The 2026 Renovation Cost Report
An independent reference for buyers
What the work
really costs 2026
A renovation cost reference for the South West, benchmarked against the UK — and an honest guide to why the cheapest quote is so often the most expensive thing you'll ever sign.
What a buyer expects vs what the work really costs
A mid-range kitchen, fully fitted£7,500 → £13,000
A mid-range bathroom£3,500 → £7,500
A full rewire, three-bed£2,500 → £8,000
The lowest quote you were offeredthe warning sign
Start here
Most renovation overspend isn't bad luck. It's in the quote.
The cheapest quote wins the job — then climbs once the walls are open and you can't say no. By the time the real cost arrives, you're committed.
This report does two things. It shows you what the work really costs in 2026, across every job a buyer is likely to face. And it shows you how to spot the quote that was never going to hold — before you sign it.
The one thing to remember
The lowest quote is usually the most expensive. A good tradesman is busy and priced fairly — a price far below the rest, available to start this week, is a warning, not a win.
Why the cheap quote bites
The lowest quote is bait
Not always. But often enough that every buyer should understand how it works before they sign anything.
Here is the trap, as it actually plays out. A builder needs to stay busy, so he "buys work" — he wins the job by quoting low, sometimes at half what the work really costs. The low number gets him through the door and the contract signed.
Then the work begins. The walls come open, the kitchen comes out, and you are committed — there is no going back. That is when the price starts to move. Prices went up. That wasn't on the quote. It's taking longer than expected. The excuses are made up on the spot, and the requests for more money keep coming. Some builders, having taken a deposit, simply disappear after the first week and move on to the next victim.
By the time the real cost arrives, you cannot say no. You are left with a choice no one wants: keep paying a builder you no longer trust, or bring in the next one — who will charge you more to put the first one's work right.
The low quote was never the price of the job. It was the price of getting through the door.
And it isn't only the cowboys
There is a second squeeze, quieter and more structural. A great deal of renovation work is won by companies that buy the leads and the work, then farm it out — contractor to subcontractor to the person actually holding the trowel. Each hand takes a margin. By the time the job reaches the tools, there is little left to do it well with — so the work is priced for speed, not for pride.
None of this is the fault of the tradesman. A good one, learning his trade properly on real sites, is the backbone of the whole industry. The problem is a market that too often pays for fast over good — and a buyer who can't see it coming. That is what these numbers are for.
The reality gap · what buyers expect vs what it costs
The numbers, made honest
Buyers typically walk in expecting to pay a quarter to a half less than the real figure. The gap below is exactly where a bait quote hides.
What a buyer expects to pay
What it really costs, done right
Kitchen — mid-range, fully fittedthe units are barely half the job
Buyers expect £7,500Really £13,000
Bathroom — mid-rangestrip-out reveals the last bodge
Buyers expect £3,500Really from £7,500
Full rewire — three-bednobody budgets for it until the survey
Buyers expect £2,500Really £4,500–£8,000
Re-roof — three-bed semiscaffolding lands before a tile is touched
Buyers expect £4,000Really £6,000–£9,000
The full reference · 2026
Every job, every range
Fitted costs to a sensible standard, current for 2026. The struck-through figure is the optimism a buyer typically arrives with; the gold figure is what the work really takes. Where your quote sits between the two tells you a great deal.
01 · Inside
Inside the home
The visible rooms — where the headline price almost never tells the whole story.
Cosmetic refreshPer room — adds up fast across a houseBuyers expect £500→£800–£1,500
Replaster a roomFix the damp first, or it failsBuyers expect £700→£1,100–£1,900
FlooringPer m² — subfloor prep is the hidden costBuyers expect £25→£30–£100
Internal doorsEach, fitted — linings & ironmongery on topBuyers expect £100→£150–£600
Bathroom — mid-rangeStrip-out reveals the last bodgeBuyers expect £3,500→from £7,500
Bathroom — wet roomTanking & drainage drive the costBuyers expect £8,000→£12,000–£18,000+
Kitchen — budgetSame layout, flat-pack unitsBuyers expect £2,500→£4,000–£6,000
Kitchen — mid, finishedThe trades behind the units double itBuyers expect £7,500→£10,000–£15,000
Kitchen — bespokeStructural changes add quicklyBuyers expect £15,000→£25,000–£50,000+
02 · Services
Behind the walls
The things a viewing never shows — and where an older property bites hardest.
