Kitchen Extensions Romford

A kitchen extension in Romford starts with the house type on the plot. 28% of homes here are terraced houses and 32% are semi-detached or detached, and 42% were built between 1919 and 1939. On a terrace the kitchen goes out at the back, while a semi has its side passage as well as the rear to work with. We build the shell, set the steel into the back wall and fit the kitchen as one continuous job, working from your designer's drawings.

In Romford, a rear kitchen extension of about 30 square metres typically costs £45,000 to £97,500 excluding VAT, or £60,000 to £100,000 for a side return (indicative London ranges, Resi, MyBuilder and Checkatrade, 2026). GS Renovation Ltd, a building contractor based in Potters Bar, does the work in Romford: the structural engineer we appoint designs the foundations and steel, we build the room and fit the kitchen, and a registered electrician certifies the electrics.

Terrace or semi decides the depth of a Romford kitchen extension

Havering's Residential Extensions SPD gives the starting depth for a Romford kitchen when you apply for planning: generally up to 3 metres from the original rear wall on a terrace house, and up to 4 metres on a semi-detached or detached house. Permitted development is tighter for a semi. Without an application, a single-storey rear extension can go four metres on a detached house but only three metres on any other house. Both routes measure from the original wall, so a lean-to already on the back eats into the depth. We check what is original brickwork before the drawings are settled, because that sets where the new footings go.

Going deeper than 3 or 4 metres is possible under the same SPD, but the extra depth has to sit inside a 45 degree angle drawn from that dimension on the boundary. In practice that pulls the far corner of a longer kitchen away from the neighbour, which gives you a stepped or angled plan rather than a plain box. We set out that line on site before digging so the footings, drainage runs and the steel positions all match the shape your designer has had approved.

Housing in Romford

The stock in Romford runs to roughly 20,230 dwellings, 35% of them flats and 65% houses, built 15% before 1919, 42% between 1919 and 1939 and 43% after 1945. A terrace kitchen extension in Romford starts in a narrow side return, and 28% of homes here are terraced.

Roof height, roof lights and balconies on Romford kitchen extensions

Height is the first limit on a Romford rear kitchen with a flat roof: Havering's SPD says a flat roofed single storey extension should generally be no more than 3 metres high. That limit sets the sequence inside: the ceiling height you want, the depth of the roof joists, the insulation build-up and the upstand for roof lights all have to fit under it. We agree the finished floor level early, because dropping the new floor to match the old kitchen gives back height that the roof cannot.

The same guidance accepts flat roofs on single storey rear extensions unless the roof is easily seen from the street or sits next to a neighbour's pitched roof extension, and it generally rules out a balcony on top because of overlooking. So in Romford a flat roof is for roof lights and a green or membrane finish, not a terrace. If a neighbour has a pitched extension alongside, that exception applies and a pitched roof may be expected, which changes the steel, the rafters and the glazing heads.

Side extensions, Gidea Park and flats in Romford

A side kitchen extension on a Romford semi normally steps back from the front of the house, since Havering's SPD says single storey side extensions should normally be set back from the main building line. That set back decides where the new side wall meets the old front corner and how the roof tucks under the existing eaves. In the Gidea Park Conservation Area, any side extension needs householder planning permission under the national rules. The Gidea Park Article 4 Direction goes further and removes Class A rights to alter a house to the front and sides, so new side windows or doors need permission too.

Flats in Romford are a different case again. 35% of homes here are flats, and householder permitted development rules for extensions apply to houses only, not to flats and maisonettes. A ground floor flat owner who wants a larger kitchen at the back therefore starts with a planning application and, on a leasehold flat, the freeholder's written consent. We fix the start date once both are in hand, because a kitchen shell started without them can be stopped part way.

Sewers, steel and the new kitchen in one Romford programme

Drainage can be the first surprise on a Romford kitchen extension, because the new footprint can land over the house's existing drain run. Havering says you must make a full plans application, not a building notice, if you are building near a public sewer. That means the drawings, the drainage layout and any build-over consent from the water company are settled before we dig, and the building control officer sees the drain protection before the slab goes down. Allow for that in the timetable rather than finding out on the day.

Once the shell is weathertight the programme turns inward. The steel that replaces the old back wall goes in under temporary props, the kitchen's waste and supply routes are set in the new floor, and the electrician first fixes the circuits for the appliances before plastering. We then fit the units, worktops and splashbacks in the same run, so the room that was a building site becomes a working Romford kitchen without a second trade team starting from scratch.

• Soil stack and gully rerouting beneath the new floor
• Flat roofs with rooflights or a roof lantern over the kitchen
• Hob gas supply altered by a Gas Safe registered engineer

VOA Council Tax stock of properties, March 2025, for all 5 statistical areas in Romford. Counts rounded by the VOA.

People planning kitchen extensions in Romford may also want kitchen renovation in Romford, kitchen extensions across Havering, fitting the kitchen itself, the Party Wall Act on a boundary build, kitchen extensions anywhere in London and Permitted Development Explained.

Why Romford Homeowners Choose GS Renovation

Romford kitchen extensions join two jobs that often get split: the structure at the back of the house and the fitted kitchen inside it. We run both. Our founder has more than three decades of hands-on building work, and the structural engineer we appoint designs the steel before we open the wall. You get one programme covering footings, drainage, the shell, roof lights and the fit-out, with one point of contact and a written quotation after a survey.

• Building control and Part P certificates handed over together at the end
• Screed left to dry before the kitchen floor finish goes down
• A written scope and programme agreed before work starts

Checked by Abdelaaziz Saaid, founder and director of GS Renovation Ltd (Companies House no. 14611254). Structural design is by the consulting engineer appointed to your project.