Project: a kitchen-diner extension for a growing family
Every family reaches the same morning: two adults trying to make packed lunches, a child at the table, someone else looking for the dog's lead, all in a kitchen built for one person and a kettle. This kitchen extension in Bristol was the answer to that morning. The brief was not a showpiece. It was a room the whole household fits in at once, with the garden a step away and enough worktop that nobody has to wait for anybody else. The house is in Fishponds, BS16.
The brief: a kitchen the family actually fits in
Growing families ask us for the same three things in different words. Space to cook and eat in the same room. Light, because the old back kitchen is always the darkest room in the house. And a way into the garden that doesn't go through a side door and round the bins.
A single-storey rear extension does all three if it's planned as one room rather than a box bolted on. Here that meant putting the working kitchen along two walls of the new space, keeping the middle of the floor clear for a table and traffic, and turning the back wall into glazing and a garden door. The extension is 24m².
What the finished room shows
Look at the photo and you can read the decisions. Dark green shaker units run along the long wall and return under the window, with tall units and a fridge-freezer housing at the end so the run stays unbroken. White worktops and white metro tiles bounce the light back into the room. The floor is an oak-effect plank that will take muddy boots and dropped cutlery without complaint. Downlights sit in a flat plastered ceiling, so the room is evenly lit at night rather than relying on one pendant.
The gas hob and built-in oven are on the long wall, away from the door, so nobody carries a hot pan across a walkway. The sink sits under the window and looks out to the garden. Beside it, a half-glazed door opens straight outside. Small things, all of them, and together they are the difference between a kitchen you cook in and a kitchen you live in. The kitchen itself is from Wren, with a quartz worktop.
The second photo is a different kitchen extension of ours, caught mid-build: three-panel anthracite bifolds in, render on, roof tiled with a rooflight in the slope, and the patio still bare ground with a plank walkway. We include it because it shows the stage clients rarely see. Weathertight, glazed and dry inside, but weeks of first fix, plastering and kitchen fitting still to come. It's the point where a build stops feeling like demolition and starts feeling like a room.
How we run a kitchen extension
Most single-storey rear extensions in Bristol sit inside permitted development. The Planning Portal sets the limits: no more than 3 m beyond the original rear wall of a terrace or semi (4 m on a detached house), or 6 m and 8 m with prior approval, no higher than 4 m, and eaves no higher than 3 m within 2 m of a boundary. Conservation areas change the rules, so we check before we quote.
Building regulations apply regardless. Approved Document L sets the insulation targets for the new walls, floor and roof, and glazing at 1.4 W/m²K; glass-heavy designs also need a calculation because the glazed area is normally capped at a quarter of the extension's floor area. A structural engineer sizes the steel that holds the house up where the old back wall comes out. And on a terrace or semi, building on or near the boundary means party wall notices, covered in our Party Wall Act guide.
The build itself follows a fixed order: groundworks and drainage; walls up to plate height; roof on and weathertight; then the knock-through, which we leave as late as we can so the old kitchen keeps working; first-fix electrics and plumbing; plaster; kitchen fit; second fix; floor; decorate; snag. Single-storey extensions take 10 to 16 weeks on site.
Living at home through it is normal, and we plan for it: a temporary kitchen set up in another room, dust screens taped up before the wall comes down, the site swept every evening, and one honest conversation about the loud week. There's more on that in the dust question.
What a kitchen extension in Bristol costs
Guide figures for 2026: £1,900 to £3,200 per square metre for a standard specification, and £2,800 to £3,500 or more where the design is glass-heavy. Across the single-storey extensions we see, that puts the category between £30,000 and £140,000. Kitchen fit-out, steels, glazing, groundworks and drainage move the number most. Our quotes are detailed and itemised, the booking deposit is modest (around 10%), and we invoice against valuations of the work carried out. The full breakdown is in our house extension cost guide, and the service is described on our house extensions page.
If you want a second opinion on how we run these, a client of ours put it like this after their rear extension and ground-floor remodel: "Would 100% recommend Wilson and Cole Developments. They completed a rear extension and remodel of the downstairs of our Victorian terrace which we are thrilled with. From start to finish… we felt confidence in Dan and his team, who were professional, friendly, had integrity and clearly took a lot of pride in their hard work." (Maeve T., Google). That project has its own write-up.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a kitchen extension cost in Bristol?
Allow £1,900 to £3,200 per square metre for a standard specification in 2026, and £2,800 to £3,500 or more for a glass-heavy design. Most single-storey extensions fall between £30,000 and £140,000 depending on size, structure, glazing and the kitchen itself.
Do I need planning permission for a kitchen extension?
Usually not. A single-storey rear extension up to 3 m deep on a terrace or semi (4 m detached), no higher than 4 m, is normally permitted development, and 6 m or 8 m is possible with prior approval. Conservation areas and previous extensions change the answer, so check first. Building regulations apply either way.
How long does a kitchen extension take?
Ten to 16 weeks on site for a single-storey extension. Groundworks, walls and roof come first, then the knock-through, first fix, plaster, kitchen fit and finishes. Add lead time before the start for planning or a lawful development certificate, party wall notices and structural calculations.
Can we live at home during a kitchen extension?
Yes, and most families do. Expect a temporary kitchen for several weeks, dust screens between the site and the house, and one noisy week when the back wall comes down. Because the new room is built outside first, the disruption inside is concentrated at the end.
Do bifold doors need special building regulations?
They count as glazing under Approved Document L, so they need a U-value of 1.4 W/m²K or better, and if the total glazed area goes above about a quarter of the extension's floor area the design needs a compensating calculation. Safety glass and a structural lintel or steel above the opening are standard.
Come and see a site we're working on. That tells you more than any brochure, and it's the quickest way to judge whether we're the right people for your kitchen. Tell us about your project and we'll call you back within one working day.
