A 480m² ground-up traditional 6-bedroom country house on a 1.2-acre plot in Knutsford, Cheshire (WA16) for a successful business couple in their early fifties — plot survey including arboricultural assessment of three TPO-protected mature oaks, traditional cavity-wall masonry construction in handmade Bulmer Brick laid in Flemish bond with NHL 3.5 lime mortar, natural Cumbrian slate roof on cut-roof timber structure with lead flashings and stone ridge, bespoke green-oak structural frame in the double-height entrance hall by Castle Ring Oak Frame with traditional mortice-and-tenon pegged joints, galleried first-floor landing overlooking the entrance hall with turned-oak balustrade, natural stone window cills, lintels and threshold steps, hardwood sash and casement window joinery throughout, six bedrooms (master plus three further with ensuites, plus two served by the family bathroom), bespoke Tom Howley kitchen with marble worktop, library and boot room joinery from the same workshop, Ground Source Heat Pump with slinky-loop trenches across the rear plot, MVHR throughout, Self-Build VAT Scheme paperwork coordinated under HMRC Notice 719. Fourteen-month programme delivered against fixed price; family in on the contracted Friday of week 56.
A successful business couple in their early fifties — the husband the founder of a precision-engineering business in the North West, the wife a former practising architect now consulting on a small portfolio of residential and small-commercial projects — commissioned the ground-up build of a 480m² traditional 6-bedroom country house on a 1.2-acre plot they had purchased in Knutsford, Cheshire (WA16). The plot had previously formed the rear gardens of a substantial Victorian villa and carried planning permission for a single replacement dwelling of contemporary or traditional design. The homeowners chose traditional: handmade brick, natural slate, exposed structural oak in a double-height entrance hall, a galleried first-floor landing overlooking the hall, and bespoke joinery throughout including the kitchen, library, boot room and fitted wardrobes. Programme contractually fixed at 14 months.
We were one of four contractors invited to tender on a Stage 4 architectural design package. Our quotation came in second on price by approximately £22,000 against the leading offer from a Cheshire-based country-house specialist. We won the appointment because our quotation was the only one to (a) include a pre-bid arboricultural method statement covering the three TPO-protected mature oaks on the plot with foundation positions and root protection areas designed against the arboricultural consultant's report inside the contract sum, (b) engage Bulmer Brick (the Sudbury-based handmade brick specialist with a 6-month lead time on the type the homeowners had specified) at quotation stage with a confirmed kiln slot and unit price rather than as a "subject to brick supplier" provisional, and (c) commission Castle Ring Oak Frame to a Stage 4 CAD design package for the entrance-hall structural oak frame at quotation stage with a fixed sub-contract sum. We are also familiar with Cheshire East Council planning: we delivered the Knutsford Coffee Shop fit-out earlier in the year on the central run of the town, and we know the conservation context for the surrounding villages and the design expectations of the planning team.
Practical completion was certified at 11am on the contracted Friday of week 56. Cheshire East Building Control completion certificate was issued the same morning following the final inspection. The Ground Source Heat Pump was running at the homeowners' preferred 22°C on the wet UFH ground floor; the MVHR was balanced to design flow rates across all 17 ducted positions; the air permeability test (run in week 51) had returned 4.8m³/h.m² at 50Pa against the contractual 6 target; the Cumbrian slate roof was weatherproof through a winter and a wet spring; the double-height entrance hall held the green-oak structural frame in clean light; and the family carried boxes across the threshold from 1pm. Their two grown children, a daughter who lives in Manchester and a son who lives in London, arrived for housewarming dinner the following Saturday evening.
The brief came from the homeowner couple and their appointed architect across an extended pre-construction process running from initial design conversations through Stage 4 detailed design and on to contract signature. The wife's architectural background meant the brief carried more technical specificity than a typical homeowner-led self-build, and the architect's design package was correspondingly detailed. Priorities, in their stated order:
A 14-month £950k traditional country-house new-build is a different discipline from a contemporary timber-frame self-build. Handmade brick has lead times that don't compress and material variance the bricklayer has to set out from. Traditional cavity-wall masonry takes longer to go up than an off-site fabricated frame. Cut-roof construction needs an experienced traditional carpenter, not a roof-truss erection crew. The bespoke oak structural frame, the galleried staircase joinery and the library panelling are all single-workshop bespoke joinery items that have to be ordered at the same point as the brick and the slate. The TPO-protected oaks have to be designed around, not removed. And the GSHP slinky-loop trenches have to be cut while the plot is still uncluttered with scaffolding. Every constraint had a workaround that had to be planned before contract signature.
