Permitted development & planning permission
When a conversion is PD, the six exceptions that aren't, Aylesbury-area specifics, and how to check your own house in an evening.
Read the PD guide
Plain-English advice
Garage conversion guides
The questions we answer at every survey, written down with the local detail the national guides leave out.
The library
Six guides, updated for 2026
Every guide leads with direct answers and real figures. The same checks run free with every survey if you'd rather we did the reading.
Building regulations, in real detail
Every requirement with the actual numbers: U-values, escape windows, ventilation rates, electrics certification, and why the completion certificate matters most.
Read the regs guideNew-build estate covenants
The deed clause that stops conversions planning law allows — how to check yours, getting developer consent, and the honest risk picture if you skip it.
Read the covenants guideCost guide 2026
Real local ranges plus three itemised worked examples: an integral single on Kingsbrook, a detached single in Wendover, a double in Princes Risborough.
Read the cost guideDoes a conversion add value?
The honest analysis: typical uplift vs cost, when losing parking cancels the gain, and what buyers' surveyors check first.
Read the value guideConversion vs extension
Cost per m², disruption, permission burden and timescales in one decision table — including when the extension genuinely wins.
Read the comparison