How to start a project, and what we need from you

The clearer the brief, the faster and firmer the fee. Most of what slows a project down is a question we could have answered on the first call, so tell us the site, the parish and what you want to build or check, and we will walk you through the rest.

For a design. Your architect's drawings if you have them, the site and its parish, and what it is for. We give you a fee scale in writing on the value of the works, then council-ready structural or civil drawings, signed and stamped.

For an assessment or a certificate. The address and exactly what a bank, an insurer or a buyer is asking for. We book a site inspection, usually within days, and issue a signed, stamped report in the form they need.

For the ground. The site and what you intend to put on it. We set out the boreholes, subcontract the drilling to a named contractor, and hand you a foundation recommendation you can design against.

If something has gone wrong. Photographs and the address, and — if anyone could be at risk — a phone call before an email. We inspect urgently and tell you plainly whether it is dangerous now and what it needs.