A full house renovation in 2026 costs between £500 and £1,200 per square metre depending on the scope and finish level. For a typical 3-bed semi (90m²), that's £30,000–£60,000 for a budget renovation, £60,000–£120,000 for mid-range, and £120,000+ for a high-end refurbishment.
Renovation Costs at a Glance
Budget Renovation
Cosmetic refresh: new kitchen and bathroom, redecoration throughout, some flooring. Existing layout kept. £500–£700/m².
Mid-Range Renovation
Full rewire, new heating, replumbing, new kitchen and bathrooms, plastering, flooring, decoration. £700–£1,000/m².
High-End Renovation
Structural changes, premium materials, bespoke kitchen, underfloor heating, smart home, landscaping. £1,000–£1,200+/m².
Room-by-Room Cost Breakdown
Kitchen Renovation
The kitchen eats the biggest chunk of any renovation budget — and it's where you'll add the most value. Strip out the old units, replaster, new electrics, plumbing, flooring, tiling, and fit new cabinetry and appliances.
Budget kitchen (£8,000–£12,000): Off-the-shelf units from a trade supplier, laminate worktops, existing layout kept, new splashback tiling, vinyl or laminate flooring. You're replacing everything visible but not moving any services.
Mid-range kitchen (£12,000–£18,000): Better quality units, quartz or solid timber worktops, new layout with some plumbing/electrical changes, integrated appliances, ceramic or porcelain floor tiles. This is where most people land.
High-end kitchen (£18,000–£25,000+): Bespoke or premium brand units, stone worktops, fully new layout, underfloor heating, feature lighting, high-end appliances (Bosch, Neff, Siemens range). Moving the soil stack or knocking through to a dining room pushes you to the upper end.
Bathroom Renovation
Bathrooms are deceptively expensive per square metre — there's a lot crammed into a small space. Plumbing, electrics, waterproofing, tiling, sanitaryware, and ventilation all add up.
Budget bathroom (£3,000–£6,000): New suite (bath, toilet, basin), basic tiling around the bath, vinyl flooring, repaint. Keeping existing plumbing positions saves a fortune here.
Mid-range bathroom (£6,000–£10,000): Full strip-out, new suite with thermostatic shower, floor-to-ceiling tiling, underfloor heating, new extractor, heated towel rail. This is where it starts to feel properly finished.
High-end bathroom (£10,000–£15,000+): Walk-in wet room, wall-hung vanity, large-format porcelain tiles, digital shower, backlit mirror, electric underfloor heating, designer fittings. Small room, big price tag.
Bedroom Renovation
Bedrooms are the cheapest rooms to renovate because you're mostly dealing with cosmetic work — no plumbing, minimal specialist trades.
Costs: £2,000–£5,000 per bedroom. That covers replastering if needed (£400–£700), new electrics (sockets, switches, lighting — £300–£600), new flooring (carpet £15–£25/m², engineered oak £40–£70/m²), decoration (£200–£400), and built-in wardrobes if you want them (£1,000–£3,000). If the room just needs decorating and carpet, you're looking at £500–£1,000.
Living Room Renovation
Living rooms fall between bedrooms and kitchens — you're dealing with more area, potentially a fireplace, and higher expectations on finish quality.
Costs: £3,000–£8,000. Budget end covers replastering, new electrics, basic flooring, and decoration. The higher end includes engineered hardwood or polished concrete flooring, a new or restored fireplace (£1,000–£3,000), feature lighting, and potentially removing a chimney breast or knocking through to the dining room (structural work adds £2,000–£5,000).
Mechanical & Electrical Costs
These are the big-ticket items that most people underestimate. They're invisible once finished, but they're essential — and they take the longest to complete.
Full Rewire
New consumer unit, all circuits, sockets, switches, and lighting. 3-bed house takes 5-7 days. Required in most pre-1980s properties. EICR certificate included.
Replumbing
New copper or plastic pipework throughout, hot and cold runs to all outlets, new stopcocks and isolation valves. Often combined with a new bathroom and kitchen.
Central Heating
New combi or system boiler (£1,500–£3,000), radiators throughout (£150–£350 each installed), TRVs, thermostat, pipework. Gas Safe registered.
When Do You Need a Full Rewire?
If your house has any of these, you almost certainly need a rewire: round-pin sockets, fabric-sheathed cables, a fuse box with wire fuses (not MCBs), no earth connection, or the wiring hasn't been touched since the 1970s. An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) costs £150–£300 and tells you definitively.
Period Property Premium
Renovating a Victorian, Edwardian, or Georgian property typically costs 20–40% more than the same work on a modern house. Here's why:
- Lime plaster vs gypsum: Period properties need lime-based plaster to let solid walls breathe. It's slower to apply, needs more coats, and costs 40–60% more than standard gypsum plastering.
- Heritage windows: Timber sash window restoration costs £300–£800 per window. Replacement timber sashes: £800–£1,500 each. UPVC isn't an option on listed buildings or in conservation areas.
- Solid wall insulation: No cavity to fill. Internal insulation (£50–£90/m²) or external insulation (£100–£150/m²) needed if you want to improve energy performance.
- Specialist trades: You need plasterers who can do lime work, joiners for period features, and builders comfortable with rubble walls and irregular structures. They charge more because they're specialists.
- Listed building consent: If your property is listed, you need consent for most changes. That means heritage consultants, additional planning fees, and restrictions on what you can and can't do.
