Most people encountering a building project for the first time are surprised by how much happens before anyone digs a hole. The visible part of construction — walls going up, a roof going on — is a relatively short window inside a much longer process of appraisal, consent, technical design and procurement.
Bardsley Construction has been delivering residential schemes since 1964. The sequence below is the one we follow on every site, from individual homes to masterplanned communities across the North West.
Step 1
Land appraisal and feasibility
Before a single drawing is produced, the site is tested. We review ground conditions, access, drainage, ecology, contamination history and local planning policy, then model what can realistically be built and at what cost. An honest appraisal at this stage prevents expensive surprises later — and occasionally tells a client that a site is not the right one.
Step 2
Design and planning permission
Concept drawings develop into a full planning application: site layout, elevations, materials, landscaping and supporting reports. Determination on a householder application typically takes around eight weeks in England; larger residential schemes commonly take several months and often involve pre-application discussions with the local authority.
Step 3
Building Regulations and technical design
Planning permission covers what a building looks like and where it sits. Building Regulations cover how it performs — structure, fire safety, insulation, ventilation, drainage and accessibility. Technical drawings, structural calculations and energy assessments are prepared and approved before work starts on site.
Step 4
Procurement and programme
Costs are firmed up, trades and materials are procured, and the build is sequenced into a programme. On a design-and-build contract this all sits with one contractor, which is why single-point responsibility usually gives clients a tighter grip on both cost and timescale.
Step 5
Site set-up and groundworks
Welfare facilities, hoardings, site access and safety controls go in first. Then the ground is stripped, levels are formed, any remediation is carried out and foundations are laid — strip, trench-fill, raft or piled, depending on what the ground investigation found. Drainage runs and service ducts are installed at the same time.
Step 6
Superstructure
The building goes up: floor slabs, structural frame or blockwork, external walls, upper floors and the roof structure. This is the most visible phase and the one clients tend to remember, but it is only possible at pace because of the four stages that came before it.
Step 7
Weathertight shell
Roof coverings, windows, external doors and the external wall build-up are completed so the building is watertight. Reaching weathertight is a key milestone — internal trades can now work regardless of the British weather, which protects the programme through winter.
Step 8
First fix
With the shell closed, electrical cabling, pipework, drainage, ventilation ducting and data are run within floors, walls and ceilings, and internal partitions and insulation are formed. Everything installed at first fix is about to be covered up, so inspection discipline here is what determines quality years later.
Step 9
Second fix and finishes
Plastering, joinery, kitchens, bathrooms, sockets and switches, heating, flooring, decoration and external works. Commissioning follows: heating and ventilation systems are balanced and tested, and airtightness and performance testing is carried out to evidence compliance.
Step 10
Handover and aftercare
Snagging is completed, statutory certificates and warranties are collated, and the client receives a full handover pack with operating and maintenance information. A defects period follows, during which the contractor remains responsible for putting right anything that emerges. On residential developments we treat aftercare as part of the build, not an afterthought.
How long does it take?
Timescales vary widely with scale, ground conditions and the planning route, so treat any single figure with suspicion. As a rough shape: appraisal and design commonly run for several months, planning determination adds weeks to months, and the build itself is measured in months for a single home and in phases across years for a large development.
The two stages that most often move a completion date are planning determination and groundworks — the first because it sits with the local authority, the second because it is where unknown ground conditions surface. Both are best managed by investing properly in stage one.
Why design-and-build simplifies it
Under a traditional contract, design and construction sit with different parties, and the gap between them is where cost and programme risk lives. Under design-and-build, one contractor carries both — so there is a single party accountable for the drawings, the programme and the finished building. It is how we deliver the majority of our residential work.
Planning a residential scheme?
We work with landowners, housebuilders and local authorities from first appraisal through to handover. Tell us about the site and we'll tell you honestly what's possible.
Talk to our team