Last updated on April 27th, 2023
House refurbishment costs
If your house is looking a bit shabby, or you’ve recently bought a property that’s in need of some TLC then a house refurbishment project is probably on the cards. In this guide we look at the average house refurbishment costs in the UK.
If your house is looking a bit shabby, or you’ve recently bought a property that’s in need of some TLC, then a house refurbishment project is probably on the cards. We’ve put together the average house refurbishment costs in the UK to help you budget for the work.
There’s no standard list of what you need to do to refurbish a house, so it will depend on your property. But, to get you started, we’ll cover the costs of sorting out flooring, the walls, ceilings and even installing fitted furniture that a 3 bedroom house refurbishment might need.
For a breakdown of each cost, we spoke to the online estimators at B3 Cost Consulting – a team of professional Estimators and Quantity Surveyors.
If you’re looking for complete renovations rather than refurbishment, check out our house renovation cost guide.
How much does a house refurbishment cost?
It’s hard to give an accurate guide price for a typical house refurbishment because there is no typical refurbishment project. The condition, age and size of your property will all impact the total cost of the work you have done.
Below is a breakdown of costs for the areas we think you’ll most likely want to include in a full house refurbishment. If you can’t see the price for your plans, then we recommend you reach out to our approved refurbishment experts.
| Flooring type | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Wooden flooring (per m2) | £30 |
| Pine flooring (per m2) | £90 |
| High end hardwood (per m2) | £75 |
| Laminate flooring (per m2) | £30 |
| Luxury vinyl (per m2) | £50 |
| Replace carpet (per m2) | £30 |
| Remove old carpet | £50 |
| Carpet fitting (per room) | £100-£200 |
| Ceramic floor tiles (per 8 m2) | £400 |
| Porcelain tiles (per 8 m2) | £2,425 |
| Stone tiles (per 8 m2) | £880 |
Our costs are ballpark averages – get a local tradesperson to quote now
Flooring costs
There is a huge variety of flooring styles to choose from these days – from traditional carpet or wood flooring to laminate or luxury vinyl. Each flooring type will come in a wide range of colours and levels of quality, from the affordable basic options to the more expensive high-end options.
By far one of the most common flooring types is carpet, which has an average cost of around £30 per m2. The average cost for both wooden and laminate flooring is also about £30 per m2. For luxury vinyl flooring the cost is around £50 per m2.
The more expensive options are high-end hardwood flooring that costs about £75 per m2, and pine flooring which costs in the region of £90 per m2.
If you’re looking for tiles for the floor, three of the most common types are: ceramic, porcelain and stone. The average cost ranges between £400 to £2,425 per 8 m2, depending on the material you choose.
To find out more about flooring costs, check out our cost guides for wooden flooring, carpet replacement, carpet fitting and kitchen floor tiles.
| Item | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Painter and decorator daily rate | £250 |
| Paint a 2-bed flat | £800 |
| Paint a 5-bed house | £2400 |
| Wallpaper a room (labour only) | £250 |
| Wallpaper removal (per room) | £150 |
| Artex removal (per m2) | £15 |
| Plaster a room | £900 |
Walls & ceiling costs
One of the most popular jobs in house refurbishment projects is making the walls and ceilings fresh again. That could involve removing wallpaper and artex, repairing damaged plaster, or simply a new lick of paint. If you’re doing a full house refurbishment then you’ll definitely want to budget for wall and ceilings costs.
Removing wallpaper is one of the easier DIY tasks, but if you have a lot of wall space to clear you might want to consider hiring a professional to do it with their specialist equipment. The cost for removing wallpaper is about £150 per room (for a standard size room).
To put up new wallpaper, the cost is about £250 per room for labour – plus the additional cost of the wallpaper itself. If there’s artex on the ceiling that you need to remove, it will cost you about £15 per m2 to get a professional to remove it.
Plastering a room makes a huge difference to the look and feel of your home. The average cost of a plaster to do a standard size room is around £900 per room. Once that’s done you’ll want to paint, and a painter and decorator will charge around £250 per day.
If you’d like to read more about the prices of wall and ceiling refurbishment, take a look at our cost guides for painter and decorator prices, wallpaper removal, artex removal, and plastering a room.
| Item | Average cost |
|---|---|
| Install a fitted wardrobe | £850 |
| Carpenter day rate | £250 |
| Respray kitchen units | £750 |
Fitted furniture costs
A great way to add style and functionality as part of a house refurbishment is to incorporate the cost of fitted furniture. Whether it’s installing fitted wardrobes or repurposing existing kitchen cabinets, fitted furniture can add a special touch to a home.
Installing a fitted wardrobe will cost about £850. If you need to hire a carpenter for bespoke work, their day rate is around £250 per day. And if you’re looking to respray kitchen units, the average cost is about £750 for a standard size kitchen.
For more about fitted furniture costs, read our cost guides for fitted wardrobes and spray painting kitchen cabinets.
Interior design costs
Sometimes planning the designs for a refurbishment can be a little daunting. Get rid of that stress by hiring a professional interior designer to help you plan and execute beautiful interiors for your home’s new look. Find out more in our interior design cost guide.
Factors affecting the cost of house refurbishment
As we’ve mentioned, there’s no standard to-do list for a house refurbishment. That means the total cost can vary massively between projects due to a whole host of factors.
The most influential factors that will impact the overall house refurbishment cost are:
- Size of property
- Age and condition of property
- Type of refurbishment work needed
- Complexity of work involved
- Quality of materials used
- Where you live
House refurbishment vs renovation
Refurbishment generally refers to a project that is taking a property in good structural condition and making mainly cosmetic changes to enhance the appearance. If you’re looking to carry out major work on your property or make structural changes to the building then you’re looking at a renovation project.
If that’s the case, then the average cost of a whole house renovation ranges from £35,000 to £69,000. For more information, check out our cost guide to renovating a house.
Useful house refurbishment checklist
- To keep costs down, consider doing unskilled tasks yourself, such as wallpaper removal or removing carpet.
- Beware of additional costs of removal, for example carpet fitters are unlikely to remove old ones for free.
- Consider the cost of getting a small skip to get rid of all waste and old materials.
- Contact local tradespeople to discuss the details of your refurbishment project and to get accurate quotes for the work.
- Shop around for fair and competitive house refurbishment costs.
- Always hire tradespeople with experience and relevant qualifications or accreditations, where appropriate.
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Working with professional estimators, we collate cost estimates for the common home improvement and repair jobs in the UK.
All the costs are estimates only. For accurate costs for your particular requirements, you are encouraged to reach out to professional tradespeople to receive a quote for your job.
Our estimators are Chartered Members (MRICS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and Members of the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB). See full disclaimer.
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