Regional Pricing (Per m², Mid-Range Renovation)
Labour rates are the biggest variable between regions. Materials cost roughly the same everywhere (thanks to national builders' merchants), but the person fitting them charges very differently depending on where you are.
What Affects the Price
Scope of work
A cosmetic refresh (decoration, flooring, new kitchen doors) costs a fraction of a full structural renovation. Define your scope clearly before getting quotes — the difference between "freshen up" and "gut and start again" is £50,000+.
Property age and condition
A 1990s house in reasonable condition needs far less than a 1900s terrace with damp, outdated electrics, and failing plumbing. Older properties always have surprises behind the walls. Budget a 10–15% contingency minimum.
Structural changes
Removing walls, adding steels, changing floor levels, or altering the roof structure adds significant cost. A single RSJ beam installed costs £800–£2,500. Opening up a kitchen-diner with structural steel: £2,000–£5,000.
Specification and materials
The difference between a £20/m² vinyl floor and a £70/m² engineered oak floor is enormous when multiplied across a whole house. Same with kitchens — the units and worktops alone can swing £10,000–£15,000 depending on spec.
Number of bathrooms
Each bathroom adds £3,000–£15,000 to the budget. A house with one bathroom is fundamentally cheaper to renovate than one with three. Wet rooms and ensuites cost more per m² than standard bathrooms.
Living in vs moving out
If you stay in the house during works, it slows the job down. Trades can't work freely across all rooms, dust protection adds cost, and the job typically takes 20–30% longer. Moving out is disruptive but cheaper overall — the builders finish faster.
Access and parking
Central London terrace with no parking? Materials have to be hand-carried from a distance, skips need road permits, and delivery windows are tight. Poor access adds £2,000–£8,000 to a whole-house renovation.
Asbestos and hazardous materials
Pre-1990s properties may have asbestos in artex ceilings, floor tiles, pipe insulation, or soffits. A survey costs £200–£500. Licensed removal: £500–£3,000+ depending on scope. Non-negotiable — it's a legal requirement.
How to Save Money on Your Renovation
💡 Practical ways to reduce your renovation costs
- Prioritise ruthlessly. Rewiring and replumbing need doing once — get them right. Decoration and flooring can be upgraded later. Spend money on the stuff inside the walls first.
- Keep the existing layout. Every wall you move, every drain you reroute, every radiator you reposition adds labour. Working within the existing footprint saves thousands.
- Buy your own materials. Tiles, flooring, sanitaryware, lighting — buy direct from suppliers rather than through your builder. You'll save the 15–25% markup. Discuss this with your builder first.
- Do the strip-out yourself. Ripping out old kitchens, bathrooms, carpets, and skirting boards is hard graft but not skilled work. A weekend's labour saves £1,000–£3,000 in tradesman time.
- Time it right. Builders are quieter November–February. Starting in winter can save 5–10% on labour costs. The interior work doesn't care about the weather.
- Get three itemised quotes. Not lump sums — line-by-line breakdowns so you can compare. If one builder is £15,000 more, you want to know which items are driving the difference.
- Don't move during the project unless necessary. Rental costs of £1,000–£2,000/month add up quickly. If the kitchen and bathroom are being done at different times, you can stay and cope.
- Avoid changes mid-project. Every variation costs 20–40% more than if it was in the original scope. Decide everything before the first hammer swings.
What Should Be Included in a Renovation Quote
A proper renovation quote should cover the full scope of work in enough detail that you can compare it against other quotes. Here's what to look for:
- Strip-out and demolition — removing old kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, and any structural demolition
- Structural work — steel beams, wall removals, new openings, lintels
- First fix electrics — new wiring, consumer unit, cable runs for sockets, switches, and lighting
- First fix plumbing — new pipework, waste runs, hot and cold feeds, heating pipework
- Plastering — walls and ceilings throughout, ready for decoration
- Second fix electrics — sockets, switches, light fittings, testing and certification
- Second fix plumbing — sanitaryware, taps, radiators, boiler commissioning
- Kitchen supply and fit — units, worktops, splashback, appliance connections (sometimes excluded)
- Bathroom supply and fit — suite, tiling, shower, heated towel rail
- Flooring — subfloor preparation and finish flooring (often excluded — ask)
- Decoration — mist coat and two topcoats throughout (sometimes excluded)
- Skip hire and waste disposal
- Contingency allowance — a good builder will flag this. 10–15% is standard for older properties
Common exclusions: Flooring material, kitchen appliances, light fittings, curtain poles, external landscaping, and building regulations fees. Nail down what's in and what's out before you sign anything.
Hidden Costs to Budget For
Asbestos Survey & Removal
Survey: £200–£500. Removal depends on type and extent. Artex ceilings across a whole house: £1,500–£3,500. Legally required for pre-1990s properties.
Temporary Accommodation
If you move out during a 3-6 month renovation, rental costs add £3,000–£12,000 to the total budget. Factor this in early.
Building Regulations
Required for structural changes, rewiring, replumbing, new boiler, window replacements. Some builders include this, many don't.
Structural Engineer
Needed if you're removing walls, opening up rooms, or altering the structure. Beam calculations and structural drawings for building control.
Damp Treatment
Rising damp injection: £50–£80 per linear metre. Tanking a basement: £1,500–£5,000. Often discovered once walls are stripped back.
Skip Hire & Waste
A whole-house renovation generates a lot of waste. Budget for 3-6 skip loads at £250–£400 per skip. Plasterboard must go in separate skips.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Cost Guides
Our Renovation Services
From single-room refreshes to complete whole-house renovations — we manage the entire project from strip-out to snagging.