Builders in Reading

Before you get quotes for building work in Reading, find out which rules apply to your street. Reading Borough Council has 15 conservation areas, from Redlands and Eldon Square to Castle Hill/Russell Street/Oxford Road and St Peter’s in Caversham. In these areas, new windows, doors or roof coverings may need planning permission unless the materials match what’s already there.

Some streets have stricter rules. The council has Article 4 directions on a number of patterned brickwork terraces, including School Terrace, Jesse Terrace, Field Road and Wantage Road. These remove permitted development rights, so even a rear extension that would normally go ahead without an application needs planning permission there. A separate Article 4 direction covers much of Park, Redlands and Katesgrove wards. It requires planning permission to turn a family house into a small shared house. The council’s website lists the exact addresses.

Also check which council covers you. Earley and Woodley are in Wokingham Borough, and part of Tilehurst is in West Berkshire, so planning applications go to those councils.

The ground matters for extensions too. According to the British Geological Survey, much of the Reading area sits on chalk overlain by clays of the Reading Formation and London Clay. These clays can shrink and swell as they dry out and get wet, so your building control officer or engineer will set the foundation depth, particularly near trees. The survey also records chalk dissolution hollows in places. A good builder will allow for trial holes rather than guessing.

Reading’s older terraces lend themselves to certain projects:

• Kitchen extensions into the side return.
• Loft conversions with a rear dormer.
• Opening up the back rooms. Knocking through usually means taking out a load-bearing wall, which needs a structural engineer’s calculations and building control sign-off.

On terraced and semi-detached houses, work on or near a shared wall often needs a party wall agreement with your neighbours before it starts.

When you compare builders, ask for itemised quotes on the same drawings. Check that each quote says who deals with building control and what the payment stages are, and never pay large sums upfront. Reviews on Trade Pilot are tied to real, invoiced jobs, so you can see how a builder has handled projects like yours.