Three mature oaks on the plot were under Tree Preservation Orders issued by Cheshire East Council. The two competing quotes treated tree protection as "subject to arboricultural consultant, additional cost may apply". We engaged an arboricultural consultant pre-bid: BS 5837 tree survey, root protection areas (RPAs) calculated and marked, foundation positions designed to avoid RPAs, no heavy machinery within RPA boundaries. Temporary tree-protection fencing erected at week 1 to BS 5837 specification and held in place throughout the build. Cheshire East tree officer's compliance inspection at week 4 passed first time; arboricultural sign-off at completion confirmed all three oaks unaffected.
Handmade bricks have 3-6 month kiln lead times depending on supplier and variant; you cannot substitute mid-build because handmade brick batches vary in tone and you'd see the join in the elevation. The homeowners had specified Bulmer Brick (the Sudbury-based heritage brickmaker established in 1936) with a specific blend after visiting their works. We engaged Bulmer at quotation stage with a confirmed kiln slot for week 12 manufacturing start, fixed unit price across approximately 95,000 bricks for the build, scheduled delivery in three loads weeks 16, 20 and 24 to match the masonry programme.
Handmade brick laid in Flemish bond with NHL 3.5 hydraulic lime mortar is a different bricklaying discipline from modern stretcher-bond on cement mortar. Flemish bond requires alternating headers and stretchers with snapped headers at openings; lime mortar has slower set times, different troweling characteristics, and demands experienced bricklayers who have worked the material before. We engaged a 4-person specialist masonry crew at quotation stage with confirmed availability for the masonry programme weeks 16-30. Mortar sand graded to NHL specification; mortar mixed in small batches with pull-back strikes for traditional pointing finish at completion.
The double-height entrance hall houses a bespoke green-oak structural frame: four primary posts, two principal beams, traditional mortice-and-tenon joints pegged with seasoned oak pegs. We engaged Castle Ring Oak Frame (the Welsh specialist oak framer the architect had used on prior projects) at quotation stage to a Stage 4 CAD design package with a fixed sub-contract sum. Frame manufactured off-site in their Powys workshop weeks 14-22 to dimensions surveyed against the prepared masonry walls. Frame delivered week 23 over one flatbed load, erected on prepared bearing pads over 3 days week 24 by Castle Ring's own 4-person carpentry team using a hired 25-tonne crane. Cleanly landed first time.
The 1.2-acre plot supports a Ground Source Heat Pump slinky-loop installation without needing the more disruptive (and expensive) borehole option. The two competing quotes specified an Air Source Heat Pump as the standard residential solution. We sized the GSHP slinky-loop trenches at quotation stage against a soil thermal conductivity assessment of the rear plot: 8 trenches each 30m long at 1.2m depth and 2.5m apart, total 240m of slinky loop sized for a peak heat demand of 18kW. Trenches cut in week 5 while the plot was still uncluttered, before scaffold-up; loops laid and pressure-tested before backfill; manifold position pre-routed to the future plant room.
Country houses live and die on the joinery. Kitchen, library/study panelling, boot room, fitted wardrobes, the galleried staircase, the entrance-hall doors, all from the same Tom Howley workshop on a single integrated procurement. £105,000 of the £950,000 contract sum allocated to joinery; ordered together at week 8 to match the masonry programme; manufactured off-site in stages from week 35 onwards for delivery and install across weeks 47-54. Single-workshop sourcing ensures tone, finish and detail consistency across all joinery elements.
Traditional country-house new-builds at this scale succeed or fail on five things: how the plot is surveyed before contract, how the long-lead specialist supply chains (handmade brick, oak frame, natural slate, bespoke joinery) are locked at quotation stage, how the masonry programme stays weather-protected through a winter, how the GSHP groundworks are sequenced before the scaffolding goes up, and how the bespoke joinery package is held to a single workshop's tone discipline. Our approach was built around four governance disciplines and one craft discipline.
Plot survey, tree survey and arboricultural method statement pre-bid. The two competing quotes treated tree protection as "subject to arboricultural consultant". We engaged the arboricultural consultant pre-bid: BS 5837 tree survey, RPA calculation, foundation re-design where required, BS 5837 protective fencing scheduled for week 1. Cheshire East tree officer's compliance inspection at week 4 passed first time. Three TPO-protected oaks unaffected at completion.
