You’ve got the architect’s drawings back, the planning side is sorted, and now you’re ringing round for a builder who can actually start before Christmas. Then the reality bites. Good bricklayers and plasterers are booked up months ahead, and it’s not just your imagination. Trade press this summer has been banging on about the plastering skills gap, and anyone who’s tried to get a skim done in a Cranleigh barn conversion lately will tell you the same.
So what does that mean for a property renovation in Cranleigh, Ewhurst or Alfold? Sequence is everything. If the brickwork on your extension isn’t weathertight before the first frosts, the plasterer can’t start, the screed can’t go down, and your January slips into March. A lot of our local jobs are older cavity-wall houses with soft Wealden brick, so the new work has to be tied in properly with stainless steel wall ties at 450mm centres vertically and 900mm horizontally. Get that wrong and you’ll see cracking at the junction within a couple of winters.
Insulation is the second thing people underestimate. For a typical single-storey rear extension, we’re looking at 100mm of PIR board in the cavity or a full-fill product such as Kingspan Kooltherm, a DPC bedded at least 150mm above ground level, and a block-and-beam or trench-fill foundation depending on what the Surrey clay and the nearby oaks are doing to the soil. Part L drives most of that, and building control in Waverley will want to see it before the cavity is closed.
And budget for the finish. Plaster is one of the last trades in, but its booking is one of the first you should make. A decent plasterer working British Gypsum Thistle MultiFinish over a bonded backing coat will give you a flat, crack-free wall that takes paint properly. Rush it and you’ll be filling hairlines by Easter.
If you’re weighing up a renovation or extension around Cranleigh, Guildford or Horsham, have a word with the team at ABC Building Cranleigh. They’ll talk you through programme, ground conditions and trade availability before you commit to anything. Take a look at abcbuildingcranleigh.co.uk/ and drop them a message with your plans.