House Extensions in Caterham (CR3)
Most Caterham extensions are decided by the ground before they are decided by the drawings. The town sits on the North Downs and its streets climb the valley sides, so what is possible at the back of the house — and what it costs to get there — depends on the fall of the plot.
Sloping plots change the foundation, not just the plan
A level rear garden and a garden that drops a metre and a half across its width are two completely different jobs on paper that look identical.
On the valley-side streets the fall usually means stepped foundations, a degree of retaining at the boundary, and a floor level that has to be resolved against the existing house — sometimes as a split level, sometimes by building up. Caterham also sits on chalk, and what the ground does at depth is worth establishing before a price is fixed rather than after the dig has started. We would rather survey it, price the groundworks for what they are, and give you a figure that holds.
What the different parts of town extend well into
The solid Victorian and Edwardian houses up on the hill tend to have narrow rear additions with a side return beside them, which is the obvious place to gain a proper kitchen-dining space without touching the front of the house. Interwar semis and the post-war stock climbing the valley sides are a different proposition: usually more width to work with, often a garage that is more useful absorbed into the house than kept, and rear elevations that take a wider single-storey addition comfortably. What suits your house is a conversation worth having before an architect is paid.
One firm answerable from survey to handover
Our own team does the building work — brickwork, carpentry, plastering and groundworks — and for electrics, roofing and decorating we bring in specialists we have used for years and manage them on site. That means one firm stays answerable for your Caterham job from the first survey to the final clean, and one number to ring afterwards.
More in Caterham
Everything we do in Caterham is on the Caterham area sheet, and the full detail of how we approach this trade is on the extensions & renovations page.
Common questions
Q.01Will the slope on my plot make an extension much more expensive?
It adds to the groundworks rather than to the whole job, and how much depends on the fall and what the ground is doing underneath. We survey it, price the groundworks as their own item on the schedule, and you can see exactly what the slope is costing you rather than taking it on trust.
Q.02Do you handle drawings and building control?
We survey the job and price the build. Where drawings and approvals are needed we will tell you plainly what the job requires and work alongside whoever prepares them, so the price you get is for the scheme that will actually be approved.
Q.03Can you take the garage into the house?
Often the most useful space on an interwar or post-war Caterham semi. It needs the floor, walls and roof bringing up to habitable standard rather than simply blocking up the door, which is where a cheap conversion shows itself. We price it as the proper job.
Q.04How long does a single-storey rear extension take?
It depends on the groundworks, and on a sloping Caterham plot that is the part that varies most. We give a programme with the written price and work back from the date agreed.
Thinking about extensions & renovations in Caterham?
Tell us what you are planning. We come out, look at the job properly and give you a price for it.