Kensington and Chelsea · SW7 · Handyman
Handyman in South Kensington, SW7
Around The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington, SW7, the stock gives us lath and plaster over timber studs, with solid brick on the party and external walls — which is why the same shelf takes twenty minutes in one flat and an hour in the next. The usual Kensington and Chelsea instruction is alcove shelving and a TV bracket, both fixed through the plaster into something solid.
- £55 an hour, £190 a half day — fixed price for the whole list
- Lath and plaster here, so the fixings are chosen for the wall, not pulled from a pack
- Stud, pipe and cable scan before the first hole, every visit
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea permits, ULEZ and packaging removal already inside the price
The service, locally
Handyman work in South Kensington
- Per hour, one-hour minimum
- £55Per hour, one-hour minimum
- South Kensington homes are flats
- 86%South Kensington homes are flats
- Fixed-price jobs
- 14Fixed-price jobs
- Households in South Kensington
- 2,840Households in South Kensington
Instant estimate
Price your South Kensington job list
Estimated for South Kensington SW7
£120 – £350
Slot needed: Half day
- Shelves and floating units
- £65 – £180
- Curtain poles and blinds
- £60 – £150
- One-visit saving
- −£25
- Lath, dot-and-dab or concrete fixings
- from £20
£55 minimum charge per visit. Prices include VAT, the van, fixings from our own stock and taking the packaging away. Nothing is added on the day without your written agreement first. You have told us the walls are lath, dot-and-dab or concrete, so we have allowed for the correct anchors and the extra scanning time that goes with them.
How it works
How a South Kensington visit works
- Tell us the whole listA photo per wall lets us read the substrate before quoting, so the South Kensington SW7 price we send is the price you pay.
- We scan, then drillNothing is drilled blind: we scan, mark, protect the floor and choose for lath and plaster.
- Signed off with youEvery fixing load-tested, packaging taken away, and a walk-round with you before we leave.
- Get my price
Walls and fixings
What is behind the plaster in South Kensington
Most likely here
Lath and plaster — Pre-1930 terraces and mansion blocks
Locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws. Realistic load: up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself. What goes wrong: a plasterboard plug in lime plaster crumbles the key and drops the whole panel.
Lath and plaster
Pre-1930 terraces and mansion blocks
- Fixing
- Locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws
- Safe load
- Up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself
- What pulls out
- A plasterboard plug in lime plaster crumbles the key and drops the whole panel
Solid London stock brick
Victorian and Edwardian party and external walls
- Fixing
- 7 mm hammer-drilled hole into the brick body, nylon plug or resin anchor
- Safe load
- 40 kg-plus per fixing when anchored into brick, not mortar
- What pulls out
- Fixing into soft lime mortar joints, which spin out under load
Dot-and-dab plasterboard
1990s onward new builds and conversions
- Fixing
- Long fixings through the void into the blockwork behind, or a spread-load anchor
- Safe load
- 30 kg with a through-fixing, 8 kg on a hollow-wall anchor alone
- What pulls out
- Short screws that only grip the board, then lever it off the dabs
Timber or metal stud partition
Flat conversions and 1960s-onward internal walls
- Fixing
- Stud detector, then fix into the upright; noggins added where the stud misses
- Safe load
- 35 kg into timber, 15 kg into metal stud with a toggle
- What pulls out
- Two of four bracket holes on the stud and two in fresh air
Precast concrete and blockwork
Post-war estates and podium blocks
- Fixing
- SDS drill, 8 mm hole, sleeve anchor or screwbolt
- Safe load
- 50 kg-plus per fixing
- What pulls out
- Hitting reinforcement or a buried conduit without a scan first
Insulated dry lining
Retrofitted period homes and low-energy refurbishments
- Fixing
- Insulation-rated frame fixings that reach the masonry beyond the board and foam
- Safe load
- 25 kg, spread across four points
- What pulls out
- Compressing the insulation so the fixing slowly works loose
Why Hello Services
Why Hello Services in South Kensington
Photographed and load-tested
Each fixing tested and documented, so landlords and agents get evidence without asking.
We scan before we drill
Stud, pipe and cable detector on every South Kensington wall before the first hole — not after the leak.
