How a Woodcraft project comes together

Everything starts with a conversation. Sometimes it is a phone call lasting twenty minutes. Sometimes it is a site visit lasting two hours. Either way, the goal is the same: to understand what you have in mind, what is possible, and whether we are the right firm for the work.

By the end of this stage you have an informal feasibility view, an indicative price band, and a sense of whether we are people you want to work with. We have, occasionally, told prospective clients that the firm down the road would suit them better. We would rather do that than take a job we should not.

If we agree to work together, design starts. Initial sketches develop into CAD drawings, plans, elevations, sections, ready for planning submission. We do as many iteration rounds as the project needs. You will see drawings, you will give feedback, and the drawings will change. By the end you will have a building you have helped design, not a building we have designed for you.

Our design service is free when we go on to build the project, from the first sketch through to planning-ready drawings. If you would rather take the drawings to another builder, we are happy to quote for standalone design work. Either way, you end up with a buildable design and everything agreed up front.

If your project needs planning consent, we submit the application and act as the named agent. We attend pre-application meetings with the local authority where it helps. We respond to consultation comments. Where we believe an officer's recommendation is wrong, we say so.

At the same time we issue the formal quote, itemised, with named materials, agreed milestone payments, and a build programme. The contract is JCT Minor Works for projects under £250,000 and JCT Intermediate above. Nothing hidden, nothing surprising.

Build means Andrew is on site every working day. He is your single point of contact through the build, he answers the phone, he emails you weekly photographs, he coordinates the sub-trades, he tells you ahead of time what is coming up. Paula handles the administrative side from the workshop, but the person doing the work is the person you speak to.

Milestone payments are released against work completed, not work scheduled. Variations, the inevitable 'we should change this' moments, are priced and agreed in writing before they happen. There are no surprise invoices at the end.

We run clean sites. We tidy up at the end of every day. We tell you when there will be loud work and when there will be deliveries. We respect that you are paying for this, and that you are probably living through it.

At practical completion we walk through the finished work with you. We capture snags. We agree a date for them to be addressed (usually 4 weeks). For new builds, we provide a building owner's manual covering everything from boiler operation to where the stopcock is.

At 12 months we return. By then the timber has moved, green oak shrinks and settles, joints adjust, and we expect a handful of cosmetic items to address. This visit is included in the build cost. After that, we are still on the end of the phone for the life of the building.