Long-lead specialist suppliers locked at quotation, every one of them. Bulmer Brick at quotation stage with a confirmed kiln slot and unit price across 95,000 bricks. Castle Ring Oak Frame at quotation stage to a Stage 4 CAD package with a fixed sub-contract sum. Cumbrian Burlington slate ordered at quotation stage for delivery week 30. Tom Howley joinery package ordered together at week 8. Five long-lead supply chains locked before contract; none of them moved during the build.
Masonry programme weather-protected through a winter. A 14-month country-house build runs through at least one winter season. We mobilised in spring; the masonry programme commenced week 16 in early summer; ran continuously through to wallplate level by week 30 in autumn; completed the slate roof by week 38 in early winter to make the property weather-tight. Cavity insulation, internal blockwork, partitions and first-fix M&E carried on inside through the winter. No weather-related lost shifts logged across the masonry programme.
GSHP slinky-loop trenches sequenced before scaffold-up. Slinky-loop trenches cut at week 5 while the plot was still uncluttered, before scaffolding for the masonry programme went up in week 14. Cutting the trenches after scaffold-up adds significant cost (more careful machinery work around scaffold legs) and risk. Trenches backfilled and pressure-tested in week 5; manifold position routed to the future plant room; GSHP physical install completed weeks 47-49 against the soil-loop already in place.
Bespoke joinery from a single workshop for tone consistency. Kitchen, library, boot room, fitted wardrobes, staircase joinery, entrance-hall doors all from the Tom Howley workshop on a single integrated procurement at week 8. The same hand-finishing studio applies the painted finish across all elements; the same machined-detail spec applies across all profiles; the same install team handles the install across weeks 47-54. Joinery installed clean across the entire house with consistent tone, finish and craftsmanship.
Three hundred and twenty working days from possession of plot to family in. A pre-mobilisation arboricultural method statement, a substructure-and-groundworks spring, a masonry summer-and-autumn under traditional bricklayer's hand, an oak-frame erection mid-summer, a slate-roof autumn ahead of weather-tight, an internal-trades winter, and a finishes-and-commissioning spring with a Friday-of-week-56 handback.
Possession of plot Monday morning week 1. Site cabin, welfare facilities and material storage compound established at the road-frontage end of the plot, sited outside all three TPO root protection areas. BS 5837 tree-protection fencing erected at week 1 around all three mature oaks. Site fencing and signage to the agreed boundary. Topsoil stripped and stockpiled across the building footprint (excluding RPAs). Strip-footing excavation commenced week 2 to the structural engineer's depth schedule (900mm to firm subgrade); foundations re-routed in two locations to avoid the principal RPA on the western boundary as per the arboricultural consultant's report. Cheshire East Building Control foundation inspection week 3 and arboricultural compliance inspection week 4 both passed first time.
Ground Source Heat Pump slinky-loop trenches cut across the rear plot week 5 while the plot was still uncluttered: 8 trenches each 30m long at 1.2m depth and 2.5m apart, soil thermal conductivity matching the design assessment. Loops laid and pressure-tested before backfill week 5. Manifold position routed to the future plant room. Concrete poured to footings week 6 in two pours with 5-day cures under polythene; below-ground services (water main, drainage runs to soil stack and surface-water soakaway) installed and pressure-tested. Substructure blockwork laid to oversite level by week 8.
Block-and-beam suspended ground floor (specified by the architect for the traditional country-house construction rather than the ground-bearing slab used at the Harrogate Self-Build); concrete topping with PIR insulation under and damp-proof course lapped over the wallplate. Cheshire East Building Control oversite inspection passed week 11. Tom Howley joinery package confirmed and ordered week 8 covering kitchen, library, boot room, fitted wardrobes, staircase joinery, entrance-hall doors. Bulmer Brick kiln manufacturing commenced week 12 against the confirmed kiln slot.
Scaffolding erected around the building footprint week 14. Masonry programme commenced week 16 with the first delivery of Bulmer Brick from Sudbury landed Monday morning. Specialist 4-person masonry crew commenced ground-floor cavity-wall construction in handmade brick laid in Flemish bond with NHL 3.5 lime mortar. Natural stone plinth coursed at the base of the brickwork to 600mm height. Stone window cills positioned at appropriate courses. First quality-control walkdown with the architect at end of week 16: tone, bond pattern, mortar finish all signed off.
