Home Renovation & Refurbishment Across London
Covers Of London delivers home renovation and refurbishment projects across every London borough — from single-room upgrades in Hackney terraces to full property overhauls in detached homes across the South East. We handle the structural work, the fit-out, and every trade in between. One team. One point of contact. No sub-contractors passing through your front door.
30+
YEARS IN THE TRADE
3,500+
PROJECTS COMPLETED
Fixed
TRANSPARENT PRICING
10yr
WORK GUARANTEE
RENOVATION & REFURBISHMENT
What Does a Full Home Renovation Involve?
Most London homeowners reach a point where the house no longer works for them. The kitchen is too small. The layout wastes space. The electrics are outdated and the plumbing has been patched so many times it needs ripping out entirely. That is when a proper renovation makes sense — not a cosmetic refresh, but a considered overhaul that addresses the building fabric and the way you actually use the space.
We carry out full home renovations on properties of every size and era across London, from two-bed Victorian flats in Dalston to five-bed Edwardian houses in Muswell Hill. The scope varies, but the approach stays the same: survey it properly, plan it carefully, price it honestly, build it once.
OUR RENOVATION SERVICES
Renovation Work We Carry Out Across London
Every project differs. A ground-floor flat in Islington needs a different approach to a semi in Enfield. Here is a summary of the renovation services we deliver most often.
Full Property Renovation
Strip-back-to-shell renovations where we take the property down to bare walls and rebuild. New electrics, new plumbing, plastering, flooring, kitchen, bathrooms — the lot. We manage every trade on site so you deal with one team, not twelve separate contractors coming and going on their own schedules. Common across period terraces in Stoke Newington, Clapton, and Walthamstow where the internal layout needs a complete rethink.
Structural Alterations
Removing load-bearing walls and installing steel beams (RSJs) to open up ground floors. Reconfiguring room layouts to create open-plan kitchen-diners or to add an en-suite where one did not previously exist. All structural work is designed by a qualified structural engineer and signed off under Building Regulations. We have carried out hundreds of these alterations across East London, North London, and into Essex and Hertfordshire.
Rewiring, Plumbing & Heating
Older London properties often run on wiring that pre-dates current IET regulations. Boilers are undersized or inefficient. Pipework is a mixture of copper, plastic, and sometimes lead. We replace all first-fix services as part of a full refurbishment — certified electricians for the rewire, Gas Safe registered engineers for the heating, and qualified plumbers for the pipework. Certificates issued for every installation.
Kitchen Renovation
From units and worktops through to full reconfiguration — knocking through to a dining room, moving the soil stack, or boxing out a utility area. We fit kitchens supplied by the client or source them through our own trade suppliers. The second-fix plumbing, electrics, tiling, and flooring are all handled in-house.
Bathroom Refurbishment
Complete strip-out and refit of bathrooms and en-suites — tanking, tiling, sanitaryware, underfloor heating where specified. We also handle the less glamorous work underneath: addressing leaking waste pipes, replacing old lead soil stacks, and ensuring adequate ventilation to prevent condensation and mould.
Plastering, Decorating & Finishing
The finishing trades are what you live with every day, so they matter more than people think. Our plasterers, painters, tilers, and carpenters are tradespeople who work for us directly — not agency staff brought in at the last minute. Joinery, skirting, architrave, flooring, and final decoration are all completed to a standard we are prepared to put our name to.
PERIOD PROPERTIES
Period Property Renovation — Victorian and Edwardian Homes
London’s housing stock is overwhelmingly Victorian and Edwardian. Hackney, Islington, Haringey, Lewisham — the streets are lined with properties built between 1860 and 1920, and they all share the same characteristics: solid walls, timber floors, lime plaster, single-skin rear additions, and layouts designed for an entirely different era.
Renovating these homes properly requires knowledge of how they were built. You cannot treat a Victorian terrace the same way you would a 1990s new-build. Cement render on a breathable wall traps moisture. Ripping out a chimney breast without proper support causes structural cracking over time. Modern insulation boards fixed directly to old brickwork without a ventilation gap create damp problems that were never there before.
We have renovated hundreds of period properties across London and the Home Counties. We know when to use lime mortar instead of cement. We understand where lath-and-plaster should be preserved and where plasterboard is the better option. And we know the difference between a job that looks right on handover day and one that is still performing well five years later.
How Our Renovation Process Works
Every renovation starts with a site visit. Not a quick glance from the pavement — a proper walk-through where we look at the structure, the services, the condition of the building fabric, and what you want to achieve.
