in Cardiff wants three things: a clear price, a realistic timetable and a tidy job. We publish a guide of £32,000–£69,000 including VAT for Wales up front, explain that work normally takes 10–16 weeks on site, and confirm both in writing after a free survey of your property.
- Guide price
- £32,000–£69,000 inc VAT
- Time on site
- 10–16 weeks on site
- Postcodes
- CF10, CF11 and CF24
- Planning rules
- Wales
- Local area
- South Glamorgan
- Survey
- Free, with a written quote
How much does a single-storey extension cost in Cardiff?
Below is a breakdown of typical costs for a single-storey extension in Cardiff. Because rates in Wales are about 8% below the national guide, the overall guide comes to £32,000–£69,000, including VAT. Size, materials and access move the figure, and a free-of-charge survey settles it.
| Type of job | What it usually involves | Guide in Cardiff |
|---|---|---|
| Small extension (8–12m²) | A modest rear or side extension, such as a utility room or a slightly larger kitchen. | £20,000–£37,000 |
| Typical rear extension (15–25m²) | A kitchen-diner or family room with bifold doors and a rooflight or lantern. | £32,000–£69,000 |
| Large or wrap-around (30m² plus) | A wrap-around or wide rear extension, often with structural steelwork into the house. | £64,000–£120,000 |
What moves the price up or down:
- Floor area, shape and number of corners
- Ground conditions, foundation depth and drains to divert
- Steelwork needed to open into the existing house
- Finishes, kitchen, flooring and heating specification
Scope of the work
- 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
- Electrics and plumbing by qualified trades, with certificates
- Windows and external doors, including bifolds if chosen
- Plastering, screed floor and internal doors
What are homes like around Cardiff?
Cardiff has large areas of bay-fronted Victorian and Edwardian terraces in districts such as Roath, Canton and Cathays, plus interwar suburbs, post-war estates and modern flats around Cardiff Bay. Penarth has Victorian villas, Barry mixes terraces with newer estates, and Vale of Glamorgan villages are often built of local limestone.
Mild but wet, with coastal exposure along the Severn estuary and Bristol Channel affecting render, roofline and windows.
So when we survey a Cardiff property for a single-storey extension, the first step is working out how it was built and what has been changed since.
Planning and building rules in Cardiff
As Cardiff is in Wales, read the following with that system of planning and building control in mind. We check what applies to your house with the council before you receive a quote.
In Wales, permitted development allows many single-storey rear extensions, with depth and height limits that depend on the type of house and how close the extension comes to your boundaries. Side extensions, listed buildings, conservation areas and flats usually need planning permission.
Building Regulations in Wales apply to extensions, from foundations to insulation and fire safety. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies in Wales as it does in England.
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
A visit to your home
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 single-storey extension.
Price and scope agreed
We put everything into a written, fixed-price quote: the specification, what's excluded, staged payments and the expected time on site. Take whatever time you need to decide; there's no pressure to commit.
Dates and permissions
Preparation matters as much as the build. We agree access, parking and working hours with you, order materials in good time, and confirm any permissions so the job isn't held up once it starts.
Finish and handover
Our trades complete a single-storey extension while your point of contact keeps you updated. When everything is finished, we clear the site, take away waste and go through the result with you before handover.
Working with SK Home Improvements
Single-storey extensions in Cardiff: questions
Do I need an architect for an extension?
You need proper drawings for an extension, but not always a full architect service. A designer or architectural technician can produce planning and building regulations drawings, and a structural engineer provides beam and foundation calculations. If you already have drawings, we price from them. If not, we can arrange the drawings and calculations as part of the project so everything is coordinated from the start.
Can you combine a single-storey extension with other work?
Yes. Because we manage several trades under one contract, we can plan a single-storey extension alongside other work on your Cardiff 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.
Do I need planning permission in Cardiff?
It depends on the work, the size of the project, your property type and whether the building is listed or in a conservation area. Cardiff is in Wales, so Wales's rules apply. Many smaller jobs need no planning application, but some still need building control approval. We check what applies to your address before quoting.
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.
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.
Near Cardiff
If your address falls within CF10, CF11 and CF24, we cover it. The same goes for neighbouring Penarth, Caerphilly and Barry, which we include alongside Cardiff when arranging surveys and quotes.