Frequently Asked Questions
Answers on cost, timing, planning, party walls and living through the build. For anything else, call us on 020 7495 6561 or email hello@buildteam.com.
A kitchen extension usually takes about 12 weeks to design and get through planning, then about 12 weeks to build. The Design Phase allows 2 weeks for the survey, design and planning submission, 8 weeks for the council's decision, and a final 2 weeks for the structural calculations and Building Regulations drawings. The build time depends on the specification: an all-glass roof, for example, adds 2 to 4 weeks. Your Build Manager gives you a build programme for your own project before work starts.
The design process takes your idea to approved drawings that a builder can price and build from. Our architectural team develops the design with you through our Design Service, then prepares and submits the planning or Lawful Development Certificate application to your council. The drawings carry enough detail for Building Control, and our design team answers Building Control's questions during the build, even if you build with another contractor.
Planning permission is not always needed for an extension: many rear extensions and loft conversions fall under permitted development, within size limits. Flats, Article 4 directions, conservation areas and larger schemes can mean you need full planning permission, and even under permitted development we recommend a Lawful Development Certificate. Our Design Service includes whichever application you need, with the drawings, forms and any heritage or design and access statements.
Build Team will quote to build from your own architect's drawings and planning permission. If the Building Regulations drawings, schedule of works or structural engineering are missing, our Architectural Review service fills those gaps. Once the information is complete, we price the scheme line by line and give you a fixed contract sum.
The Party Wall Act sets out how building work on or near a shared wall or boundary has to be agreed with your neighbours, so that your work does not damage their property. If your extension is built on or against the party wall or boundary, or you dig foundations close to a neighbour's building, you usually need to serve notice on them before work starts. Our party wall team can serve the notices for you.
The Party Wall Act cannot be used to stop your build. A neighbour can use it to require a surveyor and an award that sets out how the work is done. Planning permission is a separate process: the Act deals only with how the work affects the neighbour's property.
Build Team can handle the party wall process through our in-house party wall service. Our party wall specialist works out the best way to serve notice, deals with your neighbours' concerns and carries out the Schedule of Condition. All of this is covered by our fixed-fee Party Wall Service.
There is no obligation to build with us after the Design Phase. Once you have planning permission, we offer you a meeting with our construction team and a detailed schedule of works for the build. You are free to get competing quotes from other contractors.
Your extension will not look like anyone else's, because each Build Team design starts from your house, your family and your budget. Your Architectural Designer works from what you want, and you choose the extension type, roof pitch (if any), windows, doors, fittings and floor. You can see the range of finished projects in our gallery.
Build Team can design a contemporary extension, but most of our clients ask for the largest practical living space their budget allows, and that is where our work is focused. Our contract sums usually sit between £30,000 and £200,000. If you want a statement design, where contract sums are typically £200k–£250k, an architect who specialises in that work may suit you better; the Royal Institute of British Architects lists them at www.architecture.com.
Build Team takes on other building work alongside an extension. If you also want a bathroom refurbished or rooms reconfigured elsewhere in the house, we can do that work while we are on site for the extension.
Changes to the design during the build are possible, but how much we can accommodate depends on how much notice you give. Your Build Manager will tell you when each decision has to be confirmed. Design clients get unlimited design amendments, so the Design Phase is the best time to try ideas, and a House Tour shows you how finished designs look in real life.
Build Team can fit your kitchen and flooring, but they are priced separately from the main build quote. Our initial quote uses a per-sqm rate for the shell and core: a watertight shell with windows, external doors, electrics and plastering, everything needed for Building Control sign-off. Kitchen, flooring and decoration are left out so you can choose them to suit your budget, and we quote for them after the Design Phase, before you commit to the build.
You can use your own kitchen supplier, and we will coordinate with them so the kitchen is fitted at the right point in the build. Many clients buy an off-the-shelf kitchen (for example from Magnet, Howdens or Benchmarx) and spend more on the worktops. We can install units and worktops like these for you.
You can usually live in the house during the build, though some clients choose to move out. If you stay, we can set up a temporary kitchen until the new one is ready. If the house has no rear access, materials have to come through the house, and we protect the hallway and floors first.
Every Build Team build comes with a three-year structural guarantee and a two-year defects liability period.
You can visit a finished Build Team extension on one of our House Tours, see the workmanship up close and ask our design and build team your questions. We add new dates regularly, so check the House Tours page for the next one, or watch our short video to see what a tour involves.
