Renovation
Damp has three common causes and they need different fixes
Treating condensation as rising damp is expensive and ineffective. Diagnosis has to come first.
Renovation
Budgets, trades, sequencing and the work behind a finished photograph.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Renovation
Renovation sequencing is where budgets are actually lost
Doing the right work in the wrong order means paying for some of it twice. That is the most common renovation failure.
More in Renovation
Renovation
Reading a builder's quote is a skill worth learning before you need it
Two quotes for the same job can differ enormously and both be honest, because they are pricing different things.
Renovation
An extension rarely adds as much usable space as it looks like
A large part of a new build-out becomes circulation, and some of it comes out of rooms you already had.
Renovation
A loft conversion is decided by head height and the staircase
Whether a roof space can become a room is usually settled by two measurements taken before any design exists.
Renovation
Insulating an old house wrongly can damage the building
Retrofit is not just adding a layer. Where the layer goes changes where moisture condenses, and that decides whether the wall stays…
Renovation
Repair, secondary glazing or replacement: the window decision
Old windows are usually rotten in a few places rather than throughout, and the cheapest option is often the one nobody quotes for.
Renovation
Rewiring and replumbing are the invisible half of a budget
Nobody photographs the work that costs the most, which is why first-fix services surprise people every time.
Renovation
Insulate first, then size the heating system
A heating system specified for a leaky house will be oversized for the same house once it is insulated, and oversized systems run…
Renovation
Living through a renovation costs more than people budget for
The decision to stay or move out is a cost calculation and a relationship one, and it is usually made by default.
Renovation
Find out what you are allowed to do before you design anything
Permissions shape a project rather than merely approving it, and discovering them late is how good designs get thrown away.
Renovation
The last ten per cent of a renovation is where projects stall
The work that makes a project feel finished is small, fiddly, unprofitable and the easiest thing in the world to leave undone.