A full refurbishment of a London house costs £1,200–£2,000 per m² at a standard specification and £2,000–£3,000 per m² for a premium finish. A typical three-bedroom, 90 m² terrace refurbishment is therefore £110,000–£180,000, including rewiring, replumbing, a new kitchen and bathroom, plastering and decoration. Expect 3–6 months on site.
What a full refurbishment includes
A full refurbishment takes the house back to its structure and rebuilds everything the next owner will touch: new electrics and consumer unit, new plumbing and heating, replastering or re-boarding walls and ceilings, new kitchen and bathrooms, new flooring, internal doors and joinery, and full decoration. It often also includes structural changes such as removing the wall between the kitchen and dining room, damp-proofing and window replacement.
It differs from a cosmetic refurbishment, which keeps the services and simply updates finishes for £400–£700 per m².
Where the money goes
On a typical £140,000 refurbishment of a 90 m² terrace, roughly a third goes on the kitchen and bathrooms, a quarter on services (electrics, plumbing, heating), a fifth on plastering, flooring and decoration, and the balance on structural work, joinery, windows and preliminaries such as skips, scaffolding and site management.
- Full rewire with new consumer unit: £6,000–£10,000
- Replumb, new boiler and radiators: £8,000–£14,000
- Replaster or overboard throughout: £10,000–£18,000
- Mid-range kitchen supplied and fitted: £15,000–£30,000
- Family bathroom supplied and fitted: £9,000–£16,000
- Engineered oak flooring, 60 m²: £6,000–£9,000
Period houses cost more
Victorian and Edwardian houses in London usually hide lath-and-plaster ceilings, lead pipework, timber decay at joist ends and undersized lintels. Restoring original features such as cornices, sash windows and fireplaces is skilled work. Budget towards the top of the range, and hold a 10–15% contingency rather than the usual 10%.
Listed buildings and conservation areas add consent requirements and often require lime plaster and traditional materials, which cost more and take longer to dry.
Timeline and living arrangements
A full refurbishment of a three-bedroom house takes 12–16 weeks; a four or five-bedroom house with structural work takes 20–26 weeks. The sequence is strip-out and structure, first-fix electrics and plumbing, plastering, second fix and kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, decoration and snagging.
For the first four to six weeks, while floors are up and there is no water or power, we recommend moving out. Many clients return once first fix is complete and live upstairs while the ground floor is finished.
Frequently asked questions
- Is VAT charged on refurbishment work?
- Yes, at 20% on an occupied house. A reduced 5% rate applies to houses that have been empty for two years or more, and to conversions that change the number of dwellings, which can save tens of thousands on an HMO or flat conversion.
- Should I refurbish before or after extending?
- Together. Doing the extension and refurbishment as one project avoids paying twice for scaffolding, skips and site management, and lets the services be designed for the finished house rather than retrofitted.
- How much does a refurbishment add to the value?
- In London a well-executed full refurbishment typically adds 10–20% to the value, more if combined with an extra bedroom or bathroom. Estate agents consistently report that unmodernised houses sell at a discount larger than the cost of the work.