House Refurbishment Lewisham

House refurbishment in Lewisham means renewing the fabric of a whole house without re-planning it. Houses are 40% of the borough's homes and terraces alone are 31%, so a Lewisham house is far more likely to be a terrace than a semi. Often it is Victorian or Edwardian and needs rewiring, replumbing, new heating, plaster repairs and decoration throughout. A third of Lewisham's homes, 34%, predate 1919, which puts lime, lath and old pipework into many of these jobs. We survey first, then run the strip out, first fix, plaster, second fix and finish in that order.

For Lewisham, published UK figures put a three-bed house refurbishment at £43,530 to £110,350, and London houses usually cost more, with a London architect allowing £1,800 to £2,200 per square metre before VAT (Checkatrade and Bradley Van Der Straeten Architects, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Lewisham: we renew the wiring, pipework, heating, plaster, floors and joinery of the whole house under one contract, and a registered electrician certifies the rewire.

What the pre-1919 fabric in a Lewisham house needs

With 34% of Lewisham homes built before 1919, a third of the housing dates from the era of solid brick walls, lath and plaster ceilings and suspended timber floors. These buildings were designed to breathe, so the repair materials matter. Lime based plaster and render let moisture move out of the wall, while a cement patch or a plastic paint can trap it and bring the damp back. The survey at the start tells you which walls need that treatment.

Old services come out at the same time. Rubber insulated wiring, iron gas pipes and lead water mains still turn up when floors are lifted in Lewisham terraces. It is far cheaper to replace them while boards and ceilings are open than after decorating. A registered electrician tests and certifies the new installation, and an engineer on the Gas Safe Register does any gas work. We sequence both before the plasterer arrives, so nothing new is chased into fresh plaster.

Housing in Lewisham

The valuation list shows roughly 133,910 homes in Lewisham, of which 34% are pre-1919, 18% interwar and 45% post-1945, split 60% flats to 40% houses. Since most homes here are flats, where most homes in Lewisham are flats, a whole house is refurbished as one building, with a single intake for the services and one roof to keep sound.

Interwar and post-war houses across Lewisham need different work

Not every Lewisham house is Victorian. Another 18% of the borough's homes date from 1919 to 1939 and 45% from after 1945, and a house from those years brings its own list. Interwar semis and terraces often have early cavity walls, original steel or timber casements and tired sub floors, while post-war houses may have concrete ground floors and a heating system laid in the screed. The strip out shows which, so the rest of the scope is confirmed once the house is opened up.

Renewal also triggers the building regulations. Where a roof is re-covered, a floor is renewed or a window is replaced, Part L can require the renewed element to be brought up to current insulation levels. Lewisham says building control approval is needed for structural alterations, including removal or partial removal of joists or beams, so rotten joists or a failed beam found in the strip out go through building control. A like for like refurbishment keeps these steps to a minimum, which keeps the programme short.

Windows, doors and roofs on Lewisham houses in conservation areas

A house in a Lewisham conservation area needs more care with the outside than the inside. Lewisham's Article 4 directions in conservation areas only apply to houses in use as a single dwelling house, which is exactly the house a whole house refurbishment deals with. Lewisham lists alterations to the roof of a house and the addition of a porch, including infilling an open porch, as changes needing planning permission under an Article 4 direction. Check the address before the roofer or joiner is booked.

Windows are the question owners ask most. Lewisham's Duty Planner Standard Service covers window replacement, including within a conservation area, so written advice is available before a sash is renewed. Repairing original sashes rarely raises the same issue as replacing them. Where planning permission is needed, Lewisham requires a heritage statement with the application. The owner or their designer makes it; we repair or renew the joinery to the approved detail. If the house is listed, listed building consent is needed for works inside or out that affect its character, window renewal included.

Working hours, scaffold and skip rules on a Lewisham street

Lewisham controls construction noise by restricting work to 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 1pm on Saturdays, with no work on Sundays or bank holidays. Those hours set the length of a refurbishment programme, because noisy stages such as chasing walls and breaking out screeds have to fit inside those hours. We plan the loud work first in each day and the quieter fitting in the afternoon.

Scaffold and skips need paperwork before they reach the kerb. Lewisham asks for scaffolding or hoarding licence requests at least five days before the licence is needed. In a controlled parking zone, a skip needs a temporary parking suspension as well as a skip licence, and the suspension application must go in at least five working days before the start date. A skip on your own drive or front garden needs neither. Missing either one holds up the strip out, so these go into the programme in week one.

• Loft insulation topped up while the tank space is cleared
• Lime plastering on solid walls and lath and plaster ceiling repairs
• Pre-sale and probate refurbishments of empty houses

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 37 statistical areas in Lewisham. Counts rounded by the VOA.

Plenty of Lewisham projects start with one job and grow, so it helps to see home renovation in Lewisham, our Lewisham area guide, a building contractor for a whole-house refurbishment, a snagging list before a refurbished house is handed back, how we handle house refurbishment across London and Chimney Stack Repair.

Trusted House Refurbishment in Lewisham

A whole house goes better when one firm runs every stage, from lifting the first floorboard to the last coat of paint. Abdelaaziz Saaid, our founder, has more than three decades on site and walks the Lewisham house before pricing it, so the quote reflects the walls, joists and services that are really there. You get a written quotation and a programme that shows the order of trades, whether you stay in the house in phases or move out, and when the skip and scaffold arrive.

• Empty and inherited houses secured and reported on while you are away
• Founder with 30+ years of hands-on experience
• Radiators, sockets and switches positioned at first fix, never after decorating

Reviewed jobs near Lewisham

1 MyBuilder review from Crofton Park, with each customer's own job title:

• Replace small section of wooden worktop, sink, tap and gas hob, Crofton Park, 17 Apr 2024 (5 out of 5)

Read all 31 on our reviews page.

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254).