Frequently asked questions

DS Kamica builds new homes, extensions and loft conversions, carries out house refurbishments, and provides electrical and plumbing and heating services across Northampton and Northamptonshire.

We work across Northamptonshire, including Northampton, Wellingborough, Kettering, Daventry, Towcester, Rushden, Corby and Milton Keynes.

Yes. We visit, discuss the project and provide a free, fixed and itemised written quote.

Yes. Electrical, plumbing and heating work is carried out by DS Kamica's own teams, so one company is accountable for the whole project.

We advise on whether you need planning permission or can use permitted development, work with your architect, and manage Building Regulations applications, inspections and completion certificates.

Call 0000 000 0000 or send us your project details through the contact page, and we will arrange a visit.

Most detached homes take 9 to 14 months on site once foundations start. Timber frame can shorten the weathertight stage; complex designs, poor ground or long-lead glazing can extend it. We give you a week-by-week programme before we start.

Yes. Most of our new builds are designed by the client's own architect. We review the drawings for buildability and cost before pricing, and work with your architect and structural engineer through the build.

Yes. Self-builders and custom builders are a large part of our work. We can deliver the whole house or take on specific packages, such as the weathertight shell plus electrical and heating.

Yes. Our heating engineers design and install air source heat pump systems with underfloor heating or correctly sized radiators, and we plan the electrical supply for it from the start.

We provide a fixed, itemised price for the agreed specification. Any change you request is priced in writing before work goes ahead, so there are no surprises at the final account.

Often, yes. We phase the work so you keep a working kitchen or bathroom where possible, seal off work areas, and agree working hours. For whole-house rewires or heating replacements, a short period away is sometimes easier.

Most full renovations take 8 to 20 weeks on site. Structural changes, rewiring and long-lead items such as kitchens set the pace; we confirm a programme once the scope is fixed.

Yes. We remove the old room, carry out any plumbing and electrical changes, plaster, tile and fit, so one team is responsible for the finished room.

Yes. Where work is notifiable, such as structural alterations, rewiring or new heating, we submit the application, book inspections and give you the completion certificates.

Yes, and it is the best time to do it. We can survey quickly after completion and start with rewiring, heating and structural work before you move in.

It is the permitted development limit for single storey rear extensions on semi-detached and terraced houses in England: up to 3 metres beyond the original rear wall without planning permission, subject to conditions. Detached houses can go to 4 metres. Larger extensions need prior approval or planning permission.

If you build on or against a shared wall, or dig foundations within 3 metres of a neighbour's building and deeper than its foundations, you must serve notice under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996. We will tell you whether notice is needed and when to serve it.

Yes. Opening up the back of the house is part of most extensions. We install steel beams to a structural engineer's design and make good so the old and new spaces read as one room.

We can recommend architects and engineers we work with regularly, or build from your own designer's drawings. Either way we review the design for cost and buildability before you commit.

Yes, most clients do. The new structure is built outside first, and the knock-through is timed to keep disruption short. We plan a temporary kitchen if needed.

Most loft conversions take 6 to 10 weeks on site. Rooflight conversions are quickest; hip-to-gable and mansard conversions take longest because more of the roof is rebuilt.

Yes. Most of the work is done from scaffolding outside, and the house below is only opened up near the end, when the new staircase goes in.

In a typical two-storey house becoming three storeys, Building Regulations require a protected escape route to the front door. That usually means fire doors to habitable rooms off the stairs and mains-powered, interlinked smoke alarms on every level.

Yes. Our plumbers plan the soil pipe route and water supply at design stage, and we check your boiler or cylinder can cope with the extra bathroom.

Adding a bedroom and bathroom usually adds more value than it costs in most of Northamptonshire, but it depends on your street's ceiling price. An estate agent can advise on your specific house.

Every 10 years for an owner-occupied home, or when you buy a property. Private landlords in England must have one at least every 5 years and give a copy to tenants.

Usually yes, though it is disruptive. We work room by room and restore power each evening wherever possible.

If yours has rewireable fuses, no RCD protection, or a plastic casing installed before 2016, upgrading is strongly recommended. An EICR will confirm it.

Yes. We check your supply and consumer unit, install a smart charger, and complete the notification paperwork.

Yes. Electrical work on our own building projects is done by our team, and we also take electrical-only jobs.

Yes. By law, anyone working on gas appliances in the UK must be on the Gas Safe Register, and all our gas work is carried out by registered engineers. Ask to see the engineer's ID card on the day.

Most gas boilers last 10 to 15 years. Rising repair bills, falling efficiency and parts becoming hard to source are the usual signs it is time to replace.

Yes. Moving a boiler into a loft, garage or cupboard is common during renovations; we plan the flue route, condensate and gas supply to suit.

Yes. Wet underfloor heating suits extensions, kitchens and bathrooms, and pairs well with heat pumps because it runs at lower temperatures.

Yes. We handle the whole bathroom: stripping out, plumbing, electrics, plastering, tiling and fitting.