We renovate and rebuild private houses: from cosmetic work to replacing the roof, floors and all engineering. Before the estimate we survey the building, because in a house the expensive problems are rarely in the interior.
The envelope comes first
Roof, gutters, plinth, apron and drainage come before internal finishing. With over two thousand millimetres of rain a year, fresh finishes over a damp wall last one winter. We measure moisture in the structure with instruments and show you where the water is getting in, and on a slope we deal with the drainage and, where needed, a retaining wall before anything else.
What the survey covers
A trial pit at the foundation where the condition is unclear, the state of walls and floors — often timber in older houses — the roof structure and its ventilation gap, moisture, cracks and their character, and the engineering. From that we say plainly whether this is a renovation, a reconstruction, or a case where demolition and a new build cost less. Where the numbers are close we give both estimates.
What we do
Replacement or repair of the roof and gutters, facade works, full rewiring and plumbing, heating and hot water sized for the actual house, waterproofing of wet rooms and terraces, windows, interior finishing and joinery. Where the structure or the floor area changes we handle layout changes with approvals and the registry update.
Terraces
A terrace is the single most common source of leaks into the room below. The waterproofing, the falls and the drainage outlet are built as a system rather than as a finish, and we redo all three rather than repainting the ceiling underneath.
Timing, price and warranty
Cosmetic work in a house takes three to five weeks, a full renovation with engineering two to four months, reconstruction longer and with documents. We quote a range by phone and give an itemised estimate after the survey. Warranty: two years on finishes, three on concealed engineering, five on structure.