3 bed Victorian terrace recurs

Based on what you’ve described this is a very achievable renovation and a common scope of work we carry out regularly on Victorian terraces across Yorkshire. Breaking it down roughly: The load bearing wall removal between the kitchen and sitting room will require a structural engineer to specify the correct RSJ steel beam before work begins. This is straightforward but must be done correctly — budget around £3,000–£5,000 for the beam, installation and structural engineer fees. The French doors, blocking off the existing back door and part kitchen refit would typically come in around £4,000–£8,000 depending on the kitchen specification and door quality you choose. The understairs toilet is very achievable providing there is access to the soil stack — budget around £2,500–£4,000 fully fitted. A full bathroom replacement with bath and retiling typically costs £3,500–£6,000 depending on fixtures and tile specification. Skimming the hallway, two downstairs rooms and two bedrooms — budget around £2,500–£4,000. Total ballpark for the full scope would be in the region of £20,000–£30,000 depending on specifications and what we find once we’re on site.

For that amount of work, I’d roughly budget £25k–£45k, depending on the kitchen/bathroom finish and structural work. I’d also keep an extra 10–15% contingency for unexpected issues. If well organised, around 8–12 weeks is realistic. I’d definitely get a builder and structural engineer to inspect the load-bearing wall before buying.

Based on current UK trade pricing and what a Victorian terrace of this layout typically throws up, here's a realistic ballpark — treat it as a planning figure to help you decide whether to proceed, not a quote. **The headline number:** for exactly the works you've listed, I'd budget roughly **£20,000–£38,000**, plus a contingency of 15–20% on top (so realistically nearer **£25,000–£45,000** all-in) once you account for the extras a house of this age almost always reveals once you're inside the walls. On site, expect the works to run **8–12 weeks** with a well-organised single contractor managing all trades in sequence, though the whole project from instructing a structural engineer to snagging usually spans **3–4 months** once you add design, building control processing, and lead times for a kitchen and made-to-order doors. **Item by item:** Removing the load-bearing wall between the kitchen and back sitting room — this is the classic Victorian "knock-through," and you're right that it's almost certainly structural: these terraces typically have a solid brick spine wall carrying the first-floor joists. Budget £3,000–£6,000 covering the structural engineer's calculations (£200–£400 for the visit, more for a full calc package), the RSJ itself (£140–£325 per metre, so £600–£1,300 for a typical 3–4m span), fitting with padstones, brickwork/making good either side, and building control fees (£250–£450). Replacing the sitting room window with French doors and enlarging the opening — expect £2,500–£3,500 for a decent uPVC set including the structural alteration to widen the opening, or £3,000–£4,500 for aluminium or timber. Straight swap without altering the opening size would be cheaper (£950–£1,750), but French doors usually need a wider/taller opening than a window, which is what pushes the price up. Blocking up the old back door — roughly £600–£1,200 for the brick infill, insulation, damp-proof course tie-in, and making good both faces (plaster inside, matching brick or render outside). Kitchen refit (partial) — a genuinely partial refit (retaining the layout, some units/worktop/appliances replaced) typically lands around £3,000–£8,000. If it ends up being closer to a full refit once you're in there, current market rates are £8,000–£14,000 for a budget swap-out and £14,000–£22,000 mid-range, so it's worth deciding early which camp you're in, as it's the biggest swing factor in your whole budget. Downstairs WC under the stairs — £2,000–£4,500 typically, but this is the item most likely to surprise you upward: if the under stairs space is a good distance from the existing soil stack, running new drainage (possibly breaking through the kitchen floor) can push this to £5,000–£6,000. Worth bringing a plumber in to look at where the nearest stack or drain run is before you commit to the price in your head. Bathroom refit with new bath and full retile — £4,500–£9,000 for a good mid-range job (suite, tiling floor-to-ceiling on wet walls, new taps/shower). Budget end is £3,500–£5,500 if you keep the existing layout and go for simpler fittings. Skimming (hallway, 2 downstairs rooms, 2 bedrooms) — roughly £3,000–£6,000 for all five areas at skim-only rates (walls and ceilings), assuming the plaster underneath is sound and this isn't hiding a damp problem (see below). **Three things I'd flag as a builder, beyond your list:** You're touching a party wall. Victorian terraces almost always have the kitchen/lounge spine wall built into (or hard against) the shared wall with next door, so your new steel beam will very likely bear onto it. That means serving notice under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 on your neighbour(s) before work starts — a two-month notice period, and if a surveyor gets involved (which you pay for either way) that's typically another £700–£1,500 per neighbour. It rarely stops the job, but it does add lead time you should build into your schedule now rather than discover later. You're already skimming almost the whole ground floor and two bedrooms — that's the moment to deal with anything behind the plaster before it's covered up, not after. Two things are worth checking before you commit to a purchase price: rising or penetrating damp (very common in solid-wall Victorian terraces with no cavity and often a failed or absent DPC — re-plastering over damp walls means redoing it within a couple of years) and the state of the electrics (if it hasn't been rewired since the wiring looks original, doing it now while walls are bare is far cheaper than chasing into finished plaster later). Neither is in your list, but both could each add £2,000–£6,000+ if needed, and they're exactly the kind of thing that changes whether this is a good financial decision. Given the scope here, it's worth getting a full (Level 3) building survey before you exchange, not just a mortgage valuation — on a house needing this much structural and services work, the survey fee is trivial next to what it can save you in nasty surprises. Get 3 local quotes before you rely on any of this for the purchase decision — the ranges above are our guesstimates without seeing anything and can move 20–30% either way depending on your region (London/South East higher) and exactly what the survey finds once walls are opened up. One more point on whether the house is a good financial decision - if you are planning on renting it out, then probably not - it will take a long time to recoup the money you spend. If the purchase is for you as a home, then it is a better proposition. Without knowing the current state of the house it is difficult to say, but the chances are you will want to hang on to the property before selling it to be sure of making a profit, rather than trying to flip it to make a profit.