Home Extensions in Harrow

Extending a home in Harrow

Harrow is dominated by 1920s and 1930s suburban housing, and that is good news for anyone who wants to extend. These houses were built with deep rear gardens and a consistent construction that we know well, which makes a rear or wrap-around extension both predictable to price and comparatively straightforward to build.

The most common project we are asked for in Harrow is a wrap-around: a rear extension combined with a side infill along the original kitchen and utility. It produces a very large open-plan kitchen and dining space out of what were previously three cramped rooms, and on a typical Harrow semi there is usually enough plot to do it without dominating the garden.

Closer to Harrow on the Hill and in the older parts of Pinner and Wealdstone the housing is earlier and more varied. Here we pay much more attention to matching brick, replicating original detailing and keeping the front elevation unchanged.

Planning permission in Harrow

Harrow Council is the local planning authority. Many single-storey rear extensions on Harrow's suburban houses proceed under permitted development rights, subject to the usual depth, height and materials limits and to your property not having used up its allowance with a previous addition.

Harrow has a significant number of conservation areas — including Harrow on the Hill, Pinner High Street, Roxeth and several of the interwar planned estates — where permitted development rights are removed or restricted and where the council assesses materials and window design closely. There is also a large stock of houses subject to Article 4 directions. We check the planning history and any designations on your specific address before designing, because in Harrow the answer genuinely does change street by street.

Where a full application is required we prepare the drawings, submit the application and deal with the planning department on your behalf.

Building control and party walls

All extensions require Building Regulations approval, and we manage inspections from foundations through to completion. Because most Harrow projects are on semi-detached or terraced houses built close to the boundary, Party Wall Awards are the norm rather than the exception. We flag this at quotation stage and give you the notice periods up front so they run alongside the design work instead of holding up the start on site.

Why homeowners in Harrow choose us

• A single company managing design, planning, structure and finishes
• Fixed written quotations with no open-ended day rates
• Experience with Harrow's Article 4 areas and conservation constraints
• Careful site management on narrow suburban streets, including waste and delivery planning
• Building control sign-off and certification handed over at the end

Areas we cover around Harrow

We work across the whole borough and the surrounding area, including North Harrow, South Harrow, West Harrow, Harrow on the Hill, Wealdstone, Kenton, Stanmore, Pinner, Rayners Lane, Hatch End and Northwood.

To discuss extending your Harrow home, arrange a free site visit, or see what to expect from a property refurbishment if your project involves the whole house.