From there, we produce a detailed scope of works and a fixed-price quotation. Line by line, trade by trade. No provisional sums hidden in the small print unless there is a genuine unknown (such as what lies beneath a floor that cannot be lifted until work begins).
Once you approve, we agree a programme of works with clear milestones. You know what is happening, when it is happening, and how much it costs. If anything changes — and it sometimes does on older properties — we discuss it with you before we proceed, never after.
On completion, you receive all relevant certificates (electrical, gas, Building Regulations) and a written workmanship guarantee.
Customer Reviews
What our customers say
Service Areas
Areas We Cover Across London and the South East
Based in Hackney, we carry out renovation and refurbishment projects across the whole of London and into the surrounding counties. We know the local housing stock — the Victorian terraces of East London, the Edwardian semis of North London, the mansion blocks of South Kensington — and the planning requirements that apply in each borough.
Hackney
Islington
Tower Hamlets
Haringey
Waltham Forest
Newham
Camden
Barnet
Enfield
Southwark
Lambeth
Chelmsford
Hertford
Broxbourne
Cheshunt
All London Boroughs →
Why Choose Covers Of London for Your Home Renovation
Finding a builder in London who answers the phone, turns up when agreed, and charges what was quoted — that is the difficult part. The actual building work is the straightforward bit, provided you employ people who know what they are doing.
Our team are tradespeople who have worked with us for years, not agency labour hired for the week. There are no sub-contractors. The person who strips the plaster is employed by us. The electrician who rewires the property is employed by us. The plasterer who makes it all good afterwards is employed by us.
Every renovation we carry out comes with a written workmanship guarantee. We hold full public liability insurance. Our quotes are detailed, itemised, and fixed — the price we agree is the price you pay.
If we think a project does not need the work you are asking for, we will say so. We would rather do the right job than the expensive one.
FAQS
Home Renovation — Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a full home renovation cost in London?
There is no single answer — it depends on the size of the property, the condition of the existing structure, and the specification you want to achieve. As a rough guide, a mid-range full renovation in London typically falls between £1,500 and £2,500 per square metre. Higher-specification projects with bespoke joinery, underfloor heating, and premium materials will exceed that. We provide free site surveys and detailed, itemised quotations so you know the cost before committing to any work.
How long does a full house refurbishment take?
A typical full renovation of a three-bedroom London property takes between three and five months, depending on the extent of structural work and the complexity of the fit-out. Larger properties, or those requiring planning applications or party wall agreements, may take longer. We provide a clear programme of works with milestones at the start of every project, and we keep you updated on progress throughout.
Do I need planning permission for a home renovation?
Most internal renovation work does not require planning permission — you can reconfigure rooms, replace kitchens and bathrooms, rewire, and replaster without applying to the council. However, if you are making structural changes that affect the external appearance of the property, or if your home is in a conservation area or is a listed building, you may need permission. Building Regulations approval is required for structural alterations, electrical rewiring, boiler replacement, and changes to drainage. We handle the Building Control process as part of our service.
Can you work on Victorian and Edwardian period properties?
Yes — period properties make up the majority of our renovation work. We understand the construction methods used in Victorian and Edwardian homes and use appropriate materials and techniques. This includes lime-based mortars and plasters, sympathetic treatment of original features, and careful structural alterations that respect the building fabric. We have extensive experience across East London, North London, and into the Home Counties.
Do you provide a guarantee on renovation work?
Every project we complete comes with a written workmanship guarantee. We also provide all relevant compliance certificates — Electrical Installation Certificates, Gas Safe certificates, and Building Regulations completion certificates where applicable. We hold full public liability insurance on every project we undertake.
What areas do you cover?
We are based in Hackney and carry out renovation projects across all London boroughs — from Islington and Camden in the north to Southwark and Lambeth in the south, and from Westminster and Kensington in the west to Newham and Barking in the east. We also work in parts of Essex (including Chelmsford, Brentwood, and Epping) and Hertfordshire (including Hertford, Broxbourne, and Cheshunt).
Get a Free Home Renovation Quote
Whether you are planning a full property refurbishment or a single-room upgrade, we are ready to talk. Leave your details and we will be in touch within the hour during working hours. For anything urgent, call us directly.
Get a Free Home Renovation Quote Today
If your property needs more than a lick of paint — if it needs proper renovation work carried out by experienced tradespeople — call us on 0208 064 3801 or fill in the form above. We will arrange a site visit and provide a detailed, no-obligation quotation. Most surveys can be booked within 48 hours.