Building Regulations are the national standards for structure, fire safety, insulation and drainage that every extension has to meet. Before the build starts you appoint Building Control to inspect the work at set stages and issue the completion certificate. If Building Control has questions during the build, our design team answers them.
You can appoint Building Control yourself, or Build Team can arrange it for you. If you build with us, our Build Management team will explain the options before work starts.
Build Team holds £2m public liability insurance. It covers you, your family and your property in the event of an accident or damage during the works.
Your dedicated Architectural Designer (during design) or Build Manager (during the build) is the person to contact about your project. They manage it from start to finish and answer your questions along the way. If you are not sure who to ask, reach our office team through the contact page.
A dedicated Build Manager runs every Build Team build and is your point of contact throughout the Build Phase. They give you regular updates and help you settle outstanding decisions, such as electrical layouts, as the build goes on.
Glossary: building, design and party wall terms
83 terms you will hear from architects, engineers, surveyors and the council, in plain English.
A
- Acoustic
relating to sound or the sense of hearing.
- Aggregate
a material or structure formed from a mass of fragments or particles loosely compacted together.
- Astride the boundary
The building owner would be allowed to build half on their land and half on the adjoining neighbours land with the party wall being centrally located on the boundary line
B
- Bay window
Combination of three or more windows which angle out beyond an exterior wall in a square, hexagonal or octagonal shape. Because they angle out beyond the exterior wall, this creates a compartment.
- Beam
Strong and sturdy horizontal piece of timber/metal/concrete to support the roof or floor of a building
- Bifold doors
doors that fold open, made from a series of panels that fold up against the wall like a concertina.
- Binder
a material used to form materials into a cohesive whole, as a means of providing structural stability.
- Blockwork
blocks of concrete, cement, or similar material in a wall or other structure.
- Boundary wall
a wall constructed on the land of one owner.
- Brickwork
the bricks in a wall, house, or other structure in terms of their type or layout.
- Building regulations
The Building Regulations are intended to protect people's safety, health and welfare in and around buildings. The regulations are also designed to improve conservation of fuel and power, protect and enhance the environment and promote sustainable development.
C
- CAD File
(Computer-aided Design) - are digital files that house 2D or 3D designs as well as information regarding materials, processes, tolerances, and other data. From design to production, everything typically needs a CAD file.
- Cavity wall
a wall formed from two thicknesses of brickwork or blockwork with a space between them.
- Chimney breast
a part of an interior wall that projects to surround a chimney void.
- Cladding
a covering or coating on a structure or material.
- Column
Upright pillar for supporting the structure
- Courtyard
an unroofed area that is completely or partially enclosed by walls or buildings, typically one forming part of a castle or large house.
- Cranked Steel
Is an angled beam that usually has two kinks to create a 90 degree angle
- Crittalldoors
metal, grid-framed doors, windows or internal screens. Usually creating an industrial look.
D
- Dormer/L-shaped dormer
A loft extension where a box shaped structure is added onto a pitched roof
- Double Glazing
windows which have two layers of glass with a space between them, designed to reduce loss of heat and exclude noise.
- Downstand
A beam which sits below the ceiling
- Drainage
natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water.
- Durability
the ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage.
E
- Existing Drawings
Drawings made of the existing property
- Exposed brick wall
Exposed brick brings texture, color, and a rustic vibe to interior spaces. The look, which is typically achieved by removing the plaster from a wall to reveal the underlying masonry
F
- Finishes
completing the manufacture or decoration of an article by giving it an attractive surface appearance.
- Fire Door
a fire-resistant door to prevent the spread of fire.
- Fire Escape
A staircase or other apparatus used for escaping incase of fire.
- Fittings
a small part on or attached to a piece of furniture or equipment.
- Flashing
a sheet of thin, impervious material used to prevent water penetration or seepage into a building and to direct the flow of moisture in walls.
- Foundation
Lower part of a structure designed to distribute the weight of a building evenly and provide a firm footing
- French Door
A wooden door, usually one pair, of light construction with glass panes extending for most of its length.
G
- Gable Roof
Double sloping roof that forms a gable at the end
- Glazing
the action of installing windows.
- Green roof
A green roof is a layer of vegetation planted over a waterproofing system that is installed on top of a flat or slightly–sloped roof.
H
- Heat Loss
loss of heat, especially from a building as a consequence of poor insulation or construction.
