12 steps that will save you money on your house extension project.

A UK architect's real fees for a house extension, stage by stage, with worked examples — plus when you don't need an architect at all.

Real tendered prices for taking down a load-bearing wall between two rooms in the UK, uplifted to 2026 rates.

Real construction costs for house extensions in the UK in 2026, from an architect building them since 2009. Single storey projects start at £56k + VAT.

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. Most people assume that building work on a home in the UK is charged at 20% VAT. And most of the time, they are right. But there are specific circumstances where that drops to 5% and in one case,

Are new homes in the EU better than the UK. Can owners and architects in Britain learn anything from builders and designers in Europe?

I have been demolishing load-bearing walls in my projects for over 20 years. Most of my clients are homeowners in the UK who don't know how a load-bearing wall is taken down and who worry about the consequences. I made a video about the cost of removing a wall in 2024 but in this video, I explain the methods used to do this work. Do not attempt this yourself and always take professional advice as early as possible in any project.

Do you own a home in the UK but it isn't large enough? Do you want to build a two-storey house extension without having to apply for planning permission? Believe it or not, this is possible but I don't think its a good idea.

An architect's checks before you offer on an older property — the roof, the planning history, what Street View reveals, and why a survey only tells you half the story.

The top five bad design ideas that could ruin a house extension

Get the best price for a home renovation in the UK by doing the work over winter.

Extending above a garage in the UK can be done but it comes at a cost. Is it worth it?

Will the Labour Party policies on new housing actually make it more expensive to build an extension to your home?

I publish a detailed breakdown of how much it cost to build this house extension in 2024

Big news, Real Life Architecture now has a real life office in Edinburgh. This is a co-working space and has a meeting room available by...

Do you need an architect for a house extension?

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. In this post I want to show you how to create a great bathroom in your home. I'm going to use images from several of my own designs, including this project, as an example. I have been a self-emplo

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. I have been a self-employed Architect in the UK since 2009. In my day job I specialise in designing private homes and I want to show you how to create a kitchen that becomes the heart of family li

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. Have you been trying to buy the ideal family home but can't seem to find the right property? Maybe you’ve decided to buy a house, and then make it much bigger, so it works for you. This house was

Just a short post to share the news. FeedSpot listed the Real Life Architecture Blog at no. 10 in its Best UK Architecture Blogs and...

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. So you want to build a house extension in the UK, you’ve never done this before but you've heard somewhere that contractors can do projects for a fixed price. Ive run my own architecture practice

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. Have you been trying to buy the ideal family home but can't seem to find the right property? Maybe you’ve decided to buy a house, and then build an extension, to make it work for you. That’s what

Níall Hedderman · ARB-registered architect · RIBA Chartered Member I've run my own architecture practice in Edinburgh since 2009, specialising in altering, extending and renovating homes. Since 2022 I've given over 340 online consultations to homeowners and buyers across the UK. Have you ever dreamed about buying a site and building your own home? Do you fantasize about being on grand designs? My name is Níall and Ive been working as an Architect in the UK since 2004, and

It is one of the biggest questions in Architecture. How do I get more likes on Instagram? No, I'm kidding, what Architects really want to...