Home Renovation Kensington
Whole-home renovations in Kensington, layout, structure, kitchen and bathroom planned as one job, structure first, then services, then finishes.
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder
- London guide: £40,000 to £150,000+
- Free site survey, itemised quote
GS Renovation carries out whole-house refurbishments across Kensington, from white-stucco townhouses in W8 to period mansion flats near the museums of South Kensington. We manage rewiring, replumbing, replastering and structural changes with one team, sequencing every trade so the project runs in the right order.
In Kensington, a full house refurbishment typically costs £40,000 to £150,000 or more (indicative London ranges, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Kensington: we carry the structure, services and finishes as one contract.
The two rooms that cost the most have their own pages, with prices: kitchen renovation in Kensington and bathroom renovation in Kensington. With 85% of homes in Kensington flats, the soil stack usually fixes where a bathroom can go, and the lease may need the freeholder's consent for either room.
Price guide
| Work | Indicative London range |
|---|---|
| Full house refurbishment | £40,000 to £150,000+ |
| Kitchen renovation | £18,000 to £60,000+ |
| Bathroom renovation | £6,000 to £20,000+ |
Indicative London ranges (MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026), not a quotation. Prices checked September 2026. Full breakdown: Full House Renovation Cost.
Quick estimate for Kensington
Kensington range: choose above
Whole-house refurbishment in Kensington townhouses
A full renovation of a Georgian or Regency townhouse in Kensington usually spans several floors, from a lower-ground kitchen to bedrooms in the roof. We strip back, rewire and replumb, then reconfigure dated layouts before replastering and decorating. Because these are tall, solid-walled houses, the sequence matters: structural work and first fix come first, so kitchens, bathrooms and finishes go in afterwards without disruption. One team keeps it all coordinated. Whether it is a full refurbishment of a W8 townhouse or a home refurbishment of a mansion flat, the order of a property refurbishment here is the same: consents first, then structure and services, then finishes, and the survey at the start settles what the lease and any listing allow before a price is fixed.
Kensington's period homes carry features worth keeping, such as cornicing, ceiling roses, panelled doors, shutters and marble fireplaces. Where these survive, we restore them and match new plaster mouldings to the originals rather than stripping the character out. On listed houses, we work within listed building consent where interior fabric is affected, balancing modern services and insulation against the age of the building throughout the refurbishment.
Housing in Kensington
Roughly 9,000 dwellings sit on the valuation list for Kensington. 15% are houses and 85% flats, and by age 75% predate 1919, 6% are interwar and 19% post-war. Since most homes here are flats, a whole-flat refurbishment in Kensington works to the lease: the freeholder's licence for alterations, agreed working hours and sound insulation between floors.
Opening up a pre-1919 Kensington house before the renovation is priced
75% of homes in Kensington were built before 1919, so a whole-house renovation here is likely to start inside fabric that several generations of owners have altered. Lime plaster, old lead or iron pipework and wiring added in stages sit behind the finishes, and none of it shows on the estate agent's particulars. Before the scope is priced, we open up floors, ceilings and wall linings in sample places agreed in advance, and record what is there. A price built on that survey holds up far better than one built on guesses about what lies under the decoration.
In a listed house those sample openings need care of their own. The publication version of the New Local Plan Review states there are over 4,000 listed buildings in the borough, and listing covers the interior as well as the street front. Opening-up that removes historic fabric can itself need listed building consent, so it is kept to what the structural engineer and the application genuinely need. Outside, the Kensington Conservation Area, formed in 1976 when separate conservation areas designated in the 1970s were joined together, brings planning control to the elevations, so internal and external work are drawn and consented together.
Renovating period mansion flats in Kensington
Many Kensington homes are leasehold mansion flats, which changes how a renovation is run. Before structural or layout changes, you usually need the freeholder's licence to alter, and we coordinate with the managing agent on access, working hours and building rules. Sound insulation between flats matters, so we upgrade floors and services carefully to meet the lease conditions and keep relations with neighbours in the block on good terms.
Space in a period Kensington flat is often generous in ceiling height but fixed in footprint, so a good renovation is about reconfiguring rather than extending. We rework tired layouts, update wiring and plumbing to current standards, and replaster throughout. New circuits and any consumer unit change in the flat are notifiable under Part P and certified by a registered electrician, or notified to building control, so your refurbished home near Holland Park or Knightsbridge is both safe and properly documented.
