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Repair Cost Estimator
A free guide to what common repairs and maintenance cost in Kingston upon Thames and the surrounding area. Tick the work you need, adjust the quantities (see how to measure below), and see a likely price range.
Please read first
This is an estimate only, based on the average of several published price guides covering the whole of the UK, and including VAT. Older price evidence has been brought up to date using the official index of building repair and maintenance prices (ONS). It is not a quotation or professional advice on your property, and Prescott Chartered Surveyors does not advise on individual jobs or contractors. What you are actually charged could be quite different, depending on the condition of the property, access, materials and the contractor.
- Get at least three written quotes, all for the same work.
- Agree a fixed price in writing before work starts. For a small job under about £5,000 a simple letter is enough; for a bigger job, use the JCT Home Owner contract. Our free fixed-price quotes pack helps you do either.
- Check the contractor's insurance, references and any registration the work needs (for example FENSA or CERTASS for windows, Gas Safe for boilers).
How to measure
Your measurements are only used to work out your own estimate. They are not sent to builders: each builder measures for themselves and gives a fixed price for the whole job. A rough measurement is fine, and you can change it as often as you like. If you're not sure, leave the typical figure that's already filled in.
Always round up, never down, to the next whole metre (or square metre). The extra allows for cutting and wastage. The estimator rounds up for you if you enter part of a metre.
Stay on the ground. Never climb a ladder or go onto a roof to measure. Measure from the ground, or count the bricks:
- A brick and its mortar joint are about 225 mm long, so 4 to 5 bricks along is about 1 metre.
- A row (course) of bricks is about 75 mm high, so 13 rows is about 1 metre.
How many
Windows, doors, radiators and similar: count each one. Whole-house work, such as a rewire, a boiler or a kitchen, is 1.
Length in metres
- Gutters, fascias and soffits: the length of each roof edge that needs doing, front and back (and the sides if needed), added together.
- Downpipes: the height from the ground to the gutter, for each downpipe. On a two-storey house this is usually about 5 to 6 m each.
- Fencing: the length of the fence line.
- Damp-proof course: the length of the walls to be treated, measured along the outside.
Area in square metres (m²)
- Re-pointing: the length of each wall to be done, multiplied by its height. Take off large openings such as doors and patio doors.
- Rebuilding a garden wall: the length multiplied by the height.
- Patio or driveway: the length multiplied by the width. For an L-shape, split it into rectangles and add them together.
- Re-roofing (roof slope area): don't go on the roof. Measure the length and depth of the house from the outside, multiply them together, then multiply by 1.3 for a typical pitched roof. A typical semi-detached house has about 60 to 80 m² of roof slope.
Rooms
Re-plastering, ceilings and floor repairs: the number of rooms.
Please read these terms before using the tool.
Terms of use for the free tools
- These terms apply to the repair cost estimator, the fixed-price quotes pack and the party wall notices on this website (the tools). They are provided free by Prescott Chartered Surveyors, the trading name of Richard Prescott MRICS. By ticking the box before using a tool, you agree to these terms.
- Personal use only. You may use the tools only for your own home or another property you own, for your own personal use. You must not use the tools, or copy, sell or reproduce their prices, content or documents, for any commercial purpose, including pricing or advising on work for others or running another website or service.
- Automated tools, not advice. The tools are automated and give general information only. No one checks what you enter or what the tools produce. They are not a quotation, a survey, or professional or legal advice on your property, and using them does not make you a client of Prescott Chartered Surveyors.
- Estimates. Prices are estimates based on published price guides, and what you are charged may be quite different. Always get at least three written quotations and agree a fixed price before work starts.
- Your decisions. You decide what work is done, which contractor to use and what you agree with them. You are responsible for the details you enter and for checking every document before you send or serve it. Any contract is between you and your contractor or neighbour; Prescott Chartered Surveyors is not a party to it. The contractor is responsible for their own work.
- Safety.
- Do not climb a ladder, go onto a roof or work at height to measure or inspect anything; take all measurements from the ground.
- Do not carry out building work yourself because a tool shows a price for it. Work at height should be done by a competent contractor using a tower or scaffold where needed, and you should check that your contractor holds public liability insurance.
- Structural work, such as removing a wall or chimney breast, or digging foundations near a neighbour's building, needs calculations from a structural engineer or chartered surveyor and Building Regulations approval before it starts.
- Buildings built before about 2000 may contain asbestos. Do not drill, cut, sand or break materials that might contain it; they should be tested, and removed only by a suitably qualified contractor, licensed where required.
- Older paint may contain lead and should not be dry-sanded or burnt off.
- Gas work must be done only by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and electrical work by a registered electrician.
- Never cap or block a chimney or flue that is still in use, including a neighbour's. A disused flue should be capped and ventilated by a competent contractor.
- Liability. Because the tools are free and automated, Prescott Chartered Surveyors does not accept liability for any loss arising from your use of them or reliance on their results. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence.
- These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.