Everything from a loft to a new house.

Often not. Many single-storey rear extensions and most loft conversions fall under permitted development, which allows building within set limits on size, height and position without a planning application.

Those rights don’t apply to flats, maisonettes or listed buildings, and they’re restricted in conservation areas. Leeds has dozens of them, including much of Headingley, Roundhay and Chapel Allerton. We’ll tell you at survey which route your project needs, and we can apply for a lawful development certificate so you have it in writing.

Yes, for almost any structural work, whether or not you need planning. Building regulations cover structure, fire safety, insulation, drainage and ventilation. We make the application, book the inspections at each stage and hand you the completion certificate at the end. You’ll need that certificate when you come to sell.

If you’re building on a shared boundary, cutting steels into a party wall or digging foundations close to a neighbour’s, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 says you must serve notice on them first, usually one or two months before work starts depending on the type of work. If your neighbour agrees in writing, that’s normally the end of it. If not, surveyors are appointed to agree an award. We’ll tell you at survey whether it applies and help you serve the notices.

As a guide, a garage conversion takes three to six weeks, a loft conversion six to ten, a single-storey extension ten to sixteen, and a whole-house renovation three months or more. Your quote comes with a week-by-week programme for your job specifically, and we keep it updated as the build goes on.

Usually, yes, and most of our clients do. We seal off the work area, keep a clean route through the house and plan the noisy, dusty stages so you know when they’re coming. The only time we’d suggest staying elsewhere is for a few days while the kitchen is disconnected or the back of the house is opened up, and we’ll agree those dates with you early.

You pay in stages as the work is done, against a schedule written into the contract. We don’t ask for a large deposit up front. Each payment is tied to a clear milestone, such as foundations passed by building control, so you’re never paying ahead of the work on site.

Always. It sets out the price, the programme, the payment schedule, what’s included and what isn’t, and how changes are agreed. Nothing starts on site until it’s signed.

On older houses it sometimes does: a rotten lintel, or an old drain right where a foundation needs to go. We’ll show you what we’ve found the same day, explain the options and give you a written price before doing anything extra. Nothing is added to your bill without your sign-off.

Yes. Plenty of clients choose their own kitchen, tiles or sanitaryware. We’ll give you a list of what we need and when, check everything on delivery and fit it. We guarantee our installation, though the products themselves are covered by the supplier’s own warranty.

Happily. If you already have drawings, we’ll price from them and work alongside your architect and engineer during the build. If you don’t, we can arrange drawings, calculations and approvals through the designer and engineer we use.

8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, with the occasional Saturday morning if the programme needs it and you’re happy with it. We don’t start noisy work before 8am, and we don’t work Sundays or bank holidays.

We carry public liability and employer’s liability insurance and will send copies of the certificates with your quote. Every job comes with our written workmanship guarantee, and new builds carry a structural warranty, which we arrange.

Surveys are quick: we can usually visit within a week. Start dates on site are typically eight to twelve weeks from a signed contract, depending on the time of year, and we’ll give you a firm date before you sign.

Yes. With their permission, we can put you in touch with past clients, and we can often arrange a visit to a finished job near you so you can see the work in person.