- Hip Roof
Roof with sharp edge(s) from the ridge to the eaves
- HVAC
heating, ventilation and air conditioning
I
- Insulation
material used to insulate something and reduce heat loss.
K
- K-values
a measure of the thermal conductivity of a material, that is, how easily heat passes across it.
L
- Laminated Glass
Laminated glass (LG) is a type of safety glass that holds together when shattered.
- Land use
Land use involves the management and modification of natural environment.
- Lintel
Horizontal support of timber/stone/concrete across the top of a door or window
- Listed Buildings
A building becomes listed when it is of special architectural /historical interest which is considered to be of national importance and therefore worth protecting
M
- Macerator
Toilet system which reduces human waste into a slurry that is piped directly to the main drain line. Usually used for toilets that are far from the wast pipe as the pump helps to move waste along a shallow pipe.
- Mansard
A loft extension with a roof with four sloping sides, getting steeper halfway down. Usually accompanied by small dormer windows.
- Moisture
Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts.
O
- Outrigger
Rear projection of a traditional terrace house
P
- Parapet
a low protective wall along the edge of a roof, bridge, or balcony.
- Party Wall
A dividing partition between two adjoining buildings that is shared by the occupants of each residence
- Paving
a surface made up of typicall flat stones laid in a pattern.
- Piled foundation
A deep foundation is a type of foundation that transfers building loads to the earth farther down from the surface than a shallow foundation does to a subsurface layer or a range of depths.
- Pitched roof
A pitched roof is a roof that slopes downwards, typically in two parts at an angle from a central ridge, but sometimes in one part, from one edge to another.
- Planning Permisisons
Consent from local authorities for a proposed building/development
- Pocket doors
A pocket door is a sliding door that, when fully open, disappears into a compartment in the adjacent wall.
R
- Radiator
a fixed or portable metal based product that radiates or emits heat
- Rainwater drainage system
includes rainwater-collecting and -conducting sluices and channels, retention reservoirs, rainwater pumping stations, rainwater intake ports and chambers, discharge gates and other supporting works designed for rainwater collection and drainage.
- Recessed Beam
A beam which is pushed up into the ceiling or upper floor to conceal the beam from underneath
- Recycling
the action or process of converting waste into reusable material.
- Render
a finished surface of the wall by applying a coat of cement to the external walls to make them smooth or textred
- Right to light
Law which gives the owner of a building with windows a right to maintain an adequate level of illumination
- Rock wool
inorganic material made into matted fibre used especially for insulation or soundproofing.
S
- Safety glass
glass that has been toughened or laminated so that it is less likely to splinter when broken.
- Side Return
The pathway that runs alongside the rear outrigger of a victorian terraced house
- Slate roofing
Rock based material which are cut to sized and used as roofing tiles.
- Sliding doors
a door drawn across an aperture on a groove or suspended from a track, rather than turning on hinges.
- Smart homes
a home equipped with lighting, heating, and electronic devices that can be controlled remotely by smartphone or computer.
- Soil Pipe
A sewage or waste pipe.
- Solar panel
a panel designed to absorb the sun's rays as a source of energy for generating electricity or heating.
- Strip foundation
Type of shallow foundation that consists of filling the trench excavated with concrete.
- Structural Drawings
Drawings of of the property overlaid with structural calculations and details
- SVP
(Soil Vent Pipe) vertical pipe used to drain sewage from a building
T
- Timber frame construction
Timber frame construction uses timber studs and rails, together with a structural sheathing board, to form a structural frame that transmits all vertical and horizontal loads to the foundations.
- Timber treatement
Treated timber is pressure impregnated to guard against environmental conditions
- Toughened Glass
Tempered or toughened glass is a type of safety glass processed by controlled thermal or chemical treatments to increase its strength compared with normal glass.
U
- U-values
thermal transmittance. The rate of transfer of heat through matter.
- Underfloor heating
Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using water pipes or electrical heating elements embedded in a floor.
- Utility Room
a room equipped with appliances for washing and other domestic work.
V
- Velux
Openable window built into a sloping roof
- Ventilation
the provision of fresh air to a room, building, etc.
W
- Wet Room
a bathroom in which the shower is open or set behind a single wall, its floor area being flush with the floor of the rest of the room and the water draining away through an outlet set into the floor.
- Wraparound
Combination of a side and rear extension which forms and L-shape at the back of a property