One visit, one fixed price
Your whole SW7 list quoted in writing the same working day, with no doorstep re-quote.
The right anchor for the wall
We carry the lot, because a plasterboard plug spun into lime plaster, which crumbles the key and drops the panel is what a rushed job leaves behind.
Fixed prices
Handyman prices in South Kensington
| Job | From | To | Time on site | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Curtain poles and blinds | £60 | £150 | 1–3 hrs | Poles, tracks and blinds fixed to timber, brick or reinforced plasterboard |
| Flat-pack assembly | £55 | £190 | 1–4 hrs | Wardrobes, beds, desks and drawer units built, levelled and anchored to the wall |
| TV mounting | £85 | £165 | 1–2 hrs | Bracket into the correct substrate, screen levelled, cables dropped or trunked |
| Shelves and floating units | £65 | £180 | 1–3 hrs | Alcove shelving, floating shelves and brackets set to a laser line |
| Locks, handles and door furniture | £70 | £160 | 1–2 hrs | Euro cylinders, mortice locks, thumb turns and handles swapped like for like |
| Silicone and grout renewal | £70 | £170 | 1–3 hrs | Old bead cut out, surfaces sterilised and dried, sanitary silicone reapplied |
Curtain poles and blinds
£60 – £150
1–3 hrs
Poles, tracks and blinds fixed to timber, brick or reinforced plasterboard
Flat-pack assembly
£55 – £190
1–4 hrs
Wardrobes, beds, desks and drawer units built, levelled and anchored to the wall
TV mounting
£85 – £165
1–2 hrs
Bracket into the correct substrate, screen levelled, cables dropped or trunked
Shelves and floating units
£65 – £180
1–3 hrs
Alcove shelving, floating shelves and brackets set to a laser line
Locks, handles and door furniture
£70 – £160
1–2 hrs
Euro cylinders, mortice locks, thumb turns and handles swapped like for like
Silicone and grout renewal
£70 – £170
1–3 hrs
Old bead cut out, surfaces sterilised and dried, sanitary silicone reapplied
These are the 6 jobs we are booked for most often in South Kensington SW7 — 86% of homes here are flats, and the list follows the stock. The full 14-job price list is on the reference page.
£55 minimum charge per visit. Prices include VAT, the van, fixings from our own stock and taking the packaging away. Nothing is added on the day without your written agreement first. Full price list, fixings matrix and scope policy.
Rates and local costs
Hourly, half day or full day in South Kensington
Hourly rate
£55
per hour, one-hour minimum
Best for one or two small jobs — a shelf, a leaking tap washer, a sticking door.
Half day
£190
up to 4 hours
The most-booked slot in London: three to six jobs from one list, one visit, one price.
Full day
£340
up to 8 hours
A snag list, a whole-flat furniture build, or a move-in day of fixings and fittings.
Same-day call-out
£95
first hour, then hourly
Lock, leak, door or safety job that cannot wait for a booked slot.
- Parking and permits
- Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea visitor permits and bay suspensions are arranged, paid for by us and already inside the quoted figure.
- Charging zones
- Part of Kensington and Chelsea sits inside the Congestion Charge zone and all of it is inside ULEZ. Our vans are compliant, so ULEZ and the Congestion Charge never appear on your invoice.
- Access and building rules
- Concierge sign-in, goods-lift booking and out-of-hours windows are handled before the visit, so the clock starts when the work does, not in reception.
Screws, plugs, resin anchors, hollow-wall fixings, silicone and filler come out of the van and are inside the price. Anything bought for you — a replacement tap, a door closer, a specific bracket — is charged at cost with the receipt attached to your invoice.
Scope
What is included in South Kensington
Included in every visit
- An insured, DBS-checked tradesperson who brings everything needed for a SW7 visit — tools, steps and floor protection.
- Locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws and the rest of our van stock, because lath and plaster is what most SW7 fixings go into.
- Scanning, levelling and load-testing on every hole — plus packaging and old fittings taken away.
- museum-visitor traffic, single-lane service roads and lift-free upper floors in older conversions — we plan the South Kensington SW7 arrival around it and settle permits with Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea ourselves.
