RenovationNotes
Notes All notesSite logReferencesStandards checker Getting StartedCosts & BudgetingPlanning & PermissionsStructuralManaging the ProjectLoft StorageLoft ConversionsExtensionsRoofs & RoofingKitchensBathroomsRenovation EssentialsOutdoor & ConversionsFoundations & GroundworksBrick, Block & MortarSteel & Structural TimberFloors & ScreedsRoofing MaterialsInsulation & MembranesCladding & RenderWindows, Doors & GlazingMerchants & BuyingMaterials – InteriorHeating, Plumbing & ElectricsTrades & ProfessionalsHeating, Energy & EcoGarden & LandscapingRooms & SpacesFlooringDecorating & PaintRepairs & ProblemsHow-To & DIY
Collections All collections Loft conversion, start to finishPlanning your extensionPlanning permission, decodedHiring a builder without regretsRenovating a house: where to start
Templates All templates Party wall noticesLetter to the neighboursPlanning commentCancel a contractDefective work letterRetention release
Tools All tools Area checkerVAT checkerParty wall checkCost indexCost build-upsGlossaryReferencesStandards checkerReference strengthRenovation mapYour project
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All notes Everything, newest first Site log What changed here, week by week References Every source the notes cite, by topic Standards checker Search 262 withdrawn and misquoted British Standards
Getting StartedCosts & BudgetingPlanning & PermissionsStructuralManaging the ProjectLoft StorageLoft ConversionsExtensionsRoofs & RoofingKitchensBathroomsRenovation EssentialsOutdoor & ConversionsFoundations & GroundworksBrick, Block & MortarSteel & Structural TimberFloors & ScreedsRoofing MaterialsInsulation & MembranesCladding & RenderWindows, Doors & GlazingMerchants & BuyingMaterials – InteriorHeating, Plumbing & ElectricsTrades & ProfessionalsHeating, Energy & EcoGarden & LandscapingRooms & SpacesFlooringDecorating & PaintRepairs & ProblemsHow-To & DIY
All collections Every reading path in one place Loft conversion, start to finish Thirteen stages, from working out whether your roof takes one to signing off the completion certificate, with the notes and the tools you need at each. Planning your extension Thirteen stages, from a first cost per square metre to the final account, in the order an extension actually happens. Planning permission, decoded What needs permission, what is permitted development, and how building regulations fit in: the six steps that settle the rules before you design anything. Hiring a builder without regrets Eight stages, from writing the scope to releasing the retention, and the checks at each one that keep you protected. Renovating a house: where to start Thirteen stages, from surveying what you have bought to signing the job off, and the order the works themselves have to happen in.
All templates Paperwork you can fill in and send Party wall notices The four documents the 1996 Act asks for, with the dates worked out Letter to the neighbours Dates, hours, skip and scaffold, and a number to ring Planning comment Object or support on grounds the council can actually weigh Cancel a contract The fourteen day cooling-off right, and your real deadline Defective work letter Put it right at their cost, under the Consumer Rights Act Retention release Ask for the money held back, once the period has run
All tools The full set, in one place Area checker Conservation area, Article 4 and eight more, by postcode VAT checker 0%, 5% or 20%, and what your builder needs Party wall check Which notice, how long before, what dissent costs Cost index Every figure on the site, with its assumption Cost build-ups Materials and labour, line by line Glossary 107 renovation terms, decoded References The sources behind the figures, by topic Standards checker Is that British Standard still live? Search 262 of them Reference strength Paste a link and see what it actually cites Renovation map Vetted trades, professionals and merchants across 29 cities Your project Estimate, quotes, budget, plan and snagging

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Nothing in here yet. Three ways to start.

  1. Pick a roadmap. The stages of a loft conversion, an extension or a whole-house renovation, in the order they happen, with what has to be settled before each one.
  2. Set the house up. What it is, what has been done to it, and what is due next. It outlasts any one project.
  3. Build an estimate. Pick the work from our cost index and set the quantities, and you have a range before you speak to anybody.

Or just read. Every note has a Save button, and what you save turns up here.

Set up your projectedit

Everyone you are considering, with the numbers you will need when you chase them. Shortlist buttons on the renovation map drop firms in here; add anyone else yourself.

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NameTradeWherePhoneEmailWebsiteNote
On the shortlist0

Put your estimate in, then fill the actual column as the invoices land. Totals update as you type.

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ItemEstimate lowEstimate highActualDifferenceNote
Total£0£0£0

Build the estimate from our cost index, then set the quantity against each line. The range is what the work typically costs, not a quote.

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ItemQtyUnitRate lowRate highLine lowLine high
Works£0£0
Contingency£0£0
Estimate£0£0

Put each quote in as it arrives. The comparison line shows how they sit against your estimate, so an outlier is obvious.

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TradeFirmAmountWhat it coversReceivedNote
Quotes0

The order of works, with the weeks against each phase. Rough is fine; it is there to show what has to happen before what.

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PhaseTaskWeeksStatusRuns
Total0

Stage payments

Put the contract sum in and we will spread it across the phases above, weighted by the weeks against each. Never pay ahead of the work: a stage payment is for work already done and on site.

Everything still wrong at the end of the job, room by room. Keep it open until it is genuinely done, and hand it over in writing.

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RoomWhat is wrongStatusRaisedNote
Open0

Planning checks you kept, from the area checker.

The order a job actually runs in, with what has to be true before each stage starts. Tick a stage off when you have cleared it.

Which of these are you doing?

You can change this later, and ticking stages off is the only thing that gets saved.

    The house, as opposed to the job being done to it. What it is, what has been done to it, and what is due next. It outlives any one project, so it is worth keeping straight.

    Describe the propertyedit

    Reminders

    Periodic upkeep, with the interval in months. Put the last date in and the next one works itself out.

    Swipe the table sideways to see every column

    WhatEveryLast doneNext dueNote

    The record

    What has been done to the house and who did it: certificates, guarantees, approvals, and the works themselves. We do not hold your documents, only the fact that they exist and where they are.

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    KindWhatWhoDoneExpiresReferenceCostNote

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