#guides
Practical guides and insights for UK homeowners managing their own builds.
Can a Neighbour Stop Your Extension? What Objections Actually Count
No, a neighbour cannot veto your extension. Which objections carry planning weight, which are disregarded, and how to keep next door onside before you apply.
How to Find a Builder You Can Trust for an Extension (Without Getting Burned)
37% of UK homeowners have hired an unreliable builder. How to vet, hire, and manage a builder for your extension, grounded in a real project's near-misses.
Party Wall Agreements for an Extension: The Complete UK Guide (2026)
When the Party Wall Act applies, the notice timeline, surveyor costs, and how to stop it delaying your build by months. A homeowner's guide.
Permitted Development for Extensions: What You Can Build Without Planning Permission
Permitted development extension rules for England: exact size limits, the 6m and 8m prior approval route, what voids your rights, and why to get an LDC.
When a Builder Job Goes Wrong: Disputes, Delays and Walk-offs
What to do when a builder dispute hits your extension: the five-step escalation ladder, honest ADR costs, small claims limits, and the habits that prevent it.
Do You Need Planning Permission for a Kitchen Extension? (UK, 2026)
Often you don't. Many single-storey kitchen extensions fall under permitted development. Here are the size limits, the exceptions, and how to check yours.
How to Compare Builder Quotes for an Extension (Line by Line)
Why extension quotes never match, and how to compare builder quotes properly: normalise scope, provisional sums, exclusions and VAT before trusting a total.
UK Building Measurements: Why a 4×2 Isn't 4 Inches by 2 (And Other Imperial vs Metric Traps)
A homeowner's decoder for UK building measurements. Why timber, pipes, bricks, and bags use mixed imperial and metric, what to actually order, and the US import traps that wreck extensions.
First Fix vs Second Fix: What You Need to Know Before Your Extension
First fix and second fix explained for UK extension homeowners: what each stage covers for electrics, plumbing, and carpentry, and the decisions you must lock in before cables are run.
Should You Project Manage Your Own Extension? A Realistic Guide
Real numbers from a 35-month, self-managed UK extension build. What DIY project management costs in time, money and stress, with a decision framework.