Not included — and why
- Gas appliances and pipework, which legally belong to a Gas Safe engineer.
- Part P notifiable electrics — new circuits and boards — go to a registered electrician, not a handyman.
- Anything structural in South Kensington SW7: that route starts with Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea building control, and we will point you there.
- Asbestos disturbance — pre-2000 artex, soffits and boards near SW7 are surveyed, never drilled blind.
The full scope policy, the complete fixings matrix and every fixed price sit on one page: handyman reference.
Coverage
Handyman work around South Kensington
Nearby areas we also cover
- Handyman in ChelseaSW3SW3
- Handyman in Earl's CourtSW5SW5
- Handyman in KensingtonW8W8
- Handyman in West Brompton and Chelsea HarbourSW10SW10
- Handyman in PaddingtonW2 · WestminsterW2
- Handyman in BayswaterW2W2
- Handyman in West Kensington and OlympiaW14 · Hammersmith and FulhamW14
- Handyman in KnightsbridgeSW1 · WestminsterSW1
What customers say about handyman work
3.9 ★ from 1,412 Google reviewsI'm answering on behalf my wife who was & still is in hospital & can't get wifi , Your two gentlemen were absolutely brilliant very impressed with the results I'm hoping my wife will be home soon so she can see the results before I make a mess when I come from the garden. Eric… Read in full →
Quoted verbatim from reviews customers left on our public Google and Trustpilot profiles. Nothing is edited, shortened beyond the link above, or written by us.
Guides
Read before you book
Hiring a handyman in the UK: the complete guide
Scope, legal limits, 2026 prices, vetting questions, wall fixings and a job-list method that gets more done in one visit.
18 min read
Handyman prices in London: what jobs actually cost in 2026
Hourly, half-day and fixed job prices, with the London extras that quietly add to a quote.
9 min read
What a handyman can and cannot legally do in the UK
The real line between handyman work and jobs that need a registered electrician, gas or structural trade.
7 min read
Wall fixings guide: which anchor holds in which London wall
The fixing that actually holds in each London wall type, and the realistic load it will take.
8 min read
Related services
Other work we do in South Kensington
End of tenancy cleaning
Fixing holes filled and touched in, then the whole South Kensington flat cleaned for check-out.
One-off deep cleaning
A SW7 reset after the drilling, sanding and flat-pack dust has settled.
After builders cleaning
Snag list finished by us, then the builders' dust taken out of the South Kensington flat.
Moving services
Furniture dismantled in SW7, moved, then rebuilt and re-anchored the same day.
House removals
A full South Kensington move where the beds and wardrobes come apart and go back together properly.
House clearance
Old furniture and broken fittings taken away from SW7 before the new ones go up.
About the area
South Kensington in context
Museum quarter, French lycée and cream-stucco crescents. Grand stucco terraces in lateral flats, mansion blocks and embassy buildings, which is why SW7 work is dominated by lath and plaster over timber studs. The Victoria and Albert Museum is the landmark most customers navigate by.
South Kensington reads as museum quarter, French lycée and cream-stucco crescents, and the walls follow the stock. Grand stucco terraces in lateral flats, mansion blocks and embassy buildings. That puts lath and plaster behind most fixings we make in SW7. That substrate wants locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws; anything lighter is a call-back, and even done properly the sensible limit is up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself.
Tenure shapes the list too: 54% of homes here are privately rented and 38% owner-occupied, so we move between check-out make-good in SW7 lets and long-planned improvements in the same week. Museum-visitor traffic, single-lane service roads and lift-free upper floors in older conversions. Nearest arrival point for the team is South Kensington (Circle, District, Piccadilly), and part of Kensington and Chelsea sits inside the Congestion Charge zone and all of it is inside ULEZ — none of it added to your invoice on the day.
