Refurbishment & building in Kensington.

We know
Kensington.

Kensington is grand period London at its most valuable, built on stucco terraces, garden squares and mansion flats where the standard of finish expected is very high.

Almost all of it lies within conservation areas under the Royal Borough, so heritage-aware planning and careful external work are essential, and we approach every project on that basis.

In W8 and SW7 the work is high-specification whole-house refurbishment, structural and basement projects, and restoration of period features.

Landlords in W8 and W14 also use us for the certificates a tenancy needs. We have dedicated pages for an EICR in Kensington and a gas safety certificate (CP12) in Kensington, and both can be done in one visit with an EPC or a fire alarm check if the property needs one.

Squares, villas
and mansion blocks.

Kensington runs from the grand villas of Holland Park and Kensington Palace Gardens to the stucco squares of South Kensington, with Victorian terraces, Edwardian mansion blocks and mews in between. Much of it is listed, almost all of it is in conservation areas, and a large share of homes are flats.

Holland Park's large villas and the streets around Kensington Church Street have different needs from the mansion flats of South Kensington. A villa project might involve every floor and the garden, while a mansion flat job is planned around one front door, a shared lift and a set of building rules. We price each on its own terms rather than from a standard list.

Access is a constant in W8 and SW7. Many streets have controlled parking, narrow pavements and busy residents, so skips, scaffolding and deliveries are licensed and timed to cause as little disruption as possible.

For landlords and agents, we combine repairs with the compliance diary: gas safety records, EICRs and EPCs are booked ahead of expiry and the certificates emailed the same day, so a letting is never held up by missing paperwork.

Listed and period houses

Here the job is often invisible when it is done well: new services, structural repairs and insulation where it is allowed, with original mouldings, joinery and plaster kept or faithfully matched.

Garden-square and mansion flats

Flat refurbishments are shaped by the lease, the managing agent and the neighbours: working hours, protection of common parts, and approval of drawings before work.

Mews houses

Mews cottages bring their own issues: damp at ground level, flat roofs, garage conversions and very tight access.

Kensington
projects.

We are asked most for complete flat and house refurbishments, kitchens and bathrooms, rewiring, plaster repairs to lath and plaster ceilings, and damp and timber problems in lower ground floors.

The Royal Borough
and listed buildings.

Kensington is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, one of the most closely controlled planning authorities in the country. Most streets are conservation areas, and listed buildings need consent for many internal changes as well as external ones. Basements are subject to a specific borough policy. For flats, the freeholder's licence to alter usually comes first. We set out what consents your job needs before quoting.

Damp and
vaults.

Kensington's lower ground floors and front vaults are where most damp problems start. We look for the cause first: blocked gullies, defective lightwell drainage, leaking pipes, failed render or poor ventilation. Then we repair the damp and timber damage and replaster in materials that suit the wall, which in older buildings often means lime.

Managing a W8
property from afar.

Many Kensington flats are owned by people who live elsewhere. We can be the single contact for repairs, refurbishment between lettings and certificates, sending photographs of each stage and the certificates by email.

Certificates

Gas safety records, EICRs and EPCs, emailed the same day the inspection is done.

Refurbishment between lettings

Decorating, repairs, kitchens and bathrooms, planned around the building's working hours.

Fitted to
period rooms.

Fitting a modern kitchen or bathroom into a period Kensington room takes care: uneven walls and floors, protected features, limited routes for waste pipes and extraction, and the floors below to protect. We plan services first, waterproof properly and finish to the standard the building deserves.

Waste and extraction routes

In listed buildings and mansion flats, the routes for soil pipes and ducts are often the deciding factor in where a bathroom can go.

Underfloor heating

Electric or wet underfloor heating can work well in bathrooms, provided the floor build-up and the room below are considered.

Services in
older buildings.

Many Kensington flats have wiring and heating added to over decades. An EICR shows what is safe to keep. A rewire in a period building is planned so cables are chased and hidden with minimal damage to plaster and joinery, and the heating can be upgraded at the same time.

What happens
after you call.

1. Brief and building

   Tell us about the property, its listing or conservation status and the building's rules.

2. Survey

   We survey and identify what is original, what can be repaired and what needs replacing.

3. Written fixed price

   Detailed and agreed in writing before work starts.

4. Careful management

   Common parts protected, neighbours considered, every trade managed by one contact.

Kensington questions
answered.