I want to strip out two levels of my front garden to create off-road parking, so lots of soil removal and shoring up a very high stone wall on one side, plus utility relocation (mains water, maybe some electrical cables). Plus remove four small-ish fir trees in the same area and a wall bordering the road (made of stones I'd like to keep to help repair other matching walls in the garden). Do I need an architect to design this, or a landscaper, or can builders do the whole job? Do I need a project manager? Is there an average price per square foot for such work? I know I need to involve the Council because of shoring up the high wall and taking parking spaces from the road. They have agreed in principle a few years ago. Since then nearly all my neighbours have done the same. Where do I start with such a project? What are the classic pitfalls I need to be aware of? Should I pay part or all cash? Many thanks for any advice.

Hi, I would like to know a rough estimate in time & money, that it would be to move the kitchen from the back of the house into the current living room at the front of the house. There are no walls to knock down, nor is it a listed building. The boiler can stay where it is. It's a 3bed semi-detached house & basically want to swap the rooms to meet our needs. Appreciate your time answering my question, thank you.

How much on average for a 3m x 2m extension on back of a terrace house, with a toilet. I was quoted £55k approx in the SE, but for a 3mx2m with a toilet at the back of a terrace house seems quite high, especially when I have to provide the tiles for the flooring and toilet and basin. Thoughts?

Victorian terraced property with a two storey outrigger to the rear has cracks along interior walls where outrigger joins. The outrigger floor slopes down to the end and original ground floor doorway to the outrigger was replaced with an arch ten years ago. Cracks have worsened in the last few months with tiles in bathroom getting further from the outrigger wall. What can we do?

We started our project in Jan25, adding a single storey, flatroof rear extension with new kitchen/utility, alterations to the existing rooms including a new bathroom & en-suite. Groundwork/structural happened quickly & smoothly. But in the last 2mths things have really slowed up. We were originally told it would take 5-6 months. Now early July and we are so far from completion; the rooflights aren’t even in so we’ve had several leaks where the roof is not watertight. We did not have a completion date written into the agreement, our mistake in hindsight. And now, the builder won’t say when we can expect completion. He even said he would need to leave our project to work on something else he has lined up, & then come back. We have always paid the builder promptly when requested, but we now feel the need to hold the rest of the money back until he completes the job. Is it unreasonable for us to expect that his priority is finishing our project & giving us some idea on completion?

How much to knock down an internal wall and install a RSJ and make good

My wife has been in contact with a company about replacing cavity wall insulation, through a government scheme its all went through but they didn't turn up and when she phoned they said it had been marked done as done and now have arranged to come out another day, its an ex council house 2 bedroom, to me am unsure now after that call she made, does anyone know about this is it worth doing or is it going to cause problems down the line

Just bought a house which I expect to complete on in 8-12 weeks. Want to find and have a general builder start work on full renovations day 1 of completion while the property can remain empty. However, I’m unable to access the property. I have detailed measurements and a few videos, and the narrative here is it is literally a start again from scratch job, ie full rewire, new heating system, kitchen, reskim, etc. Can I reasonably engage builders with a scope of works, floor plan, and pics and get sensible ballparks to start shortlisting and awarding work with some understandable caveats? Or will they all say they need to see it first? Thanks

how would you know where the load bearing walls are on a bungalow are they in the middle of the property and how far do the steel beams need to go into the brickwork on either end to create an opening and does it need to be supported vertically too

What type of cladding best suits a semi-detached house, peddledash, lime or polymer? How do these options compare and what are their pros & cons? Which do you think I should choose and why? Thank you!