What to expect
| Typical duration | 4–10 months typical · investigation 1–2 weeks before pricing |
|---|---|
| Cost band | Figures live in the cost index |
| Permit required | Depends on scope — structural and external work yes |
| Seasonal constraint | Interior year-round · external and roof work avoids winter storm windows |
What you are actually buying into
Very few properties on this island are one coherent building. The typical stock is an original stone structure with vaulted rooms, extended in the 1970s or 1980s with a reinforced concrete addition, extended again later with something lighter, and re-rendered across the whole lot so it reads as a single house from outside.
That is fine until you renovate, at which point three facts matter: the two structures have different stiffness and move differently; they were joined without any movement provision; and the render that hides the junction is the thing that has been cracking and being patched for thirty years.
A renovation that treats the property as one building will keep producing the same crack in the same place. A renovation that identifies the junction and detrails it properly — either tying it together deliberately or separating it deliberately — fixes it once.
The survey, and what it has to open up
Pricing comes after investigation, not before. On a full renovation the minimum is:
- Render off in several places, including across every junction between original and addition.
- A floor corner lifted to establish the build-up, any insulation, and whether there is a void.
- The roof or terrace build-up checked at an upstand and at an outlet, because that is where terrace waterproofing fails.
- Drainage traced to its actual destination — network, cesspit or a system nobody has documented.
- The cistern opened and inspected if there is one, whether or not you intend to use it.
- The electrical distribution board and incoming supply capacity checked against what you plan to add.
- Where the ground matters — an extension, a pool, a retaining wall — a trial pit.
Where the budget actually goes
Owners consistently expect the money to be in kitchens, bathrooms and finishes. On this island it is usually in five less visible places.
| Item | Why it is bigger here | Visible when finished |
|---|---|---|
| Waterproofing and terraces | Thermal movement, sun exposure, occupied space below, historic detailing without movement joints | No |
| Structural repair at junctions | Two structures joined without provision for differential movement | No |
| Drainage and water systems | Cesspits, cisterns, network capacity and pressure vary property to property | No |
| Electrical rework | Distribution boards sized before air conditioning, induction and pool plant | Partly |
| Access and waste haulage | Where a lorry cannot reach, everything moves by hand in both directions | No |
| Kitchens, bathrooms, finishes | Where owners expect the money to be | Yes |
Indicative pattern from ordinary practice. Bands by work type are in the cost index.
Sequencing an occupied or partly occupied property
Many renovations here run while the property still has to function — a rental with bookings, a house where the owner stays in one wing, a building with a tenant downstairs.
That is workable with three things agreed before pricing: which areas must stay usable and when, where the dust and route separation runs, and what the noise hours are. Retro-fitting those constraints onto a programme that was priced as an empty building is how disputes start.
If the property is a rental, the honest arithmetic is usually that closing it for a shorter, uninterrupted programme costs less than staying open through a longer one. We will show you both.
What we recommend against
- Re-rendering over a moving crack. It will come back. Either the movement is dealt with or the crack is a permanent feature; a third coat of filler is money spent twice.
- Sealing an old stone wall with cement and plastic paint. Same physics as a cave house. The wall needs to dry outwards.
- Replacing windows before deciding about the terrace above them. Sequencing matters — new joinery installed before the waterproofing above it is redone is joinery that gets damaged.
- Underfloor heating everywhere. In this climate the cooling problem is bigger than the heating problem. Put the money into shading, cross-ventilation and insulation and you will be more comfortable for less.
Questions people actually ask
Can you renovate while I keep renting the property?
Sometimes, with usable areas, dust separation and noise hours agreed before pricing. Frequently the arithmetic favours closing for a shorter programme — we will show you both sets of numbers rather than assuming.
How long does a full renovation take?
Four to ten months for a typical house, plus approvals if the work is structural or externally visible. The spread is governed by what the investigation finds and by material lead times crossing by ferry.
I am buying — should I survey before or after completion?
Before, and open up as much as the vendor allows. It is the highest-value money in the whole project: it either reduces the price you pay or prevents you buying a problem you cannot see.
Do I need a permit for a full renovation?
For structural work, changes to openings, extensions or anything visible externally in a designated settlement, yes. Purely internal non-structural work often does not need a full permit. We tell you which side you are on before you commit, not after.
Can you work from a design my architect has already done?
Yes, and it is common. We will review it for buildability against island constraints — access, lead times, and whether the specification survives salt exposure — and flag anything that will cause trouble before it becomes a variation.