Property services
Builders in Edinburgh and the Lothians
General building, structural repair, extensions and refurbishment.
General builders cover the work that does not fit one trade: structural openings, underpinning, rebuilding a failed rear wall, converting a basement or coordinating a full refurbishment where joiner, electrician and plumber all need managing.
The distinction that matters to an owner is whether you are hiring a builder to run the job or hiring trades individually. A main contractor costs more but carries the programme and the mistakes. Managing it yourself is cheaper on paper and expensive when two trades turn up on the same day.
When Edinburgh owners call builders
- You are removing a load-bearing wall or forming a new opening.
- A survey has found bulging stonework, a failed lintel or settlement cracking.
- You want a rear extension, garden room or basement conversion.
- You are refurbishing a whole flat before letting or selling and need one point of contact.
Local context: Edinburgh and the Lothians
Edinburgh's stock is unforgiving: solid sandstone walls with no cavity, lime mortar that dislikes cement, timber floors on joists built into the wall, and basements that were never tanked. Anything structural in these buildings needs a structural engineer's drawing, not a builder's opinion.
Building warrants are handled by the City of Edinburgh Council and are separate from planning permission. Structural alterations, most extensions and conversions need one, and selling later without the completion certificate is the single most common cause of a delayed settlement in this city.
What this work typically costs
Published ranges are market context gathered from local jobs, not a quotation. We do not price work, arrange it or take a cut of it — always get your own written quotes.
| Job | Typical range | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Structural opening with steel beam | £3,500-£9,000 | Engineer's design, temporary propping, building warrant and making good. |
| Single-storey rear extension | £2,200-£3,200 per m² | Higher in conservation areas where materials are specified. |
| Full flat refurbishment, two-bedroom | £45,000-£95,000 | Rewire, replumb, kitchen, bathroom, plaster and decoration. |
| Basement tanking and conversion | £1,200-£2,000 per m² | Drainage, pump, headroom and damp strategy dominate. |
| Rebuild a failed section of rear wall | £4,000-£15,000 | Access, matching stone and whether the wall is shared. |
Tenements and common repairs
In a flat, almost any structural change affects someone else. Removing a wall on the floor below a neighbour, altering a common close or cutting into a mutual gable are all matters where the deeds and the other owners have a say, and a building warrant application will ask.
Noise and access matter as much as the build. Agree working hours, protect the common stair, and tell every flat in writing before the first delivery arrives — it prevents most of the disputes that stop jobs mid-programme.
What to check before you instruct
- Public liability insurance
- Previous local projects you can see
- Clear payment stages, never a large deposit up front
- Insurance and a written contract
- Public liability plus contract works cover. For anything over about £15,000 use a written contract with stages, not an email.
- Never pay a large deposit
- Staged payments against completed work are normal. A demand for 40% up front is a warning sign.
- Warrant and completion certificate
- Confirm in writing who applies for the building warrant and who obtains the completion certificate at the end. You will need it when you sell.
- See recent local work
- Ask for two addresses in Edinburgh or the Lothians completed in the last year and speak to those owners.
We publish factual detail supplied by each business. We do not rate, rank, endorse or guarantee anyone listed, and no business pays for placement. Checking registration, insurance and references is always your decision.
Questions to ask before you instruct
- Who is the structural engineer and is their fee inside your price?
- What are the payment stages and what triggers each one?
- Who obtains the completion certificate?
- What is your programme, and what happens contractually if it slips?
- Which parts are you subcontracting and to whom?
- How are variations priced once work starts?
Businesses listed
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Lothian Property is a property information and professional-introduction service operated by Maybury Scotland Limited. Lothian Property is not an estate agency. Where requested, we may connect homeowners with independent estate agents and other property professionals. How we work.
Builders: common questions
- What payment stages are normal with an Edinburgh building contractor?
- Staged payments against completed work are standard — for example on strip-out, structural completion, wind and watertight, and snagging sign-off. A large up-front deposit before materials are on site is the most common warning sign.
- Does structural work in a Scottish house need a building warrant?
- Removing or altering a load-bearing wall, forming a new opening or altering the structure normally needs a building warrant from your local authority before work starts, and a completion certificate afterwards. Buyers' solicitors ask for both.
- What should a builder's written scope contain before work starts?
- The specification, who supplies materials, provisional sums, how variations are priced, the programme, waste removal, and which trades are subcontracted. Anything left verbal tends to become the dispute later.