Design and Build in Kingston upon Hull

Hull City Council. The city is a unitary authority in its own right, so anything inside the city boundary goes to Hull rather than to East Riding of Yorkshire Council. That distinction catches people out on the western edge of the city, where the boundary and the postal address do not always agree.

It means the architect who designs your project also oversees the build. There is no point where the drawings are handed to a separate contractor and reinterpreted, so what is designed is exactly what gets built. In the UK that model is still uncommon, which is why most people have only experienced the split version.

The build quoted initially is what we stick to. The reason it holds is sequence: every decision that carries money is made and drawn before a trade is asked for a number, so there is nothing left to find. Where something truly cannot be known until a floor comes up, we say so at the start and give you the range instead of pretending it does not exist.

Yes, and they need a different approach from later housing. Solid walls, shallow rear yards and shared party structures all shape what is sensible, and the party wall notices have to be served properly rather than as an afterthought. The design has to be drawn around the house that is actually there, which is why we measure it rather than working from deeds.

It depends on the flood zone the property sits in, and a good part of Hull is low-lying enough for that to be a live question. We check it at survey stage. Where an assessment is needed it is a normal part of the submission, but it can influence floor levels, so it is better known early than late.

Yes, and they are separate approvals with different tests. Planning looks at land use and appearance, building regulations look at structure, fire, insulation and drainage. Because we run both, you are never relaying a technical question between two parties who have never spoken to each other.

For most extensions, no. The new structure is largely completed before the existing house is opened into it, so the genuinely disruptive stretch is measured in days. Whole house remodelling, or anything that takes out the only bathroom or the only staircase, is a different conversation and we would raise it at the brief stage.

Yes. City centre offices, shop units, restaurants and mixed-use conversions are regular work for the practice. The technical content is heavier than a domestic job, because escape routes, compartmentation and accessibility for the intended use have to be settled before the layout is fixed, and the programme is normally built around the date the space has to open.

Then take the design and approvals from us and stop there. We will produce a technical package complete enough for your own builder to price properly, which is a good deal more than most planning drawings give him. Design and build is the recommendation, not a requirement.

The design and approvals stage usually runs a few months, largely governed by the eight week determination period for a householder application. Construction depends on scale, from weeks for a single storey extension to months for a two storey scheme or a full remodel. You get a programme with the design rather than an estimate at the first meeting.

Site safety duties are set by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, and they attach to whoever is designing and whoever is building. On a domestic project those duties do not sit with the homeowner. Because this practice occupies both roles at once, there is no handover of responsibility and nothing for two firms to disagree about afterwards.

A handover pack rather than a departing van. Building control sign-off, the electrical certification, commissioning records for anything that was installed and the manufacturer warranties are gathered as the job runs and given to you together. Years later that file is what a conveyancing solicitor will want to see.