Looking for builders in Ilford who can take a project from the first survey to the last coat of paint? Omni Builders works across Ilford and the wider London Borough of Redbridge as one team for the building work and every trade that follows it: structure, plumbing, heating, electrics, tiling and decorating.
As building contractors in Ilford, we take on loft conversions, house extensions, renovations, driveways and garden buildings, along with the smaller repairs and installations every home needs. If you want a construction company in Ilford that plans the approvals, runs the site and hands over the paperwork, or simply local builders in Ilford for a defined job, the process starts the same way: a free site survey and an itemised written quote.
Ilford is the heart of Redbridge, and planning and building control decisions here are made by Redbridge Council. The IG1 to IG6 postcodes stretch from the town centre and Valentines in the south to Gants Hill, Newbury Park and Barkingside further north, with Seven Kings and Goodmayes to the east along the Elizabeth line.
The Houses You Find Here
Near the town centre and along the railway, many streets are Edwardian terraces: two storeys, bay fronts, a back addition (outrigger) behind the main house and a narrow side passage beside it. Further north, the roads around Gants Hill, Newbury Park and Barkingside are more often interwar semi-detached houses, many with hipped roofs, front gardens and some with side space or a garage. The town centre also has flats above shops and newer blocks of flats.
Planned around the house, not just the job
We plan every project around the age, layout and roof of the house it is in — checked at your free survey before you commit to anything.
What That Means for Building Work
Lofts
An Edwardian terrace usually suits a rear dormer, or an L-shaped dormer that runs over the outrigger roof. A hipped interwar semi often needs the hip squared off first, which is what a hip-to-gable conversion does, before a rear dormer adds the headroom.
Extensions
The side passage beside an outrigger is the classic space for a side return, opening a narrow galley kitchen into one wide room. Semis with a garden behind them suit a single-storey rear or kitchen extension, and those with side space may suit a side or double-storey extension, subject to planning.
Period features
Edwardian homes often keep original fireplaces, cornices, sash or bay windows and suspended timber floors, which we plan around.
Party walls
Terraces and semis share walls, so steel beams, loft work and extension foundations near the boundary usually involve party wall notices.
02The Ilford line
Popular Projects in Ilford
Lofts & extensions lineRenovation & outdoor line
These projects suit the way Ilford's houses were built. Each link goes to our dedicated Ilford page for that service.
Stop 01
Rear dormers on terraces
The most common way to add a bedroom and shower room at the top of an Edwardian terrace.
Redbridge Council decides planning applications for Ilford. Many projects on houses can instead go ahead under permitted development, the national rules that allow certain work without an application. Those rights do not apply to flats and maisonettes, are restricted for listed buildings and in conservation areas, and can be removed by an Article 4 direction or a condition on an earlier permission. Previous extensions also count towards the limits. We check what applies to your address at the survey, and for permitted development work we can apply to Redbridge Council for a Lawful Development Certificate to confirm it in writing.
Permit check01 / 06
Usually not
Do I Need Planning Permission for a Loft Conversion in Redbridge?
Usually not for a rear dormer or hip-to-gable on a house, if it stays within permitted development. The extra roof space must be no more than 40 cubic metres on a terraced house or 50 cubic metres on a semi or detached house, nothing can be added to the roof slope facing the road at the front, materials must look similar to the existing house, and side-facing windows must be obscure-glazed and non-opening below 1.7 metres from the floor. Mansard conversions and front dormers usually need an application to Redbridge Council. See our guide to loft conversions.
Permit check02 / 06
Not always
Do I Need Planning Permission for a House Extension in Redbridge?
Not always. A single-storey rear extension can usually be built under permitted development up to 3 metres deep on a terraced or semi-detached house and 4 metres on a detached house. Larger single-storey rear extensions, up to 6 or 8 metres, can go through prior approval, where Redbridge Council notifies your neighbours before deciding. Double-storey and wrap-around extensions, and many side returns, need a full planning application. See our guide to house extensions.
Permit check03 / 06
Usually not
Do I Need Planning Permission for a Basement Conversion in Redbridge?
