Resources and Advice

Construction and Site Management

Handford Construction manages the site providing all labour, materials & equipment ensuring a high quality of service. It is important to us that all health and safety is adhered to by all our personnel, sub-contractors and clients.

Listed Building Consent

Listed Building consent is needed when dealing with listed buildings. The plans must be approved before the building works commence by planners or English Heritage. At this point, they may approve, refuse or advise on any changes needed so the plans can be approved. This ensures the building keeps its historical and architectural features. All parts of the listed building can be affected including colour of paint, fixtures & fittings, interior & exterior of the buildings.

Further Listed Building Information

A good link to find if a building is listed is by viewing www.heritage-gateway.org.uk if you cannot find your property on this website another route is by contacting your Local Council Planning Department, Local Reference Libraries or County Council Offices where lists/details of listed buildings are held

For further assistance visit: www.english-heritage.org.uk

Flood Damage

Is your property at risk from flooding? An easy way to find out if your property is at risk of flooding is to know if you live near to rivers or streams. If you have a stream at the bottom of your garden, this may make your home at a higher risk of flood damage.

This was the case with our Fleet projects; a stream running along the bottom of the gardens collapsed due to the impact of the flood and higher water levels, causing the river banks to collapse.

What to Do in the Event of a Flood?

One of the first things you should do in a flood is to remove your belongings to a higher level or upstairs and try prevent the water from entering your property. Then contact your insurers to see if you are insured and what to do next. Do you contact builders yourself for prices or do the insurers organise the quotations? In the case of the Fleet riverbank reconstruction (as a result of flooding), the homeowners contacted us to price for the works, then their insurer approved our price. Your insurer should be able to advise you on what to do next.

If you are concerned about your property's risk of flooding, contacting a qualified specialist to assess your property is a good way of preventing damage to your home. Surveyors and structural engineers can provide good advice on what you can do. We are happy to provide this service too.

Further Information - Flood Damage Construction & Refurbishment Projects The Environment Agency may need to be involved in the project. This is to ensure that the environment is protected and sustained to the best ability without damaging the wildlife and species, e.g. preventing damage to habitats. We endeavour to cause the least disruption to the environment in terms of people and wildlife. We try to undertake projects without causing noise and pollution.

A good website to look at: www.environment-agency.gov.uk this will help you find out if your home is at risk of flooding and helpful information is provided to prevent flooding.

Steps To "Design and Build"

1. Client contact’s Handford Construction Limited
2. We would then visit the project, domestic, commercial, industrial, retail or other with our qualified engineer/architect. Measurements and any other information are taken, for the plans.
3. Plans are drawn up by our qualified engineer/architect.
4. Drawings are presented to our client, ensuring the client is happy with the proposed plans.
5. Handford Construction price the project realistically and present to the client.
6. Handford Construction deal with all the building regulations & planning approvals.
7. Project commences meeting all appropriate regulations.
8. Materials are ordered for the project, keeping the wastage to a minimum and re-use of materials where possible. This keeps the cost down for our clients and helps the environment.
9. Correct labour is assigned to the project, we use sub-contractors, some have worked for us for more than 30 years. This ensures a good relationship with our sub-contractors, they know how we work and we know how they work.
10. Contract completion with a very satisfied client.

Choosing the Right Builder

1. References

If the builder cannot give you a reference probably best not to use them, find a contractor that will provide a reference. You have to ask yourself why they don’t want to supply a reference, what have they got to hide! We provide our clients with full references if required and from our testimonials, you can see how competent our company is within all areas of the building industry.

2. Trustworthy Builders

You need to know the people who are working in your home or business. Find a trustworthy builder who has employed the same workforce for many years, this proves the builder has a good relationship with its workforce, reliable and professional. We have used our sub-contractors for many years, some even 20 years or more. A recommended builder is a good way of knowing how they work, you know they can deliver a good quality service and competent in all building projects.

3. Contact Details

Always make sure you have the builder’s name, address and contact telephone numbers, this enables you to be able to contact your builder at all times. Be wary of those who only use a mobile number.

4. Payment After Invoice

Payment should only be made after an invoice has been received, so you can evaluate the work which has been completed, check it has been achieved to a high standard. If you are unclear of the invoice ask for a breakdown before payment. There is no reason why a builder should ask for payment up front, if they are a reputable business, like ourselves having long-standing relationships and credit agreements with our suppliers, providing credit for our materials etc.

5. Financially Sound

If the builder is a Limited company you can gain their financial accounts via Companies House website, a small fee is charged but it’s better to spend a couple of pounds and feel more confident in your builder than thousands and the company are not financially secure.

Extra Information

We provide all services in the construction industry including design & build, new works, extensions, renovations, refurbishments and alterations.

Both our Public & Employers Liability Insurances are £10,000,000. These insurances are greater than many other construction firms and this gives our Clients’ reassurance.

We have policies for Health & Safety, Environmental, Waste Management and Equal Opportunities.