Design and buildin Ross-on-Wye,priced from day one.
Know what your project will cost and how likely planning approval is before you commit, then have one contractor take it from first sketch to finished building.
Free survey on properties you own
25 years
Trade experience, three generations of builders
CHAS accredited
Independently vetted for health and safety
£10M insured
Public and employers' liability
No upfront deposit
Invoiced fortnightly for work completed
Warranty included
10 years on new builds, 1 year on other work
Overview
Design & Build: what's involved and who it's for
What it is
Our design and build package covers the full journey: design, planning permission, conservation work and construction. It includes an assessment of how likely planning approval is, and the whole package is priced from the outset.
Who it's for
Design and build suits anyone starting from an idea rather than approved drawings: new builds, barn conversions, extensions and commercial buildings, especially on sensitive or rural sites in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and South Wales.
When you need it
The best time to engage a design and build contractor is before drawings are produced, so design decisions reflect real build costs and planning risks.
Why a professional matters
When designers and builders work separately, many projects get approval for something that's too expensive to build. A single team pricing from the start avoids that, and one contract means one party responsible.
Get it right first time
What goes wrong when it's done badly
Going it alone with separate designers and builders often means paying for drawings, waiting months for planning, and then finding quotes are far over budget. Re-designing costs more time and money.
Risks and rising costs
- Approved designs that can't be built within budget.
- Planning refusals after spending heavily on drawings.
- Conservation requirements discovered late.
- Disputes between designer and builder over responsibility.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Designing before understanding costs.
- Not assessing planning likelihood early.
- Ignoring conservation constraints on older or rural buildings.
- Splitting responsibility between unconnected parties.
Our process
How your design & build project runs
- Step 1
Free site survey
We visit and discuss your goals. Free if you own the property; £250 + VAT pre-purchase, refunded if you book.
- Step 2
Approval likelihood assessment
We assess how likely planning approval is before major spending.
- Step 3
Design and pricing
Designs are developed alongside costs, and the package is priced from the start.
- Step 4
Planning and conservation
We manage the planning application and any conservation work required.
- Step 5
Build and handover
Our own team builds it. 10-year warranty on new build houses, 1 year on other work.
Why BUILT
What you get with us
Certainty early
Costs and approval likelihood known before you commit.
One responsible party
Design, planning and build under one contractor.
Conservation handled
Conservation work is included in the package.
No upfront deposit
Fortnightly invoicing by work completed during construction.
Experience
25 years and three generations in the building trade.
Warranty
10 years on new builds, 1 year on other work.
In detail
Design & Build explained
Design and build applies across most types of project.
Residential design and build
New builds, barn conversions and extensions where you want one team to take the project from concept to completion.
Commercial design and build
Steel-frame buildings, offices, units and food facilities designed around your operation and priced as one package.
Planning permission
Planning applications are prepared and managed as part of the package, with likelihood of approval assessed at the outset.
Conservation areas and listed buildings
Older and rural buildings often need conservation consideration. Conservation work is included so the design respects the building and the planning authority's requirements.
Why upfront pricing matters
Pricing as the design develops means you can make informed choices about size, materials and specification, instead of discovering cost after approval.
Pre-purchase advice
Design and build often starts before a property or plot is bought. Our pre-purchase estimate costs £250 + VAT and gives you a realistic view of what a project is likely to involve before you commit to buying. If you go ahead and book the work with BUILT, the fee is refunded in full on your first invoice.
How the design develops
Rather than producing a finished design and then pricing it, design and build develops the two together. Early layouts are tested against cost and planning risk, materials are chosen with build cost and planning conditions in mind, and the final design is one you know you can afford to build. That avoids the expensive loop of redesigning after quotes come back too high.
One contract, one responsibility
With traditional procurement, gaps between the designer's drawings and the builder's interpretation can lead to disputes about who pays for what. With design and build, one party is responsible for both. If something on the drawings doesn't work on site, it's our job to solve it, not yours.
Who design and build suits
It's particularly well suited to clients without the time or experience to manage designers, planners and builders separately: busy families, first-time self-builders, landowners converting agricultural buildings, and businesses that need a facility delivered without diverting management time.
Paying during construction
Once the build starts, the same payment terms apply as all our work: no upfront deposit and fortnightly invoices based on an agreed percentage of completed work per item. New build houses carry a 10-year warranty, and other work carries a 1-year warranty.
Starting the conversation
You don't need drawings to get started. Tell us what you want to achieve, where the site is and roughly what you'd like to spend. From there we'll arrange a survey, give you our honest view of what's achievable and what's likely to get approval, and price the package so you can decide with confidence.
Sites that need extra care
Rural plots, conservation areas, listed or curtilage-listed buildings and sites near neighbours all carry extra planning risk. These are exactly the projects where an early, honest assessment of approval likelihood saves the most money, and where Lee's appetite for difficult, one-off projects comes into its own.
Design and build for businesses
For commercial clients, design and build means one contract from concept to a working building. That frees your management team to run the business while we handle design, planning, construction and fit-out of steel-frame buildings, offices, units or food-industry facilities.
Working with BUILT
What to expect from start to finish
A survey before any price
Every project starts with a visit. On properties you already own, the site survey is free. If you're still buying, our pre-purchase estimate costs £250 + VAT and is refunded in full on your first invoice if you book the work with us. Either way, you get a clear view of what's involved before committing.
Paying only for progress
We don't ask for an upfront deposit. Instead, work is invoiced fortnightly based on an agreed percentage of completed work per item. You can see exactly what you're paying for on every invoice, and your money stays with you until the work is done.
One team, one point of contact
BUILT has 25 tradespeople on the tools and 4 office staff, working from our own units and offices at Linton Barns, Ross-on-Wye. Keeping trades in-house means fewer handovers, fewer gaps in the programme, and one company accountable for the result.
Protection once we've finished
New build houses carry a 10-year warranty; extensions, conversions and all other work carry a 1-year warranty. We're CHAS accredited and hold £10M combined public and employers' liability insurance throughout the build.
FAQs
Design & Build questions, answered
Related services
Design & Build near you
Based at Linton Barns, Ross-on-Wye, we work across Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and South Wales, including:
Find out what your project will cost.
Free site survey on properties you own. No upfront deposit. CHAS accredited and £10M insured.