Extensions
How long does a house extension take, realistically
The build is the short part. Here is where the months actually go, stage by stage, and what genuinely causes the overruns.
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Advice
Building advice for Horsham & West Sussex
What the rules actually say, what the work actually involves, and where the money actually goes. Written for people deciding whether to start.
Extensions
Extensions
Single storey or double storey extension: which is better value
A second storey is rarely double the price of the first, because the expensive parts are already paid for. That changes the maths more than people expect.
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Planning
Planning
Garage conversions: planning permission and building regulations
Planning is usually not needed, unless a condition on your house says otherwise. Building regulations always are, and here is what they ask for, part by part.
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Planning
Water neutrality in Horsham: does it still affect your project?
Natural England withdrew its water neutrality position on 31 October 2025. For an extension or a refit it is no longer a hurdle. Here is who it still touches, and what to do with an old permission.
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Planning
Building regulations and planning permission are not the same thing
Two separate processes, two separate applications, two separate outcomes. The one people skip is the one that matters when you sell.
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Planning
Do I need planning permission for an extension in Horsham?
Often not, but Horsham District has four separate designations that take those rights away, and one of them decides your application isn't even the council's job.
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Planning
The 39 conservation areas in Horsham District, and what they do to an extension
Four of them are in Horsham town itself. Inside one, you lose side extensions, two-storey rear extensions and permitted development loft conversions outright.
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Planning
Lawful development certificates: why to get one you do not need
If your project genuinely is permitted development, you do not need permission. You should still get the certificate, and here is what happens if you do not.
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Planning
Does a loft conversion need planning permission?
Usually not, unless you are in one of Horsham District's 39 conservation areas, where the right disappears completely and every dormer needs an application.
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Planning
Does my extension need a party wall notice?
Three different notice periods, two excavation rules almost every extension trips, and one detail that catches everybody: a neighbour saying nothing counts as dissent.
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Planning
Slinfold's Article 4 direction: the village where extensions have no permitted development rights
Since 1997, every extension in Slinfold Conservation Area has needed a full planning application: no exceptions, whatever the size.
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Planning
Who decides your planning application: Horsham council, or the National Park?
If your property is in the South Downs National Park, Horsham District Council does not decide your application. Different authority, different portal, different policies.
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Costs
Costs
What a garage conversion costs, and what drives the price
There is no honest price per garage. There is a short list of things that decide whether yours is a straightforward job or a substantial one.
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Costs
What planning actually costs in Horsham in 2026
The householder application fee, the prior approval fee, the pre-application charges Horsham District Council sets itself, and the one that costs nothing.
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Costs
What actually drives the cost of an extension
Two extensions of identical size can differ by tens of thousands. Almost none of that is the walls. Here is where it actually goes.
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Kitchens
Kitchens
Knocking through a load-bearing wall: what is involved
Taking out a wall between kitchen and dining room is structural work with an engineer, a beam and building control. It is also routine, if it is done in the right order.
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Kitchens
Having a builder fit a kitchen you bought yourself
Plenty of people order from a showroom and want a builder to fit it. That works well, as long as somebody checks the plan before you place the order.
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Kitchens
What a kitchen renovation actually involves, in order
Six or seven trades in a fixed order, in the one room you cannot stop using. Getting the sequence right matters more than which units you buy.
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Bathrooms
Bathrooms
Replacing a bath with a walk-in shower: what decides whether it works
The tray fits where the bath was almost every time. Whether the water can get away from it is the question that actually decides the job.
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Bathrooms
Bathroom ventilation and what the building regulations require
An extractor fan is a regulatory requirement with a minimum rate, and the most common way of installing one badly does real damage to a roof.
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Bathrooms
Wet room or walk-in shower: what actually differs
They look similar in a brochure and are very different jobs underneath. The difference is the floor, and it is decided before any tiling starts.
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Hiring a builder
Hiring a builder
Do you need an architect for an extension?
Not always. But you do need drawings, and you almost certainly need a structural engineer, which is a different person and not optional.
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Hiring a builder
How to compare builders' quotes without getting caught out
Three quotes for the same job can differ by tens of thousands and all be honest. The difference is usually what is in them, not what they cost.
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Hiring a builder
Twelve questions to ask a builder before you hire one
Most of these take a minute to answer. The answers tell you more than a price does, and the awkward ones tell you most.
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Hiring a builder
What should be in a builder's quotation
A quotation is the document you will argue from if anything goes wrong. Here is what belongs in one, and what a missing section usually means.
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Selling
Selling
Selling a flat in a crowded market: when a refurbishment pays
Landlords are selling, flats are sitting online and price cuts are common. A tired flat takes the biggest hit, and the right refurbishment can turn that round.
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Got a question this doesn't answer?
Ask it. We would rather talk something through before you commit to it than after.