Cavity-wall masonry continued through to first-floor level by week 22. Beam-and-block first-floor cassettes laid week 22 ready for the upper-floor masonry. Castle Ring Oak Frame delivered to site week 23 from their Powys workshop on one flatbed load: four primary posts, two principal beams, all secondary timbers, all pegged joints prepared off-site. Frame erected on prepared bearing pads in the entrance-hall position over 3 days week 24 by Castle Ring's own 4-person carpentry team using a hired 25-tonne crane. Frame inspected by structural engineer at completion of erection; signed off as compliant with the Stage 4 design.
Cavity-wall masonry continued through to wallplate level by week 30. Second Bulmer Brick delivery landed week 20; third delivery week 24. Specialist masonry crew completed the principal elevations, gable ends and chimney stacks. Traditional carpenter mobilised week 28 for the cut-roof structure: rafters, purlins, ridge boards, valley rafters all cut and fitted on site rather than as an off-site truss-rafter system. The exposed timber over the master bedroom vaulted ceiling formed in clean structural softwood; intermediate roof felt and sarking laid to receive the slate.
Cumbrian Burlington slate delivered week 30 from the quarry. Slate roof installed by specialist roofing sub-contractor: hand-graded slates, hand-holed, fixed with copper nails to traditional 100mm gauge centres, traditional stone ridge, lead flashings to all valleys and dormers, traditional half-round cast-iron rainwater goods. Roof completed and weatherproof by end of week 34. Quality-control walkdown with the architect at completion of roofing: slate course alignment, ridge detail and flashings all signed off.
Hardwood window joinery delivered from the bespoke window joinery sub-contractor week 35: 12 sash windows on the principal elevations, 14 casement windows on the rear and side elevations. All installed and weather-sealed week 35-37. External doors hung at all positions including the principal entrance with traditional ironmongery. Render base coat applied to the small areas of external render (gable end of the boot room, side return of the kitchen). External envelope weather-tight by week 38 ahead of winter weather.
Internal partitions completed in dense blockwork to all habitable rooms. First-fix electrical across the entire house: ring final and lighting circuits, dedicated kitchen and GSHP circuits, hard-wired interlinked smoke and heat alarms to BS 5839 Part 6 Grade D Category LD2, CAT-6 network cabling to home-office and bedroom positions, structured-wiring to a central comms cabinet. MVHR ductwork installed throughout: rigid 150mm trunking from the loft-mounted MVHR unit to all 17 ducted positions. Wet UFH pipe loops laid across the entire ground floor, connected to the manifold in the plant room, pressure-tested overnight before screeding. Cast-iron radiators delivered for upper floor; positions set on first-fix.
Liquid floor screed poured over the UFH pipe loops across the entire ground floor; cured for 28 days under controlled drying. Hardplaster (lime-gypsum mix to the homeowners' architect-led specification) applied across all internal walls and ceilings on traditional plasterboard substrate; taped, jointed and finished. Cheshire East Building Control pre-plaster inspection passed week 45: cavity insulation, fire compartmentation, sound insulation, MVHR ductwork, electrical first-fix all inspected and approved. Tom Howley joinery survey completed against the now-plastered walls and screeded floors; bespoke joinery manufacturing entered final stages.
Bespoke Tom Howley joinery delivered and installed across weeks 47-54 in coordinated stages: kitchen weeks 47-48 (painted Shaker, marble island, quartz perimeter, Sub-Zero pair, Wolf range, Wolf gas wok, Miele coffee station, Quooker boiling tap), library/study panelling weeks 48-49 (matched oak panelling to dado, fitted shelving above, integrated desk), boot room joinery week 49 (bench seating, dog-washing station, utility), fitted wardrobes weeks 49-51 across the six bedrooms, galleried staircase joinery weeks 50-51 (turned-oak balustrade, hardwood handrail, oak treads), entrance-hall doors weeks 51-52. Five bathrooms fitted out across the same weeks with the same Schluter Kerdi tanking and 24-hour flood-test discipline applied across our bathroom-category portfolio. Decoration commenced ground-floor week 49.
Part L air permeability test conducted by independent UKAS-accredited testing contractor week 51: target 6m³/h.m² at 50Pa, achieved 4.8 on first measurement. Part L compliance certificate issued. MVHR commissioned and balanced by the manufacturer's engineer same week: design flow rates achieved at all 17 ducted positions. GSHP commissioned by MCS-accredited installer same week: wet UFH zoned per ground-floor room, cast-iron rads upper-floor balanced, hot-water cylinder commissioning cycle run, integration with the homeowners' specified heating-controller environment confirmed. External works progressed: gravel driveway laid, garden landscaping to the architect's drawing within the boundaries of the TPO root-protection areas, external lighting commissioned, traditional oak entrance gates installed.
