Services

Bathroom refits and wet rooms

A full refit means stripping out the old suite, taking away the waste, altering the plumbing where the new layout needs it, tiling the walls and floor, then plastering and decorating so the room is finished rather than merely fitted.

Most of the flats we work in are tenement or four-in-a-block, which usually means carrying everything up a common stair and protecting it on the way. We allow for that when we price rather than treating it as an extra later.

Wet rooms need the floor formed and tanked properly. It is the part nobody sees and the only part that causes trouble if it is rushed.

Kitchen fitting

We fit kitchens you have bought yourself, and we supply and fit where you would rather not deal with the ordering. Either way the work is the same: strip out, alter the services, fit the units and worktops, then tiling, flooring and decoration.

Older Edinburgh properties rarely have square walls or level floors, so units usually need scribing and packing. It is slower than a new build kitchen and we say so at the quoting stage.

Tenement repairs

Stonework and repointing, common roof work, chimney heads, gutters and downpipes. Much of this is shared work, which means the decision is not yours alone and the timescale depends on the other owners or the factor.

We are used to quoting work that has to go to a group of owners before anyone can accept it, and to holding a price while that happens.

Where the building is listed or in a conservation area, materials and method have to match. We have done consent work before and will tell you early if a job needs it.

Slate repairs, re-slating and flat roofs

Individual slipped slates through to stripping and re-slating a whole slope. On traditional roofs we use reclaimed Scotch slate where the rest of the roof calls for it, so a repaired slope does not stand out from the street.

Lead flashings and rainwater goods are usually renewed at the same time. Leaving old flashings under new slate is a false economy that brings you back inside two winters.

We also replace flat roofs, and handle gutters, downpipes and the drainage they run into.

Single-storey extensions and garden rooms

Groundworks and foundations, the slab, the structure, the roof, then first and second fix, plastering and making good. We build to match the existing house, including slating to match where the roof is visible.

Building warrants are excluded from our quotations unless we state otherwise, but we handle the process and the inspections. Rear lane access, common ground and neighbouring boundaries all affect how a job runs, so we look at those before pricing rather than after.

Garage conversions

Converting an integral or attached garage into a home office, a bedroom or a utility room. The floor, walls and ceiling are insulated to current standards, the garage door is replaced with an insulated wall and a window, and the render is made to match the rest of the house.

Then electrics: a spur from the consumer unit, sockets, lighting, and underfloor heating if you want the room usable in January. Many conversions do not need a building warrant, but that depends on the property and we confirm it with the council before quoting.

Loft conversions, Velux and dormer

Velux conversions where the existing roof has the height, and dormers where it does not. Traditional Edinburgh roofs vary enormously in what they will take, so the first visit is about whether the conversion you have in mind is possible at all.

Access and stair position usually decide the design more than the roof does. We would rather tell you that early than draw something that cannot be built.

Driveways, paving and external drainage

Breaking out old concrete, excavating, laying a type one sub-base and block paving. Done properly the sub-base is most of the work and most of the cost, which is why a cheap driveway sinks.

Drainage is usually the reason people call. Standing water at a garage door or against a wall means the fall is wrong or there is nowhere for the water to go. Linear drainage channels, soakaways and the connection are part of the same job, not an afterthought.

Joinery and general maintenance

Doors, floors and built-in storage, and the smaller repair work that keeps an older property right. We also carry out insurance repair work.

Two of the nine are joiners, so this is not subcontracted.

Every job is quoted individually after a visit. We do not publish price lists or indicative ranges, because the same job costs different amounts in different properties and a published figure would mislead more often than it helped.

What you get instead is a written quotation with the work broken into its parts, so you can see what each element costs and take out anything you would rather do yourself.

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