Full rewire — three-bedOr £60–£95 per m²Buyers expect £2,500→£4,500–£8,000
Consumer unit / fuse boxOften flagged on a surveyBuyers expect £300→from £500
New boilerLike-for-like, Gas Safe work onlyBuyers expect £1,200→£1,800–£2,800
Full heating systemDepends on radiator countBuyers expect £2,500→£3,500–£6,000+
Damp injectionPer linear m — treat the cause, not the symptomBuyers expect £35→£50–£80
Basement / wall tankingSpecialist workBuyers expect £900→£1,500–£5,000
03 · Outside
The building envelope
Where the South West runs hottest. Stone, slate and conservation rules push these above the national average — and uPVC is often not even an option.
Windows — uPVCPer m² fitted — ≈ £700 a standard windowBuyers expect £300→~£500/m²
Windows — timber / heritageConservation & listed workBuyers expect same as uPVC→2–3× uPVC
External doorsEach — period-appropriate costs moreBuyers expect £600→£1,000–£3,000
PatioPer m² supplied & laid — risen sharply since 2023Buyers expect £80→£140–£160
DrivewayResin or block, by area & materialBuyers expect £2,000→£3,000–£10,000
Re-roof — concrete tileThree-bed — access is a big part of itBuyers expect £4,000→£6,000–£9,000
Re-roof — natural stone / slateCotswold reality — specialistBuyers expect £6,000→significantly higher
Chimney repairsIncl. scaffolding — the scaffold lands firstBuyers expect £1,500→from several £k
Fascias, soffits & gutteringEarly sign of roofline failureBuyers expect £900→£1,500–£3,500
External renderingPer m² — lime for period wallsBuyers expect £25→£40–£120
04 · Projects
Bigger projects
Where budgets are won or lost before the first brick is laid.
Single-storey extensionPer m² — from at least £2,200, and it climbs fast with finishes. Add 20% VAT to builder quotesBuyers expect £1,500→£2,200–£3,200+
Double-storey extensionCheaper per m², higher totalBuyers expect £1,400→£2,000–£2,800
Loft conversion — VeluxThe simplest typeBuyers expect £12,000→from £22,500
Loft conversion — dormerAdds head height & floor areaBuyers expect £25,000→from £40,000
Full house renovationPer m² — budget to high-end finishBuyers expect £400→£500–£1,200
The costs nobody quotes for
Skips at £250–£400 each, building-control fees, structural calculations for any wall removal, and a drain survey before you dig. Dull, easily forgotten — and always more than buyers expect.
Go deeper
Detailed breakdowns for the jobs buyers ask about most:
What good work is worth
A fair day's rate
If a quote undercuts these badly, ask why. These are the rates a good, self-employed South West tradesman charges to do the job properly — and they sit at or above the national average. The region is not cheap, and you should be wary of anyone who prices as though it is.
South West good-tier day rates against the UK typical. A quote built on far less is built on something giving way.
The buyer's toolkit
How to read a quote before you sign
The numbers in this report exist so you can do one thing: look at a quote and judge whether it is real. (For a step-by-step on setting your budget before you offer, see our guide to budgeting a renovation before you make an offer.) Here is what to check.
1Is the total even feasible?
Hold it against the ranges above. A figure that sits below the real material-and-labour cost isn't a saving — it's a number that will have to change later.
2Is the wording vague?
"Supply and fit bathroom" is not a quote — it's a placeholder. A real quote is specific about what's included, so there's no room to invent extras once you're committed.
3Cheap and available this week?
A genuinely good tradesman is busy and priced accordingly. A low price paired with an immediate start is the most common shape of a bait quote.
4What's the deposit pattern?
A deposit alone isn't a red flag — trusted builders ask for them because customers mess them around. The warning is the builder who takes one and goes quiet after the first week.
5Surprise, or squeeze?
Genuine unforeseen work happens to honest builders. You tell the difference by how they carry themselves and how the work looks — and excuses for not turning up are the tell, not the surprise itself.
This is what we do
NOROS assesses quotes and properties before you commit — to tell you whether the number in front of you is truly feasible, or the first move in a job that was always going to cost more.
About NOROS Assessments
Just the number, and the judgement behind it
Independent pre-purchase renovation cost assessments for buyers across Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire. We tell buyers what a property will really cost to put right before they commit — with no work to sell them at the other end.
Desktop Review
£99
A fixed-price review of a listing or a quote.
Site Visit
from £250
A full inspection of the property.
Cost Plan
from £400
A detailed, costed schedule of works.
Figures are realistic 2026 market ranges based on professional estimating experience and current UK trade data. "Buyer expects" figures illustrate the optimism buyers typically arrive with — roughly a quarter to a half below the real cost — and are not quotations. Every property differs. © 2026 NOROS Assessments · Ruben Noronha, Property Specialist.