Final snag round across the entire house weeks 55-56: 84 minor items closed by week 56 lunchtime. Builders clean across all rooms week 56. Self-Build VAT Scheme pack assembled and bound with all 14 months of VAT-appropriate invoices, supplier VAT registration evidence, material category eligibility classification per HMRC Notice 719, ready for the homeowners' submission within the three-month post-completion window. Cheshire East Building Control completion inspection conducted Friday morning of week 56 at 9am: all stages cross-referenced including the arboricultural compliance, completion certificate issued at 10.30am. Practical completion certificate issued at 11am. The homeowners arrived at 1pm with the first boxes; their grown daughter from Manchester and son from London arrived for housewarming dinner the following Saturday evening.
The technical detail behind a 480m² ground-up traditional country-house new-build delivered to BS 5837 arboricultural compliance, NHL hydraulic-lime mortar masonry, hand-graded natural Cumbrian slate roofing, bespoke green-oak structural framing in the entrance hall, MCS-accredited GSHP commissioning, the same large-format porcelain installer specialism we use across the bathroom-category portfolio, and HMRC Notice 719 Self-Build VAT Scheme paperwork coordinated from invoice one.
Pre-construction arboricultural method statement covering three TPO-protected mature oaks. Root protection areas calculated, foundations re-designed where required, BS 5837 protective fencing erected at week 1 and held throughout. Cheshire East tree officer's compliance inspection week 4 passed first time. Three oaks unaffected at completion.
Strip footings 900mm deep to firm subgrade following pre-bid ground investigation. Foundations re-routed in two locations to avoid principal RPA on western boundary. Block-and-beam suspended ground floor (architect-led specification for traditional country-house construction). PIR insulation under, DPC over wallplate.
Approximately 95,000 handmade bricks supplied by Bulmer Brick (Sudbury, est. 1936) in the homeowners' specified blend across three deliveries weeks 16, 20 and 24. Kiln slot reserved at quotation stage. Laid in Flemish bond with snapped headers at openings.
NHL 3.5 hydraulic-lime mortar bedding throughout the masonry. Mortar mixed in small batches with sand graded to NHL specification. Slow-set characteristics suit handmade brick. Pull-back strikes for traditional pointing finish at completion.
Hand-graded Cumbrian Burlington slate, hand-holed, fixed with copper nails to traditional 100mm gauge centres. Traditional stone ridge. Lead flashings to all valleys, dormers and abutments. Traditional half-round cast-iron rainwater goods. Cut-roof timber structure beneath, formed by traditional carpenter on site.
Bespoke green-oak structural frame in double-height entrance hall: four primary posts, two principal beams, traditional mortice-and-tenon joints pegged with seasoned oak pegs. Manufactured off-site in Castle Ring's Powys workshop weeks 14-22. Erected over 3 days week 24 with hired 25-tonne crane. Structural engineer sign-off.
First-floor landing forms a gallery overlooking the double-height entrance hall. Turned-oak balustrade with hand-shaped spindles, hardwood handrail in matched oak, oak treads on the staircase ascending from the entrance hall. All from the bespoke Tom Howley joinery package.
26 windows: 12 hardwood sash on principal elevations, 14 hardwood casement on rear and side elevations. All in painted finish. Hardwood external doors at all positions including principal entrance with traditional ironmongery. Manufactured by bespoke window joinery sub-contractor.
Ground Source Heat Pump primary heating, MCS-accredited installer. 8 slinky-loop trenches each 30m long at 1.2m depth and 2.5m apart, total 240m of slinky loop sized for 18kW peak heat demand. Trenches cut week 5 before scaffold-up. Wet UFH ground floor zoned per room; cast-iron rads upper floor (homeowner aesthetic preference).
High-efficiency MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) unit in the loft mechanical space with rigid 150mm ductwork to all 17 ducted positions across both floors and habitable roof space. Acoustic silencers in supply runs to bedrooms. Commissioned and balanced by manufacturer's engineer week 51.
Independent UKAS-accredited air permeability test conducted week 51: target 6m³/h.m² at 50Pa contracted, achieved 4.8m³/h.m² on first measurement. Comfortably inside Part L 2021 requirement of 8 for new-build dwellings. Achieved without targeting passivhaus airtightness, appropriate for a traditional masonry build with handmade brick and lime mortar.
