A whole house renovation is a sequencing problem before it is a decorating one: structure first, then services, then surfaces. We run the programme, appoint the structural engineer where the work touches load, and coordinate the building control applications and inspections. This page covers what a renovation in Grays runs into, from the consents to the age of the housing.
There is no conservation area in Grays
None of Thurrock's seven conservation areas is in Grays. The seven are Horndon on the Hill, Corringham, Orsett, Fobbing, Purfleet, West Tilbury and East Tilbury.
The national planning data platform holds those seven conservation area records for Thurrock Council and no Article 4 direction record. For a renovation that removes one layer of consent from the front elevation, though it removes none of the building regulations work behind it. We still confirm the position for your address before anything is ordered.
A listed property is a different job with a different consent
If the property is listed, the renovation needs listed building consent as well as the usual approvals, and the specification is constrained by it. Thurrock Council records 13 Grade I listed buildings in the borough, alongside 19 Grade II* and 212 Grade II. In Grays, the State Cinema is listed at Grade II*, first listed on 22 February 1985, and the Church of St Peter and St Paul is listed at Grade II, first listed on 8 February 1960.
We are a contractor. We do not prepare listed building consent applications or heritage statements, and on a listed property we would ask you to appoint a conservation specialist alongside us. We say that at the quotation stage rather than at the point it becomes a problem.
Two Environment Agency flood warning areas cover Grays and the land around it
The flood warning area for the Thames estuary from Grays to Purfleet-on-Thames, including West Thurrock, runs from Dock Road in Grays to London Road in Purfleet-on-Thames. A separate flood warning area covers the Mardyke from North Stifford to Purfleet-on-Thames.
Thurrock Council states that current flood defences in Thurrock and along the River Thames significantly reduce the likelihood of flooding from river and tidal sources, but cannot completely remove it. It also states that flash flooding, where heavy rain exceeds the capacity of drainage systems, could occur anywhere in Thurrock and at any time. That is a reason to think twice before lowering a floor or putting plant at the lowest level of the house.
The housing spans a station that opened in 1854 and one that opened in 1995
Grays railway station opened, as Grays Thurrock, on 13 August 1854, and Chafford Hundred railway station opened on 26 May 1995. Ward by ward the census counts the housing itself. It recorded 1,666 semi-detached households in the Little Thurrock Blackshots ward, out of 2,657, and 2,187 owned households in the Chafford and North Stifford ward, out of 2,842.
Age changes the renovation, not just the finish. Wiring, joinery, floor construction and wall build up all differ between an older house and a newer one, and the survey is what tells us which we are dealing with. We price from what is there rather than from a schedule that assumes one or the other.
- Planning permission and building control coordination
- Complete property refurbishments and whole-house renovations
- External rendering, repointing and masonry repair
- Cornice, skirting and period feature restoration
- Roof repairs, gutters, fascias and rainwater goods
The GS Renovation Difference in Grays
Grays is about 27 miles from our base in Potters Bar, and we are straight with you about that. It is a distance we travel for, and the work that justifies it is the larger job: a full renovation, a structural alteration or an extension, rather than a half day call out. A whole house programme suits both sides, because the team is on site continuously instead of dropping in. We appoint the structural engineer where load is involved, coordinate the building control applications and inspections, and give you one point of contact for the whole run. GS Renovation Ltd is fully insured, registered in England, company number 14611254, rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder, and quotations are free and without obligation.
- Wiring, pipework and boiler condition surveyed before we price
- Waste cleared as we go, not left piled in the garden
- Free follow-up visit after completion if anything needs attention
- One itemised quote covering structure, services and finishes
- First fix and second fix planned around a realistic decorating date
- Registered in England, Companies House no. 14611254