A small family firm with over 35 years in the building trade. We design, manage and build extensions all over the city.
County Structures builds house extensions in Brighton for people who like where they live but have run out of room. We’re a small, family-run firm with more than 35 years in the trade. Most houses here are Victorian and Edwardian terraces or 1930s semis, and each needs a different approach.
Grant leads each job himself. The person who prices your extension is the one on site making sure it’s built right. Call him on 07885 325954 if you’d like him to come and have a look.
The right extension depends on the house, the garden and what you need the room for.
If you’d rather go up than out, a loft conversion can be better value.
Not sure which type suits your house?
Call Grant on 07885 325954 and he’ll come and look.
The architects, surveyors and engineers we bring in are people we use on job after job. We do the building ourselves, and you deal with Grant rather than a string of separate contractors. The work we cover includes:
A double-storey extension costs more overall, but the upstairs rooms come cheaper per square metre. They share the foundations and the roof with the ground floor. On a 1930s semi, a two-storey side extension is a common way to get a fourth bedroom.
It nearly always needs planning permission. The council will look closely at your neighbours’ light and at how the new part matches the old. Getting the brick, roof tiles and window proportions right matters, especially on a Victorian or Edwardian house.
Many single-storey extensions don’t need planning permission. They can go ahead under permitted development rights if they stay inside the limits. For a house, the main ones are:
Flats and maisonettes don’t have householder permitted development rights. Listed buildings need listed building consent. Brighton has a lot of conservation areas, and in those a side extension or a two-storey rear extension always needs planning. Some also have Article 4 directions that remove further rights. We check your address with Brighton and Hove City Council before anything is drawn.
Treat any figure here as a rough guide, because every extension is priced from its own drawings. Checkatrade’s published range for Brighton and Hove is about £21,000 to £61,000, but that takes in small, simple jobs. A 20 square metre single-storey extension at South East prices is more likely to land somewhere around £40,000 to £70,000 before the kitchen goes in. Two-storey and high-spec jobs cost more. Leave room in the budget for drawings, the engineer’s fees and council charges.
Size, steelwork, glazing and access move the price most. A terrace with no side access means every barrow of spoil goes through the house. We’ll look at the job for free, then give you a written quote once the drawings are done.
Yes, even when it doesn’t need planning. Building control inspects the foundations, drains, steels and insulation as the job goes along, then signs it off. We book those visits for you.
The Party Wall Act applies if you build on the boundary line, work on a shared wall, or dig foundations within 3 metres of a neighbour’s building (6 metres for deep ones). Notices go out one or two months before work starts, depending on the job. On a terrace this is common, so we raise it early.
Under permitted development, extensions and outbuildings together can’t cover more than half the land around the original house. Go over that and you need planning permission.
Often, yes, for a modest single-storey extension. It depends on size, glazing and the kitchen. We’ll tell you straight after the visit if your budget fits.
A single-storey extension usually takes around 10 to 16 weeks on site. Two-storey and wraparound jobs take longer. Allow a few months before that for drawings and approvals.
Free site visit and a written quote.
Call the office on 01273 950800 or Grant on 07885 325954.
We build extensions all over Brighton and Hove, including Preston Park, Hanover, Kemptown, Fiveways, Withdean, Patcham and Rottingdean. We also work in Portslade, Shoreham and Lewes. Call Grant on 07885 325954 or the office on 01273 950800. Our office is at Stanford Gate, South Road, Brighton BN1 6SB.
Loft Conversions · Basement Conversions · Design and Build · Steel Beams and RSJs
Call Grant on 07885 325954 or the office on 01273 950800. We will come out, look at the job and give you a free, no-obligation quote.
I can confirm that Grant has worked for me on two projects. The first project was to build two semi-detached houses in Hove. The second project was to convert an 1850s listed building in Brighton into four top-end apartments.
Grant is a very practical builder and gets on well with people, particularly neighbours, helping projects run smoothly. He works to a high standard and, should you decide to have him work for you, will leave you with a feeling that you would willingly use him again.
Grant and his team carried out our flat conversion (converting the top two floors of our Victorian house to two self contained flats) last year.
For our works they started on the agreed date and finished within days of the predicted finish date. For us the work was all to a very good standard and we have been very pleased with the finished job.
The team were friendly and approachable, happy to change or add little things as the conversion evolved. Grant and John were always at the end of the phone if needed. I would not hesitate to recommend them and if I need further construction works carried out would look to them first.
Tell us a little about your project and we will call you back. If you have drawings or photos, mention it and we can arrange a site visit.
County Structures Ltd
Stanford Gate
2nd Floor, South Road
Brighton
BN1 6SB
