Kitchen & House Extensions in Orpington

What we do in Orpington

Kitchen extensions, rear and side return

Single-storey and double-storey extensions

Loft conversions, hip-to-gable and rear dormer

Full house refurbishments and rewiring

Kitchen design and installation

Bathrooms, wet rooms and en-suites

Foundations, steel beams and structural openings

Underfloor heating and floor screeds

Roofs, tiling, rooflights and lanterns

Before we price anything

In Orpington we check the address first

Bromley has not published a characterisation study of the borough, so we are not going to tell you what your house is like. Its own Local Plan review says a robust evidence base, including a characterisation study, would be necessary. What we can tell you is exactly what we look up before quoting, because in this borough it changes the answer.

First, your ward. Bromley has an Article 4 direction that removes the right to add storeys on certain homes in sixteen areas, and the wards it covers are named. Orpington ward is not one of them, but Petts Wood and Knoll, and Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom, both are. If you are near those boundaries it is the first thing we check.

Then the conservation map, the roof, and the ground. Orpington has two conservation areas of its own and three more close by. The roof decides whether a loft is worth doing. The ground decides how deep the foundations go, and that is settled with a trial hole before we price, not with an assumption.

Timber roof structure over a rear extension four miles from Orpington

Insulation boards laid between the roof timbers before the covering goes on

Tiling the extension roof into the existing roofline

Finished brickwork and the new paved path alongside the extension

Extension, four miles from Orpington

Planning in Bromley

Your ward decides what you can build

An Article 4 direction that does affect houses

Unlike the boroughs to the north, Bromley has used Article 4 on homes. It removes permitted development for upward extensions of up to two storeys in sixteen areas, across wards including Petts Wood and Knoll, Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom, Bickley, Chislehurst and Bromley Town. Orpington ward is not on that list, so if you are in it the national rules still apply. If you are over a boundary, adding a storey needs a planning application.

Two conservation areas in Orpington, three more next door

The Priory and Broomhill are the two in Orpington. Chelsfield, Farnborough Village and Farnborough Park are the nearest others. The borough has 47 in total, which is twice what Bexley has, so the map is worth checking before anything is drawn.

Building control applies either way

Whether or not you need planning permission, foundations, steel, damp-proof course, insulation and completion each get an inspection. We book them, meet the inspector, and hand you the completion certificate at the end.

Bi-fold doors installed in a new kitchen extension before the floor goes down, Beckenham

10/10

Checkatrade, 95 reviews

How we work

How we run a job in Orpington

01

First visit

We measure, look in the loft, check the drains run, and talk through what you want against what the house will take. Fixed price follows, agreed before anything starts.

02

Drawings and notices

Architect’s drawings if the job needs them, party wall notice to your neighbour, building control application. Design and approvals typically add eight to sixteen weeks before we’re on site.

03

Groundworks

Trial hole, then foundations dug and inspected, steel in, damp-proof membrane and slab. If underfloor heating is going in, the pipework is laid and pressure-tested before the screed.

04

Structure and roof

Brickwork, steel beams on padstones where walls come out, roof timbers, insulation, and the covering, whether that is tiles, a flat roof or a glazed lantern. A single-storey rear extension is usually ten to fourteen weeks on site.

05

Fit-out

First fix electrics and plumbing, plastering, kitchen or bathroom installation, decoration. Same team throughout, so nothing’s handed off.

06

Sign-off

Building control completion certificate, and we walk the job with you before the final payment.

The two nearest extensions we have built

Bromley, BR1

Before

After

The extension from the side, Bromley, BR1

Rooflight from inside before plastering, Bromley, BR1

Beckenham, BR3

Before

The glazed lantern set into the new flat roof, Beckenham, BR3

After

The finished kitchen and island, Beckenham, BR3

Built-in ovens and tall units, Beckenham, BR3

Island with sink and wine cooler, Beckenham, BR3

Lit splashback along the run, Beckenham, BR3

What it costs

See the full cost guide

Small Rear Flat Roof extension illustration showing a glazed corner

Small rear kitchen extension

Flat roof, rooflights, doors onto the garden. About £2,000 to £2,500 per square metre, excluding VAT, the architect and planning fees, and we say so on the quote. All three are starting points from our cost guide, not an estimate for your house.

Estimated Cost

Starting from £45,000

Large Rear Flat Roof extension illustration showing a central rooflight

Large rear extension

Across the back of the house, flat or pitched roof, and the option of a glazed lantern like the Beckenham job above.

Estimated Cost

Starting from £60,000

Dormer loft conversion

A rear dormer for a full bedroom with en-suite. Check the Article 4 position first if you are near a named ward.

Estimated Cost

Starting from £50,000

See the full cost guide

Questions

Questions we get in Orpington

01.

Do I need planning permission for a kitchen extension in Orpington?

For a single-storey rear extension, usually not. The national permitted development rules apply: three metres beyond the rear wall on a semi or terrace, four on a detached house, and up to six or eight under the larger home extension scheme where the neighbours are consulted first. Bromley’s Article 4 direction is about building upwards, not about single-storey rear extensions, so it does not change this. A conservation area does.

02.

What is Bromley’s Article 4 direction, and does it affect me?

It removes the permitted development right to add up to two storeys on certain homes, in sixteen areas across named wards including Petts Wood and Knoll, Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom, Bickley, Chislehurst, Bromley Town, Hayes and Coney Hall and Shortlands. Orpington ward itself is not named, so if you are inside it the national rules still apply to upward extensions. If your address falls in one of the named wards, adding a storey needs a full planning application. We check this before quoting, because it is the difference between a project and a planning application.

03.

Is my street in a conservation area?

Orpington has two of its own, The Priory and Broomhill. Chelsfield, Farnborough Village and Farnborough Park are the nearest others. Bromley has 47 conservation areas in total, so it is worth checking rather than assuming. Inside one, external changes need consent and the drawings are done with that in mind.

04.

What does a skip cost in Bromley?

The council’s permit is £50 for fourteen days and they ask for two working days to process it. That is on top of the skip hire itself, and all of it goes in the quote rather than appearing later.

05.

Will I need a party wall agreement?

On a semi, one, with the neighbour you share the wall with. The notice goes out under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 before work starts, and most neighbours sign the consent form once they understand what is being built. On a terrace it is two notices. We prepare them.

06.

You are not based in Orpington. Does that matter?

We are honest about it: our nearest completed extension is four miles away in Bromley, and the kitchen at the top of this page is six miles away in Beckenham. What matters is whether a builder turns up, stays on programme, and comes back if something needs looking at. One team runs your job from the first visit to the final walk round, and that does not change with the postcode.