House Extensions in Milton Keynes
Single storey, double storey, rear and side. Managed throughout by our core team and trusted trades, from the first dig to the final finish.
Most people come to us with the same problem. The kitchen is too small, the back of the house is dark, and the family has outgrown the ground floor. An extension fixes it, but only if the structure, the drainage and the finish are all done properly. That is the part we take care of.
Typical works can include
Every project is different. Depending on the agreed scope, works may include:
- Site setting out, excavation and muck away
- Foundations, oversite, drainage runs and inspection chambers
- Cavity blockwork and matched facing brickwork
- Steel beams and padstones to the engineer’s calculations
- Flat or pitched roof, insulation, membranes and rainwater goods
- Bifold, sliding or French doors, windows and roof lanterns
- First fix and second fix carpentry, electrics and plumbing by our trades
- Plastering, decoration and floor finishes
- Breaking through into the existing house and making good
- Building Control liaison and sign off, where required and where included within the agreed scope
Elements such as decoration, flooring, structural engineer fees, Building Control fees and any professional or design costs are dealt with according to the individual project, and are included only where the quotation says so.
What we build
Single storey rear extensions are the bread and butter: pushing the back of the house out to make one big kitchen, dining and family space with bifolds or sliders onto the garden. Double storey work adds a bedroom or an ensuite above at the same time, which is almost always the better value per square metre if the budget stretches.
Side extensions and infills are worth a look on a lot of Milton Keynes estate houses, where the gap between the house and the boundary is doing nothing. It is rarely as much space as a rear extension, but it can be the difference between a galley kitchen and a proper one.
Do you need planning permission?
Often not. Under permitted development a single storey rear extension can typically reach around 3 metres on a semi or terrace and 4 metres on a detached house, with the Larger Home Extension route able to take that further subject to prior approval from Milton Keynes City Council. There are also limits on height, on building close to a boundary, and on how much of the land around the original house can be covered.
That position changes within the 27 conservation areas in the borough, on listed buildings, and where permitted development rights have been removed by condition. The above is general guidance rather than planning advice, and what applies depends on your particular property. We can flag the likely requirements early and advise when confirmation should be obtained from the council or an appropriate professional.
Building Regulations are a separate approval
Planning permission and Building Regulations are two different things, and an extension can need no planning permission at all while still requiring Building Control approval. For anything structural we generally prefer the Full Plans route, so drawings and calculations are checked before we start digging. We work with Building Control and structural engineers regularly and can manage that liaison where it forms part of the agreed scope. Their fees and appointments are not automatically included unless the quotation says so.
How the build actually runs
Foundations first, and they get deeper than most people expect once we know what the ground is doing and where the trees are. Then oversite, drainage and the concrete slab, then the shell in blockwork and matching facing brick, then the roof and the glazing so the job is watertight. Only after that do we open up into the existing house, which keeps you living in it for as long as possible.
Matching the brick is the bit that gives away a cheap extension. We take a sample to the merchant rather than guessing, and we match the mortar colour and the joint profile as well, because a perfect brick with the wrong mortar still looks wrong.
The guys did a fabulous job, friendly, professional and clearly taking pride in what they do. Will definitely use them again.
Examples of this work
Some of these are mid build rather than finished, because that is where you can see how something was put together.
Worth knowing
One honest word on cost. Nobody can price an extension properly from a phone call, and any builder who gives you a firm number without seeing the house is guessing. We will give you a realistic range on the first visit and a proper written quotation once we have the drawings.
Common questions
Will I need planning permission for my extension?
Often not. A single storey rear extension can usually go to 3 metres on a semi or terrace and 4 metres on a detached house under permitted development, with a 4 metre height limit and a tighter one within 2 metres of the boundary. You also cannot cover more than half the land around the original house.
The Larger Home Extension route can take those depths further, but it requires prior approval from Milton Keynes City Council before work starts and that process takes time. Conservation areas, listed buildings and properties that have had permitted development rights removed are all different again.
This is general guidance rather than planning advice, and the position depends entirely on your property and what has been built before. We can flag the likely requirements at the first visit and advise when confirmation should be obtained from the council or an appropriate professional.
How long will the work take?
It depends on the job, and anyone who gives you a number without seeing the house is guessing. As a rough guide: a bathroom is two to three weeks, a kitchen refit two to four, a single storey rear extension is usually ten to fourteen weeks from breaking ground, and a full house renovation runs three to six months depending on scale.
Weather, Building Control inspections and lead times on windows, doors and kitchens all move those numbers. We build realistic float into the programme rather than promising a date we cannot hold.
Can we stay in the house while you work?
Usually yes, and most of our customers do. On an extension you can live fairly normally right up until we break through into the existing house, which we leave as late as possible for that reason.
On a full renovation it is harder but still workable. We go room by room, keep a working kitchen and bathroom going as long as possible, sheet up properly and clean down at the end of each day.
Do I need to tell my neighbours?
Legally, sometimes. The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies if you are building on the line of junction, cutting into a shared wall, or excavating within 3 metres of a neighbouring building and deeper than their foundations, or within 6 metres on the 45 degree line. Notice has to be served in advance: one month for excavation, two months for party structure work.
Practically, always. Even where no notice is required, telling next door what is happening and roughly when is the difference between a neighbour who tolerates the noise and one who complains to the council. We keep sites tidy and the road clear.
How do payments work?
Payments are made in agreed stages appropriate to the size and type of project. The complete payment schedule is set out clearly within the quotation before work begins.
Different projects have different payment structures, particularly on larger builds, so the schedule is agreed with you in advance rather than assumed. You will always know what is due and when before any work starts.
Related work
Kitchen and open plan extensions
Kitchen, dining and family space in one, with the structure to open it up.
Read more
Structural alterations
Load bearing walls out, steel in, signed off properly.
Read more
Groundworks and external works
Foundations, drainage, bases and levels. The part nobody sees.
Read moreTalk it through before you commit
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