Questions, by the kind of job

We are booking starts from March 2027. Site visits happen within 10 working days, and drawings and approvals usually take up most of the gap, so a visit now is not early.

Yes. The only things that move are the provisional sums, which we name and price in the quote (for example, a drain in the wrong place), and changes you ask for. Both are agreed in writing before the work is done.

A 10% deposit to book the start date, then stage payments as the work reaches set points on the programme: foundations, walls to plate, roof on, plastered, handover. Never ahead of the work.

Often not. A single-storey rear extension up to 3 metres deep on a semi or terrace, or 4 metres on a detached house, is usually permitted development. We check at the first visit, and advise a lawful development certificate so a buyer’s solicitor never has to ask.

Almost everyone does. The new rooms are built outside first, so the old back wall comes out late and the dusty stretch is about a week. We help you set up a temporary kitchen for it.

If you build on or near the boundary you need a party wall notice. We draft it for you and, if needed, recommend a surveyor. We also tell the neighbours the noisy dates a week ahead.

Measure from the top of a ceiling joist to the underside of the ridge. About 2.2 metres or more and a conversion is usually straightforward. Less than that and we will talk about a hip-to-gable or lowering ceilings.

Usually over the existing one, so the first floor keeps its layout. It needs 2 metres of head height over every tread, which the dormer or roof shape often decides.

A new storey needs a protected escape route: fire doors onto the landing and hall and mains-wired smoke alarms. It is included in every loft price we give.

Yes, if the floor is raised to the house level and the room is insulated to the same standard as an extension. Both are in our price, along with heating and a door through from the hall.

It comes out and we build the opening up in brick matched to the house, on its own foundation if the slab needs one, with a window lined up to the ones beside it.

Often you cannot tell from the room side. We look at which way the floor joists run, what sits above and what the wall is built from, and the engineer confirms it before we price the beam.

If it has solid walls and was built before about the 1920s, almost certainly. Cement traps water in soft brick and stone. We mix lime on site and match the old joint.