About

Home Renovation Guru is a working notebook about residential renovation: what a project actually costs, which stage people skip, and which pieces of paper have to exist before a wall comes down.

Who writes it

Nicole Bickley writes every guide on this site. The work behind them is unglamorous: reading building regulations, comparing tender documents, photographing the inside of service voids, and asking contractors why a detail was done the way it was done. Where a number is quoted, the source is either a published schedule of rates, a supplier price list with a date, or a set of real quotes with the addresses removed.

What the site covers

Six areas, because they are the six places renovation budgets leak. Kitchens and bathrooms carry the plumbing and electrical risk. Permits and compliance decide whether the job can be signed off. Materials and specifications decide whether the finish survives five winters. Budget and scheduling decide whether the money lasts. Structure and layout decide whether the plan is buildable at all.

How the guides are put together

Each piece starts from a question a homeowner has actually asked, then works outward: what the regulation says, what the trade practice is, what it costs in a typical mid-market house, and where the two diverge. Cost figures are given as ranges and tied to a date, because a single figure quoted without either is not information. Where practice varies by jurisdiction, the guide says so instead of picking the most convenient answer.

Editorial independence

No brand pays for coverage on this site, no product is placed in exchange for a fee, and no supplier reviews drafts before publication. The site does not currently run affiliate links inside articles; if that changes, the disclosure will appear at the top of the article rather than in the footer.

Corrections

Building codes change and prices move. If a figure here is out of date, or a rule has changed in your area, send the detail with a link to the source to [email protected]. Corrections are made in the article and noted at the bottom with the date.

What this site is not

It is not a substitute for a structural engineer, a licensed electrician, a building control officer or a solicitor. Nothing here is a specification for your house. A guide can tell you which questions to ask; only a qualified person standing in the building can answer them.