House extension specialists, Calcot
Single-storey, two-storey and wrap-around house extensions, built across Calcot, Tilehurst and west Reading — groundworks to final finish, on one contract, with one team. We take on loft conversions and roofing too.
Two details is all we need. We’ll ring you back and arrange a free site visit.
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What we do
A house extension is really three jobs in one: groundworks, structure and a roof. Most builders sub-let at least one of them. We do all three ourselves, which is why our extensions finish when we said they would — and why we can take on loft conversions and roofing on their own too.
Single and two-storey extensions, rear and side returns, and open-plan kitchen diners — from the first set of drawings through to the final coat of paint.
Dormer, hip-to-gable and room-in-roof conversions that turn dead storage space into a proper bedroom, home office or en-suite.
New roofs, re-roofing, flat roofs and repairs — tiled, slated and single-ply, on both existing houses and new extensions.
Types of house extension
Most of Calcot and Tilehurst is 1930s semis, post-war estates and newer developments off Pincents Lane — house types that take an extension well, but not all in the same way. These are the six we are asked for most.
The most common house extension we build in Calcot. It takes the back of the house out into the garden to make one big kitchen diner, usually with bi-fold or sliding doors and roof lights over the new part. Often falls under permitted development.
Fills in the narrow alley down the side of a Victorian or 1930s terrace or semi. It only adds a couple of metres, but it squares off an awkward galley kitchen and completely changes how the ground floor works.
A bedroom above and a family room, kitchen or utility below, for not much more than twice the groundworks. Almost always needs a planning application rather than permitted development, and the existing foundations have to be checked before anything else.
A rear and a side return combined into one L-shaped footprint. It gives the biggest gain in floor area of any single-storey option and suits the 1930s semis along the Bath Road particularly well.
Not really a shape so much as an outcome — knocking the old back wall out and running one space from the front of the house to the garden. Needs a correctly sized steel, and the drainage and floor build-up planned in from the groundworks if you want a flush threshold.
The cheapest square metre in the house, because the walls and roof already exist. Mostly a matter of a new floor, insulation, a proper foundation under the old garage door opening, and getting the damp-proofing right.
Why Arch Stoneworks
The house above got a two-storey house extension, a dormer loft conversion and a new tiled roof — and it was the same team on site from the day the foundations were dug to the day the scaffold came down. That matters more than it sounds. Nothing falls between two contractors, nobody blames the last trade, and there is one person to ring if you have a question.
How it works
No hard sell and no surprise costs half way through. Here is exactly how a job runs.
Tell us roughly what you have in mind and where you are. We will say straight away whether it is something we can take on and when we could start.
We come out, measure up, look at the ground, the drainage and the roof, and talk through the options — including the ones that will save you money.
A quote broken down by stage, so you can see what is included and what is not. No pressure and no obligation to go ahead.
We book the building control inspections, keep you updated week by week, and hand over a finished job with the paperwork in order.
Recent work
Photographs from our own sites — not a stock library.
Our approach
“An extension should look like it was always meant to be there. If the brickwork does not line through, if the floor level steps, if the roof pitch is a degree out — you will notice it every day for twenty years. So we get it right the first time.” Arch Stoneworks Ltd
Where we work
We are based in Calcot and most of our work is within about fifteen miles — across west Reading, out along the A4 towards Theale and Thatcham, north over the river to Caversham and Pangbourne, and east to Earley, Woodley and Wokingham.
Calcot, Reading, Berkshire
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Questions
The questions we get asked most often on the first phone call, answered honestly.
There is no honest flat rate — the cost of an extension is driven by its footprint, whether it is single or two-storey, what the ground and drainage are like, how much steelwork the opening needs, and the level of finish you want inside. We visit, measure up, go through the drawings with you and send a written quote broken down by stage, so you can see exactly what is included. Quotes are free and there is no obligation.
Not always. Many single-storey rear extensions fall under permitted development rights, provided they stay within the limits on depth, height and materials, and the house has not already been extended. Two-storey extensions, anything to the front, and work on a listed building or in a conservation area normally do need an application. Calcot sits under West Berkshire Council, and we can tell you at the site visit which route your project is likely to take.
Most do not. A rear dormer or a room-in-roof conversion usually sits within permitted development as long as it stays under the volume allowance and does not extend beyond the front roof slope. Whether or not planning is needed, every loft conversion needs building regulations approval — for the floor structure, the staircase, fire escape and insulation — and we handle that side of it for you.
It depends on the type of job. A room-in-roof conversion with roof lights is the quickest, because the existing roof stays largely intact. A rear dormer or hip-to-gable takes longer, since the roof is opened up and rebuilt. Extensions run from the groundworks up, so foundations, drainage and the weather all play a part. We give you an indicative programme with the written quote and keep you posted week by week once we are on site.
Yes. We build to your structural engineer's calculations and approved drawings, and we book and attend the building control inspections at each stage — foundations, damp-proof course, steels, insulation and completion — through to sign-off. If you have not appointed a designer or engineer yet, we can point you towards local practices we work with.
We do it ourselves. Roofing, extensions and loft conversions are all in-house, which is the main reason our jobs stay on programme — nobody is standing around waiting for a roofing gang to become free. We also take on standalone roofing work: re-roofs, flat roofs, repairs and lead work.
Absolutely, and it is the smoothest way to run a job. Send over the approved drawings and the engineer's calculations and we will price against them. If the drawings throw up something that will be awkward or expensive to build, we will flag it before you commit rather than after.
We are based in Calcot and work right across west Reading and the surrounding Berkshire villages — Tilehurst, Theale, Southcote, Burghfield, Purley on Thames, Pangbourne, Caversham, Earley, Woodley and out towards Thatcham, Newbury and Wokingham. The coverage page lists every area we cover.
Get started
Tell us roughly what you have in mind. We will come out, measure up and put a written quote together — free, and with no obligation to go ahead.