What actually happens, and in what order, when you build or extend. A plain guide to every stage, from first idea to handover.
A building project can feel like a mystery from the outside. In reality it follows a clear, logical order. Here is the whole journey, so you know what comes next and why.
Part one: design and planning
Brief and feasibility
We and your architect understand what you want, look at the site and set a realistic budget, so the project starts on solid ground.
Concept and developed design
The architect explores options, then develops the chosen design into something buildable and costed.
Planning
Where needed, a planning application is submitted, or the work is confirmed as permitted development.
Technical design and building regs
Detailed drawings, structural calculations and full specifications are prepared for building control and for pricing.
Costing, contract and pre-start
We prepare a fully costed programme, agree the contract, and handle surveys, party wall matters and ordering the long-lead items before work begins.
Part two: on site, foundations to completion
Site set-up and enabling
We secure and protect the site, set up welfare and safety, and carry out any demolition or strip-out.
Groundworks and foundations
We excavate and lay the foundations, run drainage, and form the ground floor slab. The bones of the building begin here.
Superstructure
The walls go up, floors go in, and any steelwork is installed, taking the building to its full shape.
Roof
The roof structure is built and covered, and the building is made weatherproof.
Windows and external doors
Glazing and external doors go in, sealing the building against the weather.
First fix
The hidden work: plumbing, electrics and carpentry framing are run through the walls and floors, and cables are chased in.
Plastering and drying out
Walls and ceilings are boarded and plastered, then given time to dry.
Second fix
The visible finishing: sockets and switches, radiators, internal doors, skirting, and sanitaryware.
Kitchen and bathrooms
Units, worktops, appliances and tiling are installed, the parts of the home you use every day.
Decoration and flooring
Painting, flooring and the final finishes bring the interior together.
External works
Landscaping, driveways, paths and boundaries complete the setting.
Snagging and handover
We work through a snag list, put right any final details, clean up and hand over the finished home at practical completion.
Aftercare
During the defects period we return to sort anything that appears, and hand over your warranties and guarantees.
One team, the whole way
Every project is different, and not every stage applies to every job, but the order rarely changes. The value we add is in the coordination: keeping each stage on programme, each trade in the right sequence, and you informed at every step, so the finished home is exactly what you agreed.
A general guide for 2026. The exact stages and timings depend on your project.