New build
This is the work where the most things depend on each other. A work front that opens late does not only delay itself — it delays every one that was coming after it.
From the plot to the keys. It is the work where the most things depend on each other, which makes it the work that most depends on a schedule that holds.
6
The stages, in order
What decides the price
The structure and the foundations. What sits under the floor is invisible from the plot, and it is where a new-build quote is won or lost.
What eats the schedule
Permits and curing times. Concrete does not dry faster because you asked nicely.
The stages, in order
01
Permits
Runs outside the job and before it. It is the stage where the client waits with nothing visible happening, and the one that most often takes a calendar down.
02
Foundations and structure
What stays buried and what holds everything up. Once poured it cannot be corrected without breaking, which is why this is the stage nobody rushes.
03
Masonry and roof
The building closes against the weather. From here on, rain stops costing days.
04
Services
Water, drainage, electrics and anything else that has to end up inside a wall. It goes in before finishes because afterwards you only reach it by chasing the wall open.
05
Finishes
Floors, joinery, sanitaryware, paint. It is the stage you see, and the only one that depends on decisions the client has still to make.
06
Snagging and handover
We walk the job, write down what is missing, put it right, and only then hand over the keys.
What we ask before giving a price
- Does the plot have approved plans, or is the permit process still to start?
- Is there a topographic survey and a foundation study, or do they need doing?
- What is the access to the plot for a concrete mixer and a materials lorry?
- Is the date you have in mind completion of the works, or the sale?
The mistakes that cost money
Signing before the permits are settled
A job that starts while waiting on an opinion sits still with the site set up — and a site standing still costs money every day.
Leaving the finishes to decide later
Sanitaryware and flooring feel like the end, but they are ordered in the middle. Chosen late, they stop the whole last stage.
Pricing by the square metre
A price per m² is for comparing plots, not for hiring a builder. It says nothing about what is inside it or what was left out.
What it includes
- Structure and masonry
- Water, drainage and electrical services
- Finishes and handover
Who hires this work
The other two
Which of the three is your job?
If you do not know, that works too: the site visit is exactly for that, and it is what separates a price from a guess.