Kitchen and bathroom refits across Horsham
Horsham is at the western edge of the 15 miles or so we cover from Lindfield, and we’d rather say so up front. We take on full kitchens, bathrooms and renovations here, planned so the distance makes no difference to you.
- Postcodes
- RH12, RH13
- Planning
- Horsham District Council
- From Lindfield
- At the western edge of our patch
- Hours
- Mon to Fri, 8am to 6pm
New Town, Brighton Road and Holbrook
Horsham’s housing is easiest to read by era. East of the centre is the early Victorian New Town. North of Brighton Road you’ll find Victorian and Edwardian houses, and south of it the inter-war and post-war semis that make up a good part of the town. The Needles estate followed from about 1955, then Holbrook in the late 20th century, with Roffey, Broadbridge Heath and Southwater around the edges.
Each era comes with its own typical problem. Inter-war and post-war semis usually have a small kitchen and a separate dining room, and joining them is the change that gives you the most for your money. Victorian and Edwardian houses need bathrooms that respect the room, with period sanitaryware, a sound floor and the pipework kept out of sight. Holbrook houses are younger, and the job there is often a better kitchen in the same space, or a family bathroom that has had twenty-odd years of heavy use.
Horsham District Council and The Causeway
Horsham is outside Mid Sussex, so planning goes to Horsham District Council rather than the council we deal with for most of our work. The district has some 1,800 listed buildings and 37 conservation areas. The Horsham Town Centre Conservation Area has its own appraisal and management plan, adopted in March 2022, with a gazetteer of listed and locally listed buildings. If you live in or near the centre, that document is the starting point.
Article 4 directions can strip out further rights in particular streets, so we look up the council’s records for your property rather than assume either way. Outside the conservation areas, most semis and estate houses keep their permitted development rights, which often stretch to a small extension at the back. Inside them, side extensions, dormers and new cladding all need an application.
The Horsham work we’re best placed to do
Because Horsham is further from our base, we plan these jobs so the days on site run back to back.
- KitchensTaking out the wall between a small kitchen and the dining room in a 1930s or post-war semi, then fitting a kitchen that uses the whole space.
- BathroomsPeriod-style bathrooms in Victorian and Edwardian houses, with a roll-top or back-to-wall bath and brassware and tiling that suit the age of the house.
- En-suites & shower roomsAdding an en-suite to a Holbrook or Roffey family home, usually by borrowing a box room or part of the main bedroom.
Carfax, The Causeway and Horsham Stone
The Causeway is lined with 17th to early 19th-century houses under old London planes, with Horsham Museum in Grade II* Causeway House at its north end. The bandstand on the Carfax went up in 1891. The town also gave its name to Horsham Stone, the sandstone from the Tower Hill ridge, and Horsham Stone roofs still turn up as far away as Lindfield’s conservation area. If your roof is Horsham Stone, its repair is a job for a specialist roofer, and we’ll tell you that rather than have a go.
Do you really work in Horsham?
Yes, though it’s at the far side of our area and we won’t pretend it’s round the corner. We take on kitchens, bathrooms, en-suites and renovations here, and plan them so trades arrive in sequence and nobody is driving over for half a day’s work. Small one-off repairs are better handled by someone based in the town.
Which council handles planning for my Horsham home?
Horsham District Council, for the town and the surrounding district. That’s a different council from the one most of our customers deal with, and its policies and conservation documents are its own. In the town centre, the 2022 conservation area appraisal sets out what the council values, and we read it alongside any planning conditions on your house before designing.
Can you knock through in a 1930s semi in Horsham?
Usually. The wall between kitchen and dining room in these houses is often load-bearing, so it needs a steel, a structural engineer’s calculations and Building Control approval. Because it’s a semi, a party wall notice may also be needed if the steel bears on the shared wall, and that means two months’ notice to your neighbour. We sort the paperwork as well as the build.
Can you design a period bathroom for a Victorian house in Horsham?
That’s the sort of bathroom we enjoy most. We’d usually suggest a roll-top or back-to-wall bath, a basin on a stand or a vanity that looks like furniture, and tiles that suit the period, such as metro tiles on the walls. A cast iron bath is heavy, so the floor gets looked at first. Any electrical addition in a bathroom, even one extra light, is notifiable, and we provide the certificate.
Areas we cover
Starting a project in Horsham?
Tell us what you have in mind. Mike will come over, take a look and give you a written quote.
