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Frequently Asked Questions
Straight answers to the questions clients ask us most often.
General
We work across London and the South East, typically within about 60 miles of central London. For larger projects we will travel further, and we are happy to discuss anything outside that radius.
Yes. We hold £10 million public liability and £10 million employers' liability insurance, along with professional indemnity cover. We are CHAS accredited and all site staff hold current CSCS cards. Certificates are available on request.
Always. Following a site visit we issue a fully itemised written quotation broken down by trade and phase, with a programme and a clear list of what is included and what is excluded. Verbal estimates are never a basis for starting work.
Residential Construction
For extensions and phased refurbishments, usually yes. We build a temporary dust-sealed separation and sequence the noisy work into agreed windows. For full refurbishments or new builds it is not practical, and we will tell you that at the outset rather than halfway through.
Frequently. We are comfortable building to another practice's drawings, and we are equally happy to join the design team early to advise on buildability and cost before the drawings are finalised. Early involvement usually saves money.
Many single storey rear extensions fall under permitted development, but the limits depend on your property type, whether you are in a conservation area, and what has already been added. We will give you an honest view at the first visit and can manage the application if one is needed.
Commercial Projects
Yes. Most of our commercial refurbishment work in occupied buildings runs evenings and weekends. We agree the access, noise and delivery plan with you and the building manager before we start on site.
We prepare and submit the technical information required for a licence to alter and liaise with the landlord's surveyor throughout. We will also produce the reinstatement schedule if your lease requires one.
Renovation
It is common in older properties. We hold a contingency in the cost plan for exactly this. Anything outside the original scope is priced, explained and agreed with you in writing before the work is carried out - never added quietly to the final invoice.
Yes. We work regularly with conservation officers and heritage consultants, and we use lime plasters, breathable finishes and traditional repair techniques where the building and the listing require them.
Payments
We work to a staged payment schedule tied to defined milestones, set out in the contract before work begins. We do not ask for large deposits. A retention is typically held until the end of the defects liability period.
The quoted price is fixed for the scope described in the quotation. It changes only if you instruct additional work, or if something genuinely unforeseeable is uncovered - and in both cases only after it has been priced and agreed with you in writing.
Project Timeline
Lead times vary through the year, but we are typically booking six to twelve weeks ahead for larger projects. Smaller works can often be fitted in sooner. We will give you a realistic date rather than an optimistic one.
Our contracts include an agreed completion date. Where a delay is our responsibility we absorb the cost. Where it results from client-instructed changes or genuinely unforeseeable conditions, we agree a revised date with you in writing at the time, not retrospectively.
You receive a full handover pack with warranties, certificates and O&M information. We carry out a joint snagging inspection at completion, and all our work carries a twelve-month defects liability period as a minimum, with longer structural warranties on new builds.
Still Have A Question?
If your question is not answered here, ask us directly. We will give you a straight answer.
Ask Our Team 020 7946 0812