Browse Topics
Everything on the site is grouped the way most homeowners meet a problem: what will it cost, who should I hire, and what do the rules say. Pick the subject closest to your project.
Costs & Pricing
City-by-city price guides for plumbing, electrical, plastering, garden and renovation work, plus plain explanations of day rates, hourly rates and per-square-metre pricing.
See the cost guides →Hiring & Quotes
How to compare quotes fairly, check that a tradesperson is properly registered, and spot the warning signs before you pay a deposit.
See the hiring guides →Plumbing
What you can sensibly deal with yourself, which boiler and pipework problems need an engineer, and how to read a plumber's estimate.
See plumbing guides →Electrical
When household wiring work needs a qualified electrician, how to recognise unsafe work in an older home, and how to plan upgrades around a renovation.
See electrical guides →Building, Extensions & Planning
Building regulations, planning permission, what drives the cost of an extension, and how a loft conversion is actually built.
See building guides →Managing a Renovation
Keeping a budget under control, handling changes mid-project, and living safely around rooms that are being worked on.
See project guides →Garden & Landscaping
Planning a landscaping project on a budget, choosing patio materials for the UK climate, and agreeing responsibilities with a gardener.
See garden guides →Good Places to Start
If you are not sure where to begin, these guides answer the questions homeowners ask most often before a job starts.
- Hiring a tradesperson: the buyer guide — a five-step routine for checking registration, insurance and quotes.
- How to compare quotes from tradespeople fairly
- How to read UK trade price tables
- How to check a tradesperson is Gas Safe registered
- When you need a qualified electrician for home wiring
- Understanding building regulations for a home extension
- How to keep a UK home renovation budget under control
- Browse every guide in the library
What Enlighten SME Is
Enlighten SME is an independent publication of plain-English guides for UK homeowners who are about to spend money on repairs, renovation or garden work. It explains what a job usually involves, what moves the price, which work the law expects a registered professional to carry out, and how to brief, compare and manage the people you hire. It is a reading resource, not a directory or a booking service: we do not recommend individual tradespeople or take a fee for introductions.
Who It Is For
The guides are written for people who own or look after a home and do not do this work for a living: first-time renovators, owners of older properties, landlords arranging a repair, and anyone holding two quotes that look very different. Tradespeople are welcome readers too, and there is a short business guide for trades written from what customers say they want from a contractor.
How the Guides Are Produced
Each guide starts from a specific question a homeowner would realistically ask, such as what a plumbing quote should exclude or when a loft conversion needs building regulations approval. Points that carry legal or safety weight are checked against official UK sources, including government guidance, the Gas Safe Register and building-regulations material, before they are published. Cost guides give ranges and explain what pushes a price up or down rather than quoting one figure as if it applied everywhere. Pages are revisited when rules or typical prices change, and mistakes reported by readers are corrected. The full standard is set out in our Editorial Policy, and how the site is funded is explained in the Advertising Disclosure.
A Note on Advice
Everything here is general information to help you ask better questions. It is not professional, legal or financial advice, and it cannot replace a survey, a quote for your own property, or a conversation with your local planning or building control team. Rules and typical costs also differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so confirm the details that apply to your address before committing to work. If something on the site looks out of date or wrong, please tell us through the contact page.