We cover all of Northamptonshire and parts of the surrounding counties, please send us an enquiry to check if we cover your area.

Yes we do! Most of the FAQs below continually refer to ‘new builds’ but most of the answers below can be applied to house extensions as well.

Yes, we undertake both domestic and commercial new builds. We work with people building a one-off new build, developers who build houses for a living, and all sizes of construction companies as well.

We generally undertake:

Any site clearance, site preparation

Demolition

Excavation and pouring of footings  – all types including traditional, piled or raft foundations.

Masonry up to underside of block and beam, or up to dpc level (excluding any ‘facework’)

Rainwater & Foul drainage within the site

Installation of block and beam – or concrete oversite construction

Laying of stone/hardcore areas for purposes of continuation of the build after groundworks complete, i.e. temporary/permanent road construction

Connection to public sewer see here , or installation of treatment plant where applicable see here.

We’ve been in business since 2004, so over 20 years at the time of writing!

Initially we always need drawings, and preferably by email. Once we have these we can let you know if we can undertake the works and if we have availability. We’ll usually send you a quote that is subject to a site survey, and if the price is within budget then we’ll come out to site to confirm our price.

Groundwork for a new build will typically get done within 4-6 weeks, but sometimes longer for a larger or more complex project.

Yes we do!

We prefer to book all inspections ourselves, if you can supply us with phone numbers and reference number etc. If our customer wants to take care of this then that’s fine, we just find that things tend to run more smoothly if we do it.

Not normally, no. If you have planning permission for a new build, then we will normally invoice ‘nil VAT’, though we have to pay VAT on all of our purchases relating to the build, we claim this back later.

Yes there is always 20% VAT on a house extension, and please – don’t ask us to ‘do it for cash’ !

No that’s not a service we supply. In order to give you the best possible service and to maximise our in-house resources, we need to supply all materials, plant and take care of waste disposal etc.

No, we don’t use subcontractors to undertake any of our groundwork. All of our employees employed directly by us, and paid ‘on the books’, they wear our uniform and drive our own logo’d company vehicles. The only time we use subcontractors is when we instruct pilers or bricklayers etc, trades other than ‘groundworkers’.

We tend not to. As a rule we are only on a site for a short period of time, relative to the whole duration of the build. For this reason we wouldn’t normally want to be responsible for the setting up of the site, i.e. fencing it off, putting up the statutory H&S signs, welfare facilities, only for us to have to take it all away again a month or so after starting on site – and then for the contractor who comes after us to have to do it all over again. That said, we are able to supply some aspects of a site set-up at cost, where required. 

Although we tend not to act as Principal Contractors, of course we are responsible for our own Health & Safety on site, as is required by law. This includes preparation of Method Statements and Risk Assessments, training and certification for staff and operators of plant, checks on plant & machinery and general management of our own H&S throughout the project. If you need visibility of any of the above then just ask – and indeed as Principal Contractor it is your duty to ensure we are complaint with respect to all H&S.

We can certainly advise on what we have done in the past, on other jobs. And in many instances, we are experienced enough to advise, and of course our experience will often be more than that of our customers, but not always! From a professional point of view though, we cannot be responsible for design. Strictly speaking, as groundworkers and civil engineers it is our job to carry out works that have been designed by people who do this for a living such as architects and structural engineers. Where such a professional has not been appointed, then we will often be asked to advise on design. But we can only ever advise on what we may have done previously on similar projects. A good example is where we are laying concrete for a haulage yard for example. Strictly speaking the whole design including the material to use, method of laying etc, should be designed by a structural engineer. We can advise as to what we have done elsewhere in the past, but we can never be responsible for design. For more information please see our article on ‘Project Management for New Builds and other construction projects.’

In short, no, this is not a service we offer. That said, we often end up acting as unpaid project managers to a certain extent, when it comes to domestic projects in particular. This will normally include advice given to a customer throughout the build, and liaising with other professionals such as architects, structural engineers, Building Control, warranty providers and other trades such as bricklayers and landscapers etc. But the line between contractor and project manager can often get blurred, for more information please see our article on ‘Project Management for New Builds and other construction projects.’

Absolutely! Please don’t hesitate to ask, we will put you in touch with existing and former customers where they are willing. And you are welcome to visit any of our current sites, with our customer’s permission of course. You can also check out our Google reviews, which are now in excess of 100 genuine 5-star reviews. And we also have case studies that where you can see the story of a project from start to finish. We’ve been about for 20 years now and we’ve only lasted this long due to our commitment to customer service!