Renovations, extensions and structural work across Islington. 30+ years' hands-on experience, fully insured, building control compliant.
GS Renovation works across Islington, from the Georgian and Regency terraces around the Angel and Upper Street to the Victorian streets of Holloway and Highbury and the warehouse conversions of Clerkenwell and Old Street. We cover N1, N5, N7, N19 and EC1. Islington is dense, period and tightly controlled, and building here is as much about neighbours, notices and access as it is about the work itself.
The firm is run by Abdelaaziz Saaid, who has more than 30 years of hands-on experience on London properties. GS Renovation Ltd was incorporated in 2023 to formalise that trade. We are a building contractor with a structural specialism, which means we install the steel beams and take out the load-bearing walls ourselves rather than subcontracting the part of the job that carries the most risk. We are not structural engineers: on any structural work we appoint an independent engineer, build to their calculations and put the work in front of building control.
Islington is one of the most consistently period boroughs in London: Georgian and early Victorian terraces, garden squares, and later Victorian terraced streets running north through Holloway and Highbury, with converted warehouses and workshops in Clerkenwell. Much of it has been divided into flats at some point and some of it has been put back together again, which means the structure you find on site is rarely the structure the original builder left.
The work these houses need is different from suburban work. Lime plaster and soft brick do not behave like modern materials, and repairs done in cement and gypsum in the 1980s often caused the damp they were meant to cure. Lower ground floors need careful thought about ventilation and moisture rather than a plastic membrane. Original sash windows, cornices, panelled doors and shutters are usually worth restoring rather than replacing, and in a conservation area you may have no choice.
The layout requests are consistent: opening the rear reception through to the kitchen, reinstating a knocked-about floor plan, forming a side return or rear extension at lower ground level, and adding a bathroom where a terrace was only ever built with one. On a terrace, every one of those touches a party wall.
Building control sits with Islington Council. Notifiable work must be notified before it starts, inspected at the defined stages and certified on completion, and we manage that as part of the project.
Islington is heavily conservation designated, with a large proportion of the borough inside a conservation area and a substantial number of listed buildings, particularly around the Georgian squares and Clerkenwell. In practice that means external alterations, window replacement and anything visible from the street will need consent, and listed building consent is a separate requirement from planning permission. Internal work in a listed building can also need consent, which surprises people.
The Party Wall Act is close to unavoidable here. In a terrace, inserting a beam into the shared wall, removing a chimney breast built into it, or excavating near a neighbour's foundations all require formal notice, and often a party wall award agreed between surveyors. We identify the requirement at quotation stage, because serving notice takes time and a project planned without allowing for it stalls before it starts.
Almost the whole borough is in a controlled parking zone, so materials deliveries, skips and trade parking all need planning. Skip permits and any suspended bay have to be arranged with the council in advance, and we build that into the programme rather than discovering it on day one.
Mid-terrace access means everything comes in and out through the house or the front door, which changes how a job is sequenced and how much protection goes down. Neighbours are close on both sides and often above and below, so we agree working hours, keep the frontage clean and give notice before the noisy stages. That is not a courtesy, it is what keeps a long project running smoothly on a street where everybody can hear it.
Islington is priced at London rates, and the ranges below are the ones we publish across the site so you can check any quotation against them. Every project is priced properly from a site survey, itemised, and with no obligation.
| Type of work | What it covers | Typical London cost |
|---|---|---|
| Steel beam over one opening | Beam, padstones, engineer's calculations, building control | £1,500 to £4,000 |
| Full knock-through | Wall removal, beam, engineer's fee, propping and making good | £2,500 to £6,500+ |
| Chimney breast removal | One floor, stack supported, flue capped, wall made good | £1,500 to £2,500 |
| Kitchen renovation, mid-range | Quality units, stone worktops, integrated appliances, new layout | £20,000 to £40,000 |
| Bathroom renovation, mid-range | Quality suite, porcelain tiling, new layout, heated rail | £7,500 to £12,000 |
| Full refurbishment, mid-range | Strip out, rewire, replumb, heating, kitchen, bathrooms, decoration | £1,500 to £2,200 per m² |
| Single storey extension | Standard finish, per m² of new floor area | £2,000 to £2,800 per m² |
Every service we offer has its own Islington page, with the detail specific to that trade and this borough.
FAQ
Yes, and a large part of Islington is designated one or the other. Work to a listed building needs listed building consent, which is separate from planning permission and can apply to internal alterations as well as external ones. In conservation areas, permitted development rights are usually restricted and external changes need consent. We coordinate the applications and build to what is approved.
In most cases yes. Inserting a steel beam into a shared wall, removing a chimney breast built into it, or excavating near a neighbour's foundations all require formal notice under the Party Wall Act, and often a party wall award agreed between surveyors. Notice takes time to serve, so we flag it at quotation stage rather than once the job is booked in.
Yes. It usually means removing a load-bearing wall between the rear reception and the kitchen, which needs a steel beam sized by an independent structural engineer, temporary propping, building control sign-off and a party wall notice. Structural openings in period terraces are our core work, so it is carried out by our own team rather than subcontracted.
Almost all of Islington is in a controlled parking zone, so skip permits and any suspended parking bay have to be arranged with the council in advance. We build that into the programme and organise it, along with delivery timing, so the project is not held up waiting for a permit.
Islington is priced at London rates. A steel beam over one opening runs £1,500 to £4,000, a full knock-through £2,500 to £6,500 or more, a mid-range bathroom £7,500 to £12,000, a mid-range kitchen £20,000 to £40,000, and a mid-range full refurbishment £1,500 to £2,200 per square metre. These are indicative London ranges from MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026. Period and listed properties usually warrant a larger contingency.
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