Single-workshop joinery package across kitchen (painted Shaker, marble island, Sub-Zero pair, Wolf range, Wolf gas wok, Miele coffee station, Quooker), library/study panelling (matched oak to dado, fitted shelving above, integrated desk), boot room (bench, dog-washing station, utility), fitted wardrobes (6 bedrooms), galleried staircase, entrance-hall doors. Tone, finish and detail consistency throughout.
A 480m² ground-up traditional 6-bedroom country house on a 1.2-acre Knutsford plot delivered against a 14-month fixed-price contract with no variation orders, three TPO-protected mature oaks unaffected through the entire build under a pre-bid arboricultural method statement, the Bulmer Brick supply chain locked at quotation stage with all 95,000 handmade bricks delivered across three loads on programme, the Castle Ring Oak Frame delivered to the entrance hall on a Stage 4 CAD design and erected over 3 days in week 24 with structural engineer sign-off, the Cumbrian Burlington slate roof weather-tight on the contracted week 34 ahead of winter, the Tom Howley single-workshop bespoke joinery package across kitchen, library, boot room, fitted wardrobes, galleried staircase and entrance-hall doors installed within the 47-54 week window, the GSHP slinky-loop trenches cut at week 5 before scaffold-up and commissioned by an MCS-accredited installer at week 51, an air permeability test result of 4.8m³/h.m² against a contractual 6 target and the Part L 2021 regulatory 8 ceiling, and the Cheshire East Building Control completion certificate issued at 10.30am on the contracted Friday morning of week 56.
The Harrogate Self-Build we delivered earlier in the year was a 290m² contemporary timber-frame self-build for a returning client couple at £675,000 over 13 months, with a 5m Schueco AWS curtain wall as the architectural centrepiece and a Christmas Eve handover. This Knutsford Country House was the same cat-newbuild residential discipline applied to the architectural opposite: 480m² traditional masonry with handmade brick and natural slate at £950,000 over 14 months, with bespoke green-oak structural framing in a double-height entrance hall as the architectural centrepiece and a Friday-of-week-56 handover. Different aesthetic register, different construction methodology, different scale. Same disciplines underneath: pre-bid surveys for what sits underground (and in this case for what stands above ground in the form of three TPO oaks), specialist supply chains locked at quotation stage, milestones held to the day, statutory paperwork handled by us before the homeowners had to think about it. The Knutsford Coffee Shop fit-out we delivered earlier in the year on the central run of the town gave us established Cheshire East planning familiarity that helped at the pre-construction stage.
Building Group built our 6-bedroom country house in Knutsford on a 1.2-acre plot we bought with planning permission already in hand. As a former practising architect myself, I knew the build was going to live or die on three things: how the long-lead specialist supply chains were managed, how the three TPO-protected oaks on our plot were designed around rather than felled, and how the bespoke joinery package was held to a single workshop's tone discipline rather than scattered across multiple trade sub-contractors. We tendered four contractors on our architect's Stage 4 design package. Building Group came in second on price by about twenty-two thousand pounds. We chose them because their quotation was the only one to engage Bulmer Brick at quotation stage with a confirmed kiln slot for ninety-five thousand handmade bricks rather than as a "subject to brick supplier" provisional, the only one to commission Castle Ring Oak Frame to a Stage 4 CAD design package for the entrance-hall structural oak frame at quotation stage with a fixed sub-contract sum, and the only one to engage an arboricultural consultant pre-bid for a BS 5837 tree survey with foundation positions designed against the root protection areas inside the contract sum rather than as a provisional. Fourteen months later we have a country house with the three oaks still in place, an air permeability test of four point eight against a regulatory ceiling of eight, the Cumbrian slate roof weather-tight through a winter, the green-oak frame in the entrance hall holding the morning light cleanly, and the Tom Howley joinery installed across the kitchen, library, boot room, fitted wardrobes, galleried staircase and entrance-hall doors with consistent tone and finish from a single workshop. The expected VAT reclaim under the Self-Build VAT Scheme is around seventy-eight thousand pounds. We have already recommended Building Group to two friends in Cheshire who are scoping similar replacement-dwelling country builds.
If you've bought a plot with planning in place, or you're scoping a replacement-dwelling build with an architect, or you're commissioning a country house with handmade brick, natural slate and bespoke joinery as the spine of the project, we'll come out for a free site visit, walk the plot with you and your architect, and put a fixed-price methodology document on your desk — with the pre-bid arboricultural method statement, the handmade-brick supply chain, the structural oak framing, the natural slate sourcing, the GSHP groundworks, the bespoke joinery workshop coordination, the Self-Build VAT Scheme paperwork and the Building Regulations completion route all costed in.
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