- External rendering, repointing and masonry repair
- Planning permission and building control coordination
- Waste clearance, dust protection and daily site tidying
VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for Kensington Abingdon and Kensington Gardens. Counts rounded by the VOA.
Why Kensington Homeowners Choose GS Renovation
Kensington owners choose GS Renovation because a whole-house project needs one accountable team, not a string of separate trades. We plan the structural work, services, kitchens, bathrooms and decoration as a single sequence, respecting period features and listed fabric where they exist. With our founder's 30+ years on the tools, we deliver tidy, well-managed refurbishments in occupied and vacated homes alike.
- Fully insured, with cover in place on every site
- Wiring, pipework and boiler condition surveyed before we price
- Room by room handover so you can move back in stages
George always kept to commitments and arrived on time. He offered helpful suggestions during his initial visit and promptly provided a reasonably…
It's the second time I have hired George and he has been absolutely professional and the work he did resembles perfectly what I had in mind. Being an…
Saaid is the best craftsman I have worked with. He knows what he is doing from the very beginning. He has a great knowledge of construction…
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions about Home Renovation Kensington
How much should home renovation in Kensington cost?
Expect home renovation at a Kensington address to cost £40,000 to £150,000 or more (indicative), with the property rather than the postcode deciding the figure. At the W8 survey GS Renovation confirms the detail that matters most, because the age of the wiring decides whether a rewire comes first. Labour, materials and any Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea building control fee are then itemised, so another Kensington and Chelsea quotation can be compared line by line.
Can you renovate my whole Kensington townhouse while keeping the period features?
Yes. We routinely refurbish Georgian, Regency and Victorian houses across W8, retaining and restoring cornicing, fireplaces, shutters and joinery while bringing wiring, plumbing and insulation up to standard. If your home is listed, we work within listed building consent for the interior. One team sequences the structural work, services and finishes so the character survives and the house works for modern living.
What consents does a Kensington mansion flat renovation need?
The freeholder's written consent, usually granted through a licence for alterations from the managing agent. It is needed before moving a kitchen or bathroom, or any structural change, because stacks and walls serve other flats. The licence often sets working hours and protection for communal parts. Notifiable work also goes to the Royal Borough's building control, which is a separate approval and a separate certificate.
How should solid walls be treated when renovating a period Kensington home?
With materials that let them breathe. 75% of Kensington's homes were built before 1919, mostly in solid brick with lime mortar, and gypsum patches, cement render or vinyl paint hold moisture in. Lime plaster repairs, breathable finishes, working gutters and Part F extraction in kitchens and bathrooms keep the masonry dry, which is also what protects original cornices and joinery from damp.
How are new services routed in a tall Kensington townhouse?
Through vertical risers set out before any plastering. Cables and pipes climb several storeys, so a riser position is agreed early, then first fix is run floor by floor from the top down. Plasterers follow only when every floor's services are in and tested. In a listed house the routes also have to avoid historic fabric such as panelling and cornices, which can move the riser.
Does renovating a listed Kensington house need consent for inside work?
Yes, where the work affects its character, inside as well as out. Taking out walls, fireplaces, cornices or original joinery, or changing the plan form, needs listed building consent from the Royal Borough before anything starts. Like-for-like repair is generally treated differently, but the line is agreed with the council, not assumed, and it sits apart from building regulations approval.
Would the draft window consent order cover a Grade II* Kensington house?
No. Under the draft window Local Listed Building Consent Order, similar works to Grade II* buildings, and to those at the highest grade, would still require an application for listed building consent. For a Kensington house at those grades, double glazing within existing frames goes through a full application whatever the order eventually allows at Grade II. Allow for that in the programme, and keep the existing sashes working in the meantime.
Does replacing sash windows in a Kensington renovation need planning permission?
It can, depending on the building and on where the council's proposals have got to. The council has consulted on a Windows Local Development Order that would remove the need for a separate planning application to change the existing windows of a non-listed home anywhere in the borough. Until that order is in force, a window change can need its own application, and a listed building needs listed building consent either way. Check the position before ordering joinery, not after.
Does a new sash in a Kensington renovation need building control sign-off?
It needs to meet building regulations, which the council's Householders' Guide to windows says apply to all replacement windows. That is met either through an installer registered with a competent person scheme, who certifies the work, or through an application to building control. Keep the certificate with the other renovation documents, because a buyer's solicitor asks for it, and a window replaced without one is harder to explain than one done properly.
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