Only as many projects as we can run properly
So larger projects usually have a dedicated site manager, and you'll have a direct mobile number for the person running your build.
How it works
Seven stages,
Seven stages,
one appointment
Every stage below sits with us, including the disciplines you would normally have to appoint separately. You are never asked to hire anyone else, chase anyone else, or work out whose responsibility something was.
- ✓Our architect works as part of the Stone & Fell team, involved in your project from the first visit right through to handover, not brought in for a single stage.
- ✓Our architect is registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB).
- ✓You sign one contract with us, covering both design and build.
- ✓We hire, manage and pay every engineer and tradesperson, so you never need a separate contract with them.
- ✓Older buildings can hide surprises, such as rot, weak foundations or failing drainage. If we uncover something mid-build, we'll explain it straight away, set out the options and agree any extra cost with you before work continues. We'll always do everything we can to keep your timescale and budget on track.
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- Your first visit is free, with no obligation.
- It usually lasts around two hours. Afterwards, we send you a written summary covering what's possible, any planning risks and a rough idea of cost.
- Evening and weekend visits are available.
- We typically reply to every enquiry within two working days to arrange a call or visit, and we never follow up with pushy sales calls.
- We'll tell you honestly if we're not the right fit. If we don't think we can deliver your project the way you want it, or within your timescale, we'd rather recommend another firm who can.
Visits are subject to availability. We normally cover Yorkshire and Cumbria, and can arrange visits further afield.
No charge · No obligation Book a free first visit -
- Measured survey: We survey your property in detail, using 3D laser scanning where it adds value, so every drawing starts from accurate dimensions.
- Design drawings and 3D visualisations: We develop your design from first concept to detailed drawings, with 3D visualisations so you can picture the finished spaces before work starts.
- We cost your design using real prices from our own trades, not a rough rate per square metre.
- You keep the drawings, and you're free to take them to another builder.
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We prepare and manage the applications your project needs:
- Householder planning applications (extensions and alterations)
- Full planning applications (new homes)
- Listed building consent
- Barn conversions, through Class Q prior approval where eligible, or full planning permission
- Applications in the Lake District National Park, where stricter design rules apply
- Pre-application advice from the planning authority
- Building regulations approval
- Party wall notices
Our fees for preparing and managing applications, and the authority's own application fees, are quoted separately.
National Park experience Book a free first visit -
- We produce the building regulations drawings and bring in the structural engineer.
- You get a fixed price before the build starts.
- Some work can't be fully priced until the building is opened up, such as hidden timbers, foundations or drainage. Where that's the case, we show it in your quote as a provisional sum, so you can see it from the start.
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- We source quality materials at competitive prices through long-standing supplier relationships.
- We order long-lead items such as windows, stone and slate during the design stage, so the build isn't held up.
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- We only take on as many projects as we can run properly, so larger projects usually have a dedicated site manager.
- You'll have a direct mobile number for the person running your build.
- With each stage invoice, you get a progress update with photos, spend against budget and what's coming next.
- We have our own core trades, plus trusted specialists for the rest.
- Our architect visits the site regularly during the build.
- You pay in stages, on a schedule agreed before work starts.
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- After handover, we come back and put right any defects that appear during the agreed rectification period: typically three months, and up to six on more complex projects.
- At handover, you receive the certificates relevant to your project, such as the building control completion certificate and electrical certificates. Our contracts follow standard JCT terms, which usually let you hold back a small retention until the end of the rectification period, as reassurance that any snags are put right.
Fees, in plain English
Why we charge
for design
Design takes weeks of qualified time: a measured survey, drawings, a cost plan, and conversations with the planners. A practice that gives all that away is either not really doing it, or is recovering it somewhere you cannot see, usually inside the build price.
Paying for it properly buys you something specific. If the honest answer is that your idea does not work, we can tell you, because we are not relying on winning the build to get paid. It also means nobody who turns up to your free consultation is under pressure to convert you, which changes that conversation entirely.
Your design fee is fixed and agreed in writing after your first visit, before any design work starts. Design fees usually start from £2,000, and if you go on to build with us, the full design fee comes off your build price.
The design fee
From £2,000
- ✓First consultation and site visit, free and with no obligation
- ✓Fixed and agreed in writing after your first visit, before any design work starts
- ✓Measured survey, design drawings and a real cost plan
- ✓The drawings are yours to keep, whoever builds them
- ✓Build with us and the full design fee comes off your build price
The fee is set once we have seen the property, because a barn in Langdale and a terrace in Kendal are not the same piece of work.
What if I do not go ahead with the build?
You keep the drawings and the cost plan, and you are free to take them to another builder. You will have paid for the design, which is what you commissioned.
What does the build itself cost?
Honestly, nobody can tell you that from a website, and be wary of anyone who implies otherwise. Age, access, ground conditions, listed status and how much of the existing structure survives all move the number substantially. What we can give you, free, is an informed range after a site visit.
How do payments work during the build?
You pay in stages against a fixed-price contract, on a schedule agreed before work starts. With each stage invoice, you get a progress update with photos, spend against budget and what's coming next.
Which areas do you cover?
We normally cover Yorkshire and Cumbria, and can arrange visits further afield. Visits are subject to availability.
Why us
Six things we
do differently
Working in a National Park teaches you patience. The standard is high and the shortcuts are visible for fifty years.
Our architect visits the site
Regularly, during the build, not just at the start. Drawings meet reality better when the person who drew them is standing in it.
We price the risk out loud
Some work can't be fully priced until the building is opened up. Where that's the case, we show it in your quote as a provisional sum, so you can see it from the start.
Progress you can see
With each stage invoice, you get a progress update with photos, spend against budget and what's coming next.
We'll tell you if we're not the right fit
If we don't think we can deliver your project the way you want it, or within your timescale, we'd rather recommend another firm who can.
Materials sourced properly
Even when it takes four months to find the right reclaimed slate. In a conservation area that patience is the difference between a repair and a replacement.
Ask us and we'll happily put you in touch with past clients.
Free first consultation
Ready to start?
Tell us about the building and we will arrange a visit. Your first visit is free, with no obligation.
- Your first visit is free, with no obligation
- It usually lasts around two hours
- Afterwards, we send you a written summary covering what's possible, any planning risks and a rough idea of cost
Prefer to email? Write to us at info@stoneandfell.co.uk.