Pete’s Perspective
For more than 30 years, our Managing Director, Peter Wheeler, has been totally committed to searching out new and better ways for improving our customers’ homes.
Here, every month he shares his learning and insights, along with new ideas and top tips.
Pete’s Perspective: Monthly Tips & Insights for Homeowners Planning Improvements
How product innovation and project management increase the possibilities and reduce the stress
Extending your property, is an investment that makes your home more appealing to potential buyers, and can increase your property’s value. But unexpected over-runs and lengthy, disruptive builds can hit you in the pocket and leave you wondering if it was all worth it.
But there are alternatives that show how extensions can be built more easily, with fewer uncertainties and with a far smoother process than you might expect.
The never ending storey
You’ve probably heard it from your friends—‘Lovely builders, but I just want my life back.’
All too often, the actual process of a build is drawn out by poor project management, builders who lack commitment and difficulty in coordinating several trades to get things finished.
So bad has it become that the usual build time for a single-storey extension is…take a guess…Around six months, start to finish.
Why does it take so long?
In the first place, it’s in the preparation. Traditional builders rarely use CAD or modern planning tools. Instead, they complete each stage of the build before measuring for materials or bringing in other trades like electricians and plasterers. This piecemeal approach creates delays and adds unnecessary months to your project timeline. The answer is not a question of taking shortcuts, it’s just simple project management.
Being aware of those potential pitfalls early on can save you a lot of stress—and money—down the line.
Our experienced surveyors are fully trained to carry out comprehensive site surveys, ensuring that key specifications—like foundation depth and even boiler requirements—are confirmed before any building work begins. This means your project is fully costed with all foreseen works from the outset.
And here’s the astonishing fact: our standard build time is just one month.
How do we achieve that?
As mentioned earlier, we use CAD, which allows us to finalise plans and place orders for all materials—including prefabricated roofs, windows, and doors—on the same day we agree your start date. Everything is scheduled to arrive in line with the build timeline.
You’ll find that your site is tidy and well organised with the materials needed for the immediate tasks delivered as they are needed.
We also manage all trade diaries in-house, dramatically reducing downtime and eliminating those frustrating days when no one is on site. Each project is assigned a dedicated project manager with years of industry experience. They’ll oversee progress from day one and act as your single point of contact—on hand to answer questions, provide updates, and make sure everything stays on track.
Another nice surprise
A common cause of delays when working with local builders is their reliance on local authority building control. The challenge? Building regulations can be interpreted very differently from one town to the next, leading to inconsistent requirements, added costs, and frustrating delays.
To avoid this, we’ve partnered with a national private building control company. Their team is fully familiar with our systems and product specifications, which means we can skip lengthy waits for individual structural calculations. Because we work with the same inspectors regularly, we get consistent guidance—allowing us to plan applications and build schedules with confidence, keeping your project running smoothly and on budget.
And even if your project requires a piled foundation, we’ve got that covered too. Our in-house piling team uses the very best performing, system that allows most installations to be completed in just one day. Better still, there are no access restrictions—we can even carryout installation of the piled base foundation through the house if there’s no access to the rear of your property.
I hope you’ve found this blog both helpful and full of the kind of unexpected insights that offer real solutions. Our goal is to not only help you enjoy your new extension but to ensure the entire build process is smooth, stress-free, and—dare we say—even enjoyable!..
