Planning

Bathrooms are getting more than their fair share of attention at the moment, with en suites the norm and wet rooms getting more popular.

Get this bit right and the rest will all follow – we show you how to get your ducks in a row and tackle the start of a renovation process step by step

As your renovation progress it’s vital to stay abreast of it and be ready to adapt if and when things go wrong.

Planning is boring, everyone knows that, but unless you want to throw money down a bottomless pit, it’s an essential factor for success.

Working out what to do, in what order, can have your head spinning for hours! Break things down with our guide and it will all seem more under control.

Renovating in a recession? Perhaps it’s not the complete madness that it would first seem; the game has changed but there’s still money to be made for the nimble.

Keeping a record of the condition of your renovation project before you start isn’t just to give you something to look back on, it serves a number of other crucial purposes.

If you are very lucky and very determined, you might well be able to get some kind of grant to help you in your renovation. Don’t count on it though!

We hear about contingency funds on renovation and developing TV programmes all the time, but what exactly are they and how do you decide how much to put in?

There is some great advice out there to help you through the minefield of planning and building laws and complete a successful renovation.

Accurately assessing material costs is vital to ensuring that you don’t waste money, either having expensive tradesmen waiting around or having to throw surplus materials away.

Keeping neighbours happy during a renovation project isn’t just being polite, it can save money too.

If you’re about to embark upon your first renovation project, read our guide to relationship survival. We’ll keep you talking when the going gets tough!

Getting the spreadsheet and calculator out might be boring but it’s vital to know whether your project is worthwhile before you embark on it.

Obtaining planning permission has a reputation for being tricky and frustrating, but if you take the time to understand the process and find out what the planners are looking for, it should be a breeze.

Trying to visualise any renovation project can be difficult but architects and designer can help out, and now computer software can too.

Your renovation project can cost you a lot more than you think if you don’t put time into constructing an accurate budget in the first place then keep on top of as the project progresses.

The cost of obtaining planning permission is itself not a great deal, it’s the add-on expenses and the cost of getting it wrong that can really hurt.

One sure way of blowing the budget on a renovation project is to lose control of contractor’s charges but a keen eye on the budget can prevent that from happening.

Property renovation can carry a number of risks, some financial and some physical. The good news is that insurance can help cover most of those risks.

Building regulations are a necessary evil, but it is up to you, as the property owner to make sure that you know what regulations should apply to your renovation.

Surprises are likely to happen in every renovation, but they are in direct proportion to the amount of effort you put into preparing the project.

Keeping to the budget is critical on any renovation project and here we show you how to avoid the big costs.

In a modern home the kitchen is often at the heart of a multi-purpose open-plan living area where family and friends can socialise whether or not there’s any cooking being done.