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20 tools for anyone with a house

Real 2026 builder rates, the actual rules, and plain English. Built by people who price this work for a living rather than by a marketing department. Nothing here asks for your email address.

Updated July 2026 · used by buyers, owners and the occasional surveyor

What will the work cost?

Builder-priced ranges for the jobs buyers and owners ask about most. Every calculator uses 2026 UK labour and material rates, adjusted for where you are.

Extension cost calculator Single or double storey, by floor area, spec level and region. Loft conversion cost calculator Rooflight, dormer, hip-to-gable or mansard — with staircase and en-suite. Kitchen renovation cost calculator Units, worktops, appliances, moving services and knocking through. Bathroom renovation cost calculator Refit or full strip-out, tanking, tiling and relocating the soil pipe. Whole house renovation calculator Cosmetic refresh through to full back-to-brick, priced per square metre. Rewiring cost calculator Full rewire, partial rewire or just a consumer unit — plus making good. Roof replacement cost calculator Re-roofing, patch repairs, flat roofs, and what the scaffold really costs. Boiler replacement cost calculator Like-for-like swap, system conversion, or moving the boiler entirely.

What will buying cost?

The money side of a purchase — tax, fees and the repair bill you inherit on completion day.

Stamp duty calculator England, Wales, Scotland and NI — with first-time buyer and second home rates. True cost of buying calculator Every pound you need on day one — deposit, tax, legals, RICS survey, moving, repairs. RICS survey repair cost calculator Tick RICS survey findings and get a realistic repair bill plus a renegotiation position.

Understanding a property

Turn RICS survey language, damp patches and wall cracks into something you can actually act on.

RICS survey jargon decoder Search 90+ RICS survey phrases for what they mean, how urgent, and what they cost. Damp diagnosis tool Answer six questions about the patch and find out which damp you are dealing with. Crack severity checker Grade a wall crack against the BRE scale surveyors and engineers actually use. Property viewing checklist 60 things a builder checks in 20 minutes. Tick them off on your phone at the viewing.

Permissions and rules

Whether your project needs planning permission, building regulations approval or a party wall notice.

Planning permission checker Does your project fall under permitted development, or do you need to apply? Building regulations checker Which parts of the Building Regulations your job triggers, and who signs it off. Party wall notice checker Do you need to serve notice on the neighbours — and how long before you start?

Living in it

Hiring trades, checking quotes and keeping on top of the building you own.

Builder quote checker Score a quote against 18 red flags before you sign anything or pay a deposit. Home maintenance calendar What to check each season, tailored to your property age and type.

Why we built these

Every one of these tools exists because the same questions kept arriving. What will this extension cost? Is this crack serious? What does "further investigation is recommended" actually mean? Do I need planning permission for a garden room? Should I pay this deposit?

There are plenty of calculators on the internet already. Most of them are lead-generation forms with a number attached, built by companies who want to sell you the work. Ours are built from the rates we price jobs at, they give you ranges rather than false precision, and they will happily tell you that you do not need to spend anything.

What a calculator cannot do is look at your building. If you want that — a builder reading your RICS survey, your photos or the listing and telling you what is actually going on — that is the one thing we charge for, and it is £59.

Review my RICS survey — £59

Related guides

Need a builder’s honest take on a property or project?

Get a builder’s eyes on it first. We review RICS surveys, listings, photos and quotes, and tell you in plain English what matters and what it’s likely to cost.

Review my builder’s quote — £59

Pay, then send it by WhatsApp or email · written review + call within 24 hours · refund if it isn’t clear