Questions we get asked

Many single-storey rear extensions fall under permitted development, so no application is needed. Two-storey work, anything to the front, and properties in conservation areas or listed buildings usually do need permission. We check your property's specific position before any design work starts, and handle the application if one is required.

A single-storey rear extension usually runs 10 to 14 weeks on site once we start. Two-storey and wrap-around projects are typically 16 to 22 weeks. Design and planning beforehand adds 8 to 12 weeks if an application is needed. You get a written programme before we begin.

Yes. If you already have drawings and approvals we will price and build from them. If you don't, we can take the project from scratch, which usually works out faster and avoids the gaps that appear when design and build sit with different firms.

We work to a staged payment schedule tied to completed milestones, never a large sum up front. Each stage is agreed in writing before work starts, so you always know what has been paid for and what comes next.

Timber frame goes up considerably faster because the frame is fabricated off site while groundworks happen in parallel, and it is far less weather-dependent. It also insulates better for a given wall thickness, so you get lower running costs and a warmer building, with a much smaller carbon footprint than masonry.

Roof works can begin from day one as the timber frame goes up. The structure can typically be weathertight within one to two weeks, helping complete the overall build several weeks faster than masonry.

Yes. Bespoke cabins, lodges and garden buildings are a large part of what we do, from simple insulated garden offices to fully serviced holiday lodges with kitchens and bathrooms. Many fall under permitted development, though the rules on size, height and use are specific, so we will check yours.

A properly designed, detailed and maintained timber frame building has a design life equal to masonry. The oldest timber framed buildings in Kent have stood for centuries. Longevity comes down to keeping the frame dry, which is a detailing and workmanship question, not a material one.

Yes, and it is one of the most common things we are asked for. Load-bearing walls need a structural engineer's calculations and building regulations approval, with a steel or timber beam sized for the load. We arrange the engineer, the approval and the installation as one job.

Often yes, depending on scope. Where a kitchen or the only bathroom is out of use, or where the work is extensive, it is usually faster and less stressful to move out for a period. We will be straight with you at quotation stage about what living through it would actually involve.

Yes. Offices, retail units, cafés and similar. Where a business needs to keep trading we phase the work and, where practical, work outside opening hours to keep disruption down.

It depends on use, siting and how long it stays. A container used as temporary site accommodation is usually treated differently from a permanent café or retail unit. We assess your specific situation early and tell you what consent is needed before you commit to anything.

Yes, when insulated properly. A bare container is a steel box and behaves like one, so insulation and vapour control are the whole job. We line ours to a specification that performs through a British winter and, just as importantly, does not sweat with condensation.

Offices and studios, meeting rooms, cafés and food outlets, retail and pop-up units, welfare and site accommodation, workshops and storage. Multiple containers can be joined or stacked to create larger spaces.

Most single-container conversions are complete within two to four weeks of the container arriving. Because the majority of the work is done off site, disruption at your location is usually limited to delivery, siting and connection of services.

Both. Where a standard unit fits the space and the budget, that is usually the sensible answer. Where it doesn't (an awkward alcove, a period property where nothing is square, a specific look you want), we make to measure.

Usually, and often it is the better outcome. Splicing in new timber to a damaged sill, joist end or staircase string keeps the original character and costs less than a full replacement. We will tell you honestly when a repair is not worth doing.

Yes. We are a full building contractor but we take on standalone carpentry (a staircase, a run of fitted wardrobes, a new floor) as well as the carpentry within our larger projects.

Speed and finish. Airless spraying covers a large area in a fraction of the time, and it lays down an even film with no brush marks, roller stipple or lap lines. On profiled surfaces like cladding and spindles it reaches into detail that a brush cannot do neatly.

Yes. Durability comes from the coating and the preparation, not the application method, and spraying applies a more consistent film thickness than a roller does. Properly prepared and correctly specified, a sprayed finish outlasts a brushed one.

Very little, because masking is most of the work. We mask and sheet everything that isn't being coated before any paint is mixed. The preparation takes longer than the spraying, which is exactly why the results are clean.

Yes. We work in occupied homes and trading premises regularly, phasing rooms or areas and using low-odour products where appropriate so you can keep using the rest of the building.

Yes. We take on groundworks packages for other contractors and self-builders as well as delivering them within our own projects: foundations, drainage and slab, ready for a frame or a build to follow.

Usually not, provided the surface is permeable or drains to a soakaway within your own boundary rather than running off onto the road. Non-permeable driveways over five square metres draining to the highway do need permission. We design drainage into the job so this is not a problem.

It depends entirely on ground conditions, nearby trees and the loads involved, which is why we investigate rather than assume. Strip, trench fill, raft and pile are all appropriate in different situations. Getting this wrong is the most expensive mistake available on a building site.

Yes. Sloping sites need retaining structures, terracing and careful drainage design, and awkward access needs the right plant and a sensible sequence. Both are routine for us, and we will assess access and levels at the first visit.