- Housing mix here: 86% flats to 14% houses, 5,764 residents in total
- Lath and plaster dominates South Kensington, so the van carries the anchors that suit it, not a generic pack
- Van access and parking: museum-visitor traffic, single-lane service roads and lift-free upper floors in older conversions
- We work the whole of SW7, including everything within walking distance of The Victoria and Albert Museum
Where South Kensington sits in our coverage
South Kensington is one of the neighbourhoods on our handyman work in Kensington and Chelsea page, which sits under handyman work across London. Same-week crews working this postcode also cover handyman work in Chelsea (0.7 miles), handyman work in Earl's Court (0.7 miles), handyman work in Kensington (0.8 miles), handyman work in West Brompton and Chelsea Harbour (0.9 miles) and handyman work in Knightsbridge (1.6 miles). If your address sits on the boundary, book the closest page — the price and the crew are the same.
South Kensington SW7 at a glance
- Area
- South Kensington, Kensington and Chelsea
- Postcodes served
- SW7
- Nearest station
- South Kensington (Circle, District, Piccadilly)
- Dominant wall construction
- lath and plaster over timber studs, with solid brick on the party and external walls
- Fixing we use most
- Locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws
- Realistic load
- Up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself
- Most-booked list
- alcove shelving and a TV bracket, both fixed through the plaster into something solid
- Watch out for
- a plasterboard plug spun into lime plaster, which crumbles the key and drops the panel
- Charging zones
- Part of Kensington and Chelsea sits inside the Congestion Charge zone and all of it is inside ULEZ
- Residents (South Kensington)
- 5,764
- Households (South Kensington)
- 2,840
- Typical visit
- Half a day in SW7
Source: ONS Census 2021 via Nomis (TS008, TS041, TS007A, TS044, TS054, TS003), MSOA geography. Figures cover the ONS neighbourhood South Kensington (E02000592) — the published geography that covers South Kensington, not the whole borough. Neighbourhood names: House of Commons Library MSOA Names (OGL).
Questions
South Kensington SW7 handyman questions
£55 an hour with a one-hour minimum, £190 for a half day and £340 for a full day in SW7. Fixed-price jobs start at £55 — flat-pack from £55, TV mounting from £85, shelving from £65. Send the list and we confirm one written figure.
Yes. Locally that usually means lath and plaster — locate the timber lath studs, fix through into the stud with 5 × 80 mm screws, holding around up to 25 kg into a stud, nothing into the plaster itself. The risk we guard against here is a plasterboard plug spun into lime plaster, which crumbles the key and drops the panel. Every wall is scanned for studs, pipes and cables before the first hole.
That is how we prefer to work in South Kensington. Once you are past three jobs, £190 for a half day beats paying the £55 hourly minimum three times over. Send photos of each wall with the list and the estimator on this page shows the one-visit saving before you book.
Swapping an existing socket face, switch or light fitting in South Kensington is fine, and it is tested before we leave. New circuits, consumer units and anything notifiable under Part P, no. Gas work of any kind is Gas Safe registered work and we will not touch it — we will tell you who should.
Museum-visitor traffic, single-lane service roads and lift-free upper floors in older conversions. Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea visitor permits and bay suspensions are arranged and paid for by us and sit inside the quoted price. Concierge sign-in and goods-lift booking are done before the visit, so the clock starts when the work does.
Standard screws, plugs, resin and hollow-wall anchors, silicone and filler come out of the van and are already in the price. Loading for lath and plaster in advance is why a SW7 visit rarely needs a mid-job supply run. If you want a specific part supplied, we buy it at cost and show you the receipt; there is no mark-up.
Yes. Every area in Kensington and Chelsea has its own page, and we cross borough boundaries constantly. If your address sits on the edge of SW7, book the nearest page and we will confirm the same fixed price.
Source: ONS Census 2021, borough totals via Nomis (table TS008, TS041, TS007A, TS044, TS054, TS003). Figures describe the whole borough, the smallest area ONS publishes every one of these tables for.
Book a handyman in South Kensington SW7
Send your job list and a photo of each wall for a fixed written price the same working day. Fixings, permits and taking the packaging away are already in the figure.
What customers say about handyman work
3.9 ★ from 1,412 Google reviewsI'm answering on behalf my wife who was & still is in hospital & can't get wifi , Your two gentlemen were absolutely brilliant very impressed with the results I'm hoping my wife will be home soon so she can see the results before I make a mess when I come from the garden. Eric… Read in full →
Quoted verbatim from reviews customers left on our public Google and Trustpilot profiles. Nothing is edited, shortened beyond the link above, or written by us.