Kitchen Extensions & Renovations Across Bristol & Somerset

Of all the kitchen extensions we build, the single-storey rear extension is the most common structural solution. It pushes the back of the property out into the garden, typically by three to four metres, creating enough extra floor space, often several square metres more than the original room, to turn a galley kitchen into a proper open plan kitchen and family space. The foundations, the steel beam spanning the new opening, the roof and the glazing define whether the finished room actually works, long before anyone chooses a colour scheme, a dining table or where the appliances go.

Among the kitchen extensions we design most often, a side-return extension is the classic solution for Victorian and Edwardian terraces, and for many semi detached homes too, where an awkward strip of unused space runs down the side of the property between the kitchen wall and the boundary. Building into that strip and removing the internal wall between the old kitchen and the old dining room creates a wide, light-filled kitchen diner from two previously separate, narrow rooms, often without touching the garden or giving up too much garden space at all. Our dedicated page on types of kitchen extension goes into more depth on how a side-return compares with a rear extension for a specific plot.

Of all the kitchen extensions we build, a wrap-around extension combines both, building into the side-return and out to the rear at the same time. It is the biggest structural undertaking of the three and delivers the biggest transformation, turning a cramped, cellular ground floor into one continuous open plan space spanning the full width and depth of the property. It suits homes where a single-direction extension would not create enough usable floor space or width, and it is the option we discuss most with households who want kitchen, dining and living space genuinely open to one another, often around a dining table big enough for the whole family and a wide run of sliding doors or bi fold doors onto the garden.

Not all kitchen extensions need new external walls. A kitchen diner conversion knocks through the wall between an existing kitchen and an adjoining dining room or lounge, using a structural steel beam to carry the load that wall used to hold, without extending the footprint of the property at all. It is usually the fastest and least expensive way to create a new kitchen with an open plan feel, and for homes with a generous existing room size, it can deliver almost the same result as a full extension for a fraction of the disruption. Our open plan kitchen extension guide covers how we assess whether knocking through alone will get you there.

Some of our most cost-effective kitchen extensions start with a garage rather than a spade. Where a home has an integral or attached garage that has become dead storage space, converting it into the kitchen, or into the dining and family area that connects to a smaller extended kitchen, is often the most cost-effective route of all, because the walls, roof and foundations already exist. We build these regularly alongside our wider garage conversions work.

Many of the kitchens we build are not a standalone project at all, but one part of a wider renovation, a full ground floor remodel, a loft conversion freeing up bedroom space, or a whole-house refurbishment where the kitchen is simply the room the rest of the plan is built around. The right answer depends on your specific walls, your garden and how your household actually lives, which is exactly what we assess at your free feasibility visit before anything is drawn or priced.

Some of the decisions that shape a kitchen extension most are ones households only think about once the walls are open, worth planning for from day one instead. Kitchen layout significantly impacts daily living and workflow, and where the sink, hob and fridge sit, sometimes called the work triangle, is worth thinking about before the steel beam is positioned rather than after. Sliding doors or bi fold doors across a wide opening bring the garden into the room, and roof lights or larger glazed doors increase natural light significantly, one of the most effective ways to make even modest new floor space feel considerably larger. Built-in seating beside a dining table can optimise a smaller footprint and add useful extra storage, and smart storage generally makes more difference to how a new kitchen functions day to day than its overall size does. A kitchen island, where the beam span and floor structure allow for one, can serve as preparation space, informal dining and a social hub all in one, worth raising at the feasibility visit rather than assuming. Some households prefer a conservatory or orangery style over a flat-roofed box, and glass panels can open a kitchen to the garden without full-height doors along the whole rear wall. We specify high-performance glazing, modern insulation and sustainable materials as standard. None of this is us stepping into kitchen fitting; it is the structural and glazing decisions that make the fitted kitchen afterwards actually work.

£60,000. Kitchen extension. The most common project we build, and the figure most homeowners are working towards, and for a single-storey rear extension of typical size it works out at a reasonable cost per square metre of new space.

£45,000. Garage-to-kitchen conversion. Converting an existing integral or attached garage into kitchen space, or into the connecting dining and family area for a smaller kitchen extension, is usually less expensive than building new because the walls, roof and foundations already exist.

These are honest starting points, not quotes. Every kitchen project is shaped by the size of the opening, the span of the steel beam required, the depth of the extension, the number of doors and roof lights, and the glazing specified, which is why we never price from a brochure and never set a budget without seeing the house first. Our free feasibility visit produces a fully specified price with everything itemised, so you know precisely what you are paying for before you commit to anything. Try our kitchen cost calculator first for an indicative range in a couple of minutes; your actual cost still depends on your property’s structure, access and final specification, which is exactly what the feasibility visit confirms. Our dedicated kitchen extension cost guide breaks down what moves the figure up or down, including how much extra a larger kitchen, additional glazing or a wider span typically adds.

A one-line estimate that quietly grows once the walls are open and “unforeseen” costs start appearing is one of the most common complaints homeowners raise about building work generally, and it is almost always the result of subcontracted labour priced by the day rather than by the job. We build with our own in-house team on a fixed, fully specified price, which is a large part of why our projects do not creep over budget.

There are real exceptions worth knowing before you get attached to a design. Conservation areas restrict what can be changed externally. Listed buildings need listed building consent for almost any structural alteration, kitchen included. Article 4 directions remove permitted development rights in specific areas by council order, regardless of how modest the extension is. Newer housing developments sometimes have permitted development removed entirely by a condition attached to the original planning consent, which catches out households who assume the usual rules apply. We check your property at the start of the process, before you spend money on drawings, and tell you plainly which situation applies to your address.

Where you want the planning position on your home recorded formally, for your own peace of mind or a future buyer’s solicitor, a lawful development certificate can be applied for. And where you are building near or on a boundary shared with a neighbour, which is common with side-return and wrap-around extensions in particular, a Party Wall Act notice is routine. Neither is unusual, and both are straightforward when they apply. We handle the process rather than leaving you to work out who does.