On every job we run, one person holds the programme, sequences the trades, books and attends the inspections, orders materials to land at the right stage and records every change in writing. We are the contractor and the coordinator, which means you deal with us from the first survey to the day we hand the house back.
Key Takeaways
- Bricklaying is our own trade, so the masonry and structural work is done by us rather than subcontracted out.
- We build the programme before we start, then order long lead materials backwards from the stage that needs them.
- We book and attend every building control inspection, so nothing gets covered before it has been seen.
- Every change is priced and put in writing before the work happens, not settled at the end.
- You have one named contact for the whole job, and you hear bad news from us early rather than late.
Over 25 years across Widnes, Liverpool, Runcorn, Warrington and St Helens has taught us that a renovation is won or lost on coordination long before anybody picks up a trowel. We are family run and fully insured, we provide free designs and quotes, and we work on domestic and commercial property alike.
What we take on when we run your job
Coordination is more concrete than the word suggests. There are six jobs inside it, and on our contracts all six sit with us.
| What we hold | What we actually do | What it prevents |
|---|---|---|
| The programme | Build a sequence of stages with durations and keep it updated as the job moves | Trades turning up before the previous stage is ready, then leaving for another job |
| Trade sequencing | Book each trade to the stage it depends on, with realistic slack | The plasterer arriving before first fix is tested, so walls get opened again |
| Procurement | Order materials against their lead times, counted back from the stage that needs them | Work stopping while we wait on steel, glazing or a particular brick |
| Inspections | Submit the notice, book each stage and be there when the inspector is | Finished work having to be uncovered because it was never seen |
| Change control | Price every variation in writing, with its programme effect, before we do it | Arguments at the end about what was agreed and what it costs |
| Quality and snagging | Check each stage before the next one covers it, and run a snag list to completion | Defects getting built over and becoming expensive to reach |
The one clients underestimate most is procurement. Structural steel, made to measure glazing and a specific facing brick all carry lead times, and a lead time only matters if somebody counted backwards from the stage that needs it. Ordering steel when you get to the opening is how a fortnight disappears, so we place those orders at the point the programme is agreed rather than the point the work arrives.
How the job runs, from survey to handover
Where renovations go wrong, and how we plan around it
Renovations very rarely run late because tradespeople are slow. They run late for reasons that are all coordination rather than workmanship, which is exactly why we hold that function ourselves.
Dependencies get missed. Screed needs drying time before flooring and plaster needs drying before decoration, so those durations go into our programme as stages in their own right. If they are not in there, the dates were never achievable in the first place.
Materials get ordered late. Anything made to order fixes the earliest possible date for that stage no matter how many people are standing on site, so long lead items are ordered at programme stage rather than when we reach them.
Inspections do not get booked. Building control needs notice, so we book to the programme and attend, which is what stops completed work being opened up again.
Surveys miss things. No survey catches everything behind a wall or under a floor, so we carry float in the programme and price discoveries quickly rather than letting them stall the job.
Decisions sit outstanding. Your choices carry deadlines exactly as trades do, so we flag what we need from you and when, early enough for you to decide without holding the programme up.
Trade slots stay provisional. A subcontractor with a pencilled-in date will take firm work elsewhere, so we confirm slots rather than pencil them.
You will also hear bad news from us early. If the steel slips a week, we tell you on the Tuesday rather than letting you find out on the day it was due. Most of what homeowners complain about on renovations is communication rather than the standard of the work, and that is entirely within our control.
One contract across the whole job
We carry out the masonry and structural work directly and coordinate every other trade under the same contract, on full house renovations, extensions, garage conversions and structural alterations. Appointing one contractor also changes where the legal duties sit: HSE explains what falls to a domestic client and how those duties transfer when a principal contractor is appointed.
Our guide on preparing your home for major building work covers what is worth sorting at your end before the programme starts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you charge separately for managing the project?
No. On the jobs we run it is part of the contract rather than a separate line, because we are the contractor doing the work as well as coordinating it. Where a client wants consultancy on a project somebody else is building, that is a different arrangement and priced accordingly, and we make clear from the outset which one you are buying.
How often will I hear from you during the build?
We agree it at the start rather than leaving it to chance. Weekly is our baseline on a renovation of any size, with immediate contact whenever something changes materially or we need a decision from you. What matters more than frequency is that you always know what stage the job is at and what is coming next.
How do you handle changes once work has started?
In writing, before the work happens, stating what is changing, what it costs and what it does to the programme. Verbal agreements about extra work are the commonest source of disputes at the end of a job, so we do not rely on them. Tell us as early as you can, because the cost of a change rises sharply the further into the programme it comes: moving a socket at first fix is trivial, moving it after plastering means making good.
Who books the building control inspections on your jobs?
We do, and we attend them. Inspections happen at defined stages, usually including excavation before concrete, damp proof course, structural work before it is covered, drainage before backfilling, and completion. Missing one can mean opening up finished work, which nobody wants to pay for twice.
Do you manage trades you do not carry out yourselves?
Yes. Bricklaying is our main trade and we do the masonry and structural work directly, then coordinate the electrical, plumbing, heating, plastering, joinery and decorating as part of the same programme. You deal with us throughout rather than holding separate arrangements with each trade.
What size of job do you take on?
Everything from a porch or a garage conversion through to a full house renovation or a commercial refurbishment, across Widnes, Liverpool, Runcorn, Warrington and St Helens. The way we run the job is the same whatever its size; the programme is simply shorter.
One point of contact from survey to handover
The difference between a renovation that runs smoothly and one that drags is almost never the standard of the trades. It is whether somebody is holding the programme, and on our jobs that is us.
We provide free designs and quotes across Widnes, Liverpool, Runcorn, Warrington and St Helens, and our services page sets out everything we cover under one contract.