Usually not if you are converting an existing cellar into a habitable room with no change to the outside of the house. Digging a new basement, lowering the floor significantly, adding lightwells or changing the front of the house usually does need planning permission from Redbridge Council. See our guide to basement conversions.
Permit check04 / 06
Usually not
Do I Need Planning Permission for a Garage Conversion in Redbridge?
Usually not if you are converting an integral or attached garage internally, unless a planning condition has removed permitted development rights, which is common on newer estates. We check the planning history of the house before you commit. Every garage conversion does need building regulations approval. See our guide to garage conversions.
Permit check05 / 06
Usually not
Do I Need Planning Permission for a Driveway in Redbridge?
Usually not if the new surface is permeable, such as resin-bound, gravel or permeable block paving, or if rainwater drains to a lawn or border within your property. A new or replacement hard surface over 5 square metres in a front garden that drains onto the road does need planning permission. Separately, a new dropped kerb needs consent from Redbridge Council as the highway authority. See our guide to driveways.
Permit check06 / 06
Usually not
Do I Need Planning Permission for an Outbuilding in Redbridge?
Usually not for a summer house, garden office or shed within permitted development limits: single storey, no more than 2.5 metres high if it is within 2 metres of a boundary, not in front of the main front wall of the house, and covering no more than half of the garden around the house. The building must be used for purposes incidental to the house, so a separate bedroom or self-contained annexe needs planning permission. See our guide to conservatories and outbuildings.
04On-site practicalities
Building Control, Party Walls and Practicalities
Building regulations
Lofts, extensions, basements, garage conversions and structural alterations need approval from Redbridge Council's building control service or a registered building control approver (formerly an approved inspector). We arrange the inspections and hand over the completion certificate.
Party walls
Under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996, notices are needed for work to a shared wall, such as cutting in steel beams for a loft, with at least two months' notice, and for excavations within 3 or 6 metres of a neighbour's foundations, with at least one month's notice. On Ilford's terraces and semis this affects most lofts and many extensions, so we plan it into the programme.
Skips and scaffolding
Where a skip or scaffold has to stand on the road or pavement, a licence from Redbridge Council is needed first, and we allow for it before work starts.
Parking
Where your street is in a residents' parking zone, we check what permits or bay suspensions the council offers for trades and deliveries.
Gas and electrics
Any gas work is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers, as the law requires, and notifiable electrical work is certified through one of the routes the building regulations allow.
05Service directory
Our Services in Ilford
Every service we offer is available across Ilford. Choose a service to see how we carry it out locally.
Yes, we work across all of IG1 to IG6, including Seven Kings, Goodmayes, Gants Hill, Barkingside, Newbury Park and Valentines. If you are unsure, send us your postcode and we will confirm.
Do you work for landlords and letting agents in Ilford?
Yes. We carry out repairs and refurbishments between tenancies, landlord gas safety certificates and electrical maintenance for rented homes. If the property is let, we agree access arrangements for tenants in advance.
Can you handle the drawings and planning application?
Yes. We tell you at the survey which route your project needs, prepare the drawings for it and, where the work is permitted development, can apply for a Lawful Development Certificate. If you already have plans from your own architect, we can price and build from them.
Do I need a party wall agreement for my loft or extension?
If the work affects a shared wall or involves digging near a neighbour's foundations, you need to serve a party wall notice. If your neighbour agrees in writing, no surveyor is needed; if they dissent or do not reply within 14 days, a party wall award is prepared by a surveyor before work starts.
Is the site survey really free?
Yes. There is no charge for the visit and no obligation afterwards. You receive an itemised written quote to consider in your own time.
Can you do several jobs at the same time?
Yes, and it often saves disruption. A loft conversion can be planned alongside a new bathroom, rewiring or a new boiler, so each trade works in the right order under one project manager.
IG1–6
Start in Ilford
Talk to Builders Who Work Across Ilford
Tell us what you are planning and your postcode, and we will arrange a free site survey and send you an itemised written quote.
