GS Renovation designs and builds house extensions throughout Southwark, adding space to Victorian terraces in Peckham, Georgian townhouses in Dulwich and family homes across Camberwell. With over 30 years of experience in SE5, SE15, SE21 and SE22, we handle groundworks, steel, roofing and a full fit-out, and we guide you through permitted development and Southwark Council planning.
Side-return and rear extensions in Southwark
The most common Southwark extension fills in the side return of a Victorian terrace, widening a narrow rear kitchen into a full-width, open-plan space. This nearly always needs a steel beam where the original rear wall comes down, sized by a structural engineer and signed off by building control. We dig and pour new foundations to the correct depth, allowing for nearby trees on plots close to Peckham Rye, and tie the new structure into the existing brickwork.
Whether your extension is permitted development or needs a full planning application depends on the property. A modest single storey rear extension on a Peckham or Bermondsey house may fall under permitted development, but if you are in one of Southwark's conservation areas, or the home is listed, as many Dulwich and Camberwell properties are, you will usually need planning permission from Southwark Council. We assess this early and prepare the drawings and applications for you.
Double storey extensions across Dulwich and Peckham
Where the plot allows, we build double storey and wrap-around extensions that add a bigger kitchen below and an extra bedroom or bathroom above. These are common on the larger Georgian and Edwardian homes around Dulwich Park and the leafier streets of SE21 and SE22. They need deeper foundations, more substantial steelwork and careful integration of the new roof with the old. Almost all double storey extensions in Southwark require planning permission rather than permitted development.
Because Southwark plots sit close together, extensions frequently trigger the Party Wall Act where you build up to or astride a boundary, or excavate near a neighbour's foundations. You serve the notices and keep neighbours informed. Once the shell is watertight, the same team completes the fit-out: plastering, electrics, plumbing, flooring, heating and decoration, so you deal with one contractor from the first trench to the final coat of paint.
- Roof works and structural alterations at roof level
- Party Wall Act notices for excavation near a neighbour's wall
- Architectural drawings and structural engineer coordination
- Building control inspections at foundation, damp course and steel stages
- Flat and pitched roofs with rooflights or lanterns
The GS Renovation Difference in Southwark
Homeowners in Southwark choose GS Renovation because we run the whole extension in-house, from foundations and steel to roofing and finishes, across SE1 to SE22. We know the borough's period stock, its tight terraced plots and its conservation constraints, and we handle the Southwark Council applications so your project stays on track and fully compliant.
- Foundation depth set after trial holes, drains and trees are checked
- Building control applications and inspections coordinated for you
- Clean, tidy and reliable tradespeople
- Fully insured, with cover in place on every site
- Brick and mortar matched to the existing elevation
- Rated 4.9 from 31 reviews on MyBuilder