Construction
Directly employed building staff, long-standing subcontract teams and a JCT contract with valuation-based staged payments, so you always know what has been built for what you have paid, and the people who drew it are in the same office as the people building it.
Free initial site visit. Every build runs under a JCT contract with a 12-month defects period.
The Service
Our construction service covers the physical delivery of a project: setting out, groundworks, structure, envelope, services, finishes and handover. We run it with directly employed building staff supported by subcontract teams we have used for years: the same electricians and plumbers job after job, never ad hoc hires found at short notice.
It is for homeowners building an extension, loft or whole-house refurbishment, for developers who need a ground-up scheme delivered to a programme, and for commercial clients fitting out offices, restaurants, retail units and schools.
You need a main contractor at the point where drawings become work: consent granted, building regulations approved, and a real price required. Most clients come to us with our own architectural package already in hand; others arrive with someone else's drawings, which we are happy to price and build.
Professional help matters because construction is a cash-flow and coordination problem as much as a trades problem. The JCT contract, monthly or fortnightly valuations and a single point of contact are what stop a build drifting, and what give you something to rely on if it ever does.
Core trades are on our payroll, not assembled per job, which is why programme and standards hold up week to week.
The project value is assessed monthly or every couple of weeks and staged payments follow that assessment: you pay for work actually completed.
Every construction project runs under a JCT contract, with a 12-month defects period after practical completion.
Our ARB registered architect is employed here, so drawing queries are resolved in the office rather than by email between three companies.
What It Costs To Get Wrong
The damage from a poorly run build is rarely dramatic. It is a slow accumulation of variations, delays and payments made in advance of work, and by the time it is obvious the leverage has gone.
Front-loaded payments transfer all the risk to you. Valuation-based staged payments keep money and progress in step, which is the single biggest protection a client has.
No contract means no agreed programme, no defects mechanism and no clear position if something goes wrong. A JCT contract puts obligations on both sides in writing.
If something is damaged or someone is injured on your property, cover matters. We carry £5m public liability and £10m employers' liability.
Incomplete detail becomes variations, and variations are always priced when you have least room to negotiate. We check buildability while the design is still on screen.
Structural engineer, building control, trades and material lead times all have to line up. Left to the client, that coordination is a second job.
Our Process
We visit the property, review the drawings, ours or someone else's, and identify the risks and unknowns before anything is priced.
You receive a priced scope tied to the drawings, then a JCT contract setting out programme, payment structure and responsibilities.
We coordinate the structural engineer, building control, material lead times and trade sequencing before the first day on site.
The build runs to programme with the site managed by us, and the works are valued monthly or fortnightly so staged payments track real progress.
Sign-off, warranty documents where applicable, and a 12-month defects period as standard on every build.
What You Get
Employed staff and regular subcontractors mean the programme is not hostage to whoever happens to be free that month.
Valuations every few weeks against work actually completed. No lump-sum requests ahead of progress.
£5m public liability and £10m employers' liability, with a properly managed site rather than an open front door.
Structure, drainage and detailing coordinated with the engineer, so the finish is not hiding a problem you will meet in five years.
We help you select materials and secure trade pricing where we can, rather than marking up whatever is quickest to order.
From first day to defects sign-off, the same team and the same point of contact. No handovers, no finger-pointing.
In Detail
The construction side runs across domestic and commercial work at a range of scales. What stays constant is the contract, the payment structure and the way the site is managed.
We take on complete builds and defined packages, working either from our own architectural drawings or from a package prepared elsewhere.
Core building work is carried out by directly employed staff. Specialist trades come from long-standing subcontract teams; the same electricians and plumbers job after job, so standards are known rather than hoped for.
Structural engineering is coordinated through a trusted partner firm, and we manage building control inspections throughout.
Material selection is done with you rather than to you. We set out options against budget, lead time and maintenance, and pass on trade pricing where we can.
Where lead times are long, structural steel, glazing, bespoke joinery, roofing systems, they are placed early in the programme, because a six-week window on glazing is the most common cause of an otherwise well-run build stalling.
Every construction project runs under a JCT contract with a 12-month defects period as standard. New builds carry an NHBC or LABC structural warranty, and that warranty is available on other project types at your discretion.
Payment follows a valuation percentage structure: the project value is assessed monthly or every couple of weeks and staged payments follow. A deposit is required for construction. Payment is by bank transfer; we do not offer finance.
On a home, the priority is living around the works: dust control, security, working hours and keeping a family functioning. On commercial sites the priority is revenue: a restaurant or retail unit closed an extra fortnight loses trade, so programme certainty and out-of-hours sequencing matter more than anything.
We deliver architectural services for organisations including KIER, ARUP, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Defence, Public Health England, Aeris and Relation, and the same discipline runs through our domestic sites.
We are happy to build from another practice's drawings. We will review the package first and tell you where it is thin, because unresolved detail becomes a variation later and neither of us benefits from that surprise.
Equally, if you have a builder and want us only for drawings and contract administration, that works too; see our architecture and drawings services.
Common Questions
Related Services
ARB-registered, in-house architecture from first sketch to Stage 4 technical drawings: available on its own or as part of a full build.
Architecture in Surrey & LondonWhole-house renovations, basements and period property work, including listed schemes such as our recent Grade II project in Notting Hill.
Residential Refurbishments in Surrey & LondonFull ground-up private homes for individual clients and property developers, with NHBC or LABC warranty as standard.
Residential New Builds in Surrey & LondonOffice fit-outs, restaurants, retail units and schools, delivered with the same single point of contact.
Commercial Refurbishments in Surrey & London
One team, one contract, valuation-based payments and a 12-month defects period. Send us your drawings or start with a free site visit.
