Builders and project management in Bath

In Bath (BA1) it is mostly listed Georgian renovation, lime and ashlar repair, and sensitive interior alteration, all of it fully project managed on a fee agreed before anything starts. Bath is a World Heritage Site, so listed building consent, conservation area control and the World Heritage setting all bear on the same application, and the accepted answer on materials and detailing is narrower than anywhere else we work. Every project begins with a look at the building and the site rather than a price guessed over the phone.

Yes. Bath is a World Heritage Site and almost everything of any age in it is listed, so consent is the first conversation rather than the last. Ring and we will tell you what we usually find in buildings around Royal Crescent and what yours is likely to need before anything is opened up.

It does more than anywhere else we work. Bath is Georgian ashlar and rubble stone behind it, almost universally listed, inside a World Heritage Site. That means the accepted repair is a narrow one: matching stone, lime mortar cut to the right joint width, sash windows repaired rather than replaced, and internal alterations that respect the plan form of the house. It is entirely possible to do good, modern, comfortable work in these buildings. It is not possible to do it quickly or without consent.

Bath is a World Heritage Site, so listed building consent, conservation area control and the World Heritage setting all bear on the same application, and the accepted answer on materials and detailing is narrower than anywhere else we work. Whether your particular building needs consent depends on what it is, whether it is listed, and whether it sits in a conservation area or a National Landscape, and all three get checked at the first visit rather than assumed. Where consent is needed, the application, the heritage justification and the conservation officer conversation are handled as part of the job.

No. Bath is inside the area we cover, so travel is in the fixed fee rather than added to it. The fee is agreed at the outset and does not climb with the value of the build, which is the whole point of doing it that way.

Getting out to look at a building in Bath and talk it through is usually a matter of days. Starting on site is a different question, because a project of any size needs design, consent and trades booked in the right order, and that is measured in months rather than weeks. We would far rather give you a real date than a hopeful one, so ring and we will tell you honestly where the next slot is.

A network of masons, carpenters, framers, lime plasterers, roofers, leadworkers, electricians and plumbers built up across the South West over more than thirty five years, engaged directly at trade prices rather than bought through a main contractor. On heritage work in Bath that network is most of the value, because the specialists who can do it properly are not people you find at short notice.