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MO TeamConstruction

Construction

Building contractors in London for construction and building works

Groundworks, structure, envelope and general building, run as a main contract with a construction phase plan, a named site manager and a fixed price against a written specification.

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  • Fixed-price contract
  • Principal contractor, CDM 2015
  • In-house crew
  • Design and build

Updated September 2026

Building contractors in London take on construction and building works that fall outside a single trade: groundworks, drainage, structural alterations, outbuildings and garden rooms, rendering and external envelope repair, and general building. MO Team runs these as principal contractor under CDM 2015, with its own crew, one fixed price and a written handover pack.

What we take on as main contractor

Not every job is a named product. A great deal of construction work in London is a mixed scope: a garden room with power and drainage at the bottom of a terrace garden; a driveway, retaining wall and new drainage run; failed render taken off a rear elevation and replaced; a small new-build infill on a tight plot. What these share is that no single trade owns them and they all need somebody to hold the programme, the safety file and the building control relationship.

We run them the same way each time. A site visit and survey, then drawings and any structural design, then a specification priced line by line, then construction with one site manager and a weekly report. Where a project involves more than one contractor, we act as principal contractor and write the construction phase plan before anyone starts. The London specifics are mostly about access and neighbours: skip permits and suspended bays are issued by the borough, low traffic neighbourhood restrictions shape delivery routes and times, scaffold on a public footway needs a licence, and noisy works are limited to the hours each borough sets. New structures also play by different planning rules from work on the house. A detached outbuilding has its own permitted development limits on height, position and use, and those are removed in conservation areas and by Article 4 directions.

Using one crew matters most on a mixed scope, because that is where jobs usually fail. The groundworker, the bricklayer, the carpenter and the renderer are on the same programme and answer to the same manager, so the sequence holds and the responsibility does not move around when something is found. If we cannot do part of the work well, we say so before pricing rather than subcontracting it quietly. It also means one insurance position and one construction phase plan covering the whole site, rather than a set of separate trades each covering only their own part of it.

What a building works contract includes

Scope varies by project. These are the elements a general building contract with us usually contains.

  • Site survey and construction feasibility

    Levels, ground conditions, drainage, access and the planning position for the address before anything is priced.

  • Groundworks and drainage

    Excavation, foundations, slabs, retaining structures, soakaways and connections to the existing drainage.

  • Structural work

    Steel and timber structure, openings, lintels and load transfer, with an engineer's calculations and building control inspection.

  • Masonry, carpentry and roofing

    Brick and blockwork, timber frames, roof structure and coverings, and weatherproofing details.

  • Rendering and external repair

    Failed render stripped and replaced, substrate repaired, and a system specified for the wall it is going on rather than the price.

  • Outbuildings and garden rooms

    Insulated structures with power, data, heating and drainage, built to the permitted development limits that apply to the plot.

  • Site management and CDM compliance

    Principal contractor duties, construction phase plan, welfare, protection, and a weekly report to you.

  • Building control and handover

    Application, stage inspections, completion certificate, test certificates and warranties as one pack.

What is in the price

We handle

  • Survey, drawings and structural design
  • Building control application and stage inspections
  • Principal contractor duties and the construction phase plan
  • Groundworks, drainage, structure and envelope
  • Skip permits, scaffold licences and site protection
  • Labour, plant, materials and licensed waste removal
  • Programme management with a named site manager
  • Certificates, warranties and the handover pack

You provide

  • Access to the site and a place to put plant and materials
  • Any site information, drawings, deeds or reports you already hold
  • Decisions on specification at the points the programme sets
  • Neighbour access agreements where the work needs them
  • A contingency alongside the contract sum for ground conditions
  • Confirmation of boundaries and any rights of way or easements affecting the site

Not included

  • Planning, building control and licence fees, paid to the authority
  • Community Infrastructure Levy where the borough charges it
  • Party wall surveyor fees where the Act applies
  • Statutory undertaker charges for new or diverted services
  • Contaminated ground remediation, priced separately once tested
  • Landscaping and planting beyond reinstating the working area

How it runs

  1. 01

    Site visit and feasibility

    We walk the site, take levels where they matter, look at ground and drainage, and confirm the planning position. Where a project is not right for us, we say so at this point rather than pricing it.

    You receive
    A feasibility note and a budget range
  2. 02

    Design, engineering and approvals

    Drawings and structural calculations, then the planning and building control applications. Where you already have an architect, we price and build to their drawings instead.

    You receive
    Drawings, calculations and submitted applications
  3. 03

    Specification and fixed price

    A written specification naming materials and standards, priced line by line, with exclusions and provisional sums stated. Nothing is ordered and no date committed until you accept it.

    You receive
    A fixed-price contract and a programme
  4. 04

    Mobilisation and construction

    Construction phase plan issued, welfare and protection set up, permits and licences in place, then the work in the agreed sequence with a weekly report and photographs.

    You receive
    Weekly reports, inspection records and priced variations before they are built
  5. 05

    Completion and handover

    Testing and commissioning, building control sign-off, a joint snagging walk, and the paperwork assembled as one pack rather than chased afterwards.

    You receive
    Completion certificate, test certificates, warranties and as-built information

How long building works take

On-site duration once approvals are in place. Ground conditions and access are the two factors that move these figures most.

ProjectTypical durationNotes
Garden room, no plumbing4–6 weeksBase, structure, insulation and power
Serviced outbuilding with a WC6–10 weeksAdds drainage and a building control application
New dwelling9–14 monthsExcludes the planning period in front of it

How the work is controlled

  • CDM 2015 and the principal contractor

    Where more than one contractor is involved, the client must appoint a principal contractor and there must be a written construction phase plan before work starts. We take that role, and the plan is issued to you rather than kept in a van.

    HSE: CDM 2015 ↗

  • Building Regulations and inspection

    Foundations, drainage, structure, insulation, ventilation and fire safety are inspected at set stages by your local authority building control team or a registered building control approver, and the completion certificate is issued at the end.

    LABC ↗

  • Permitted development for outbuildings

    A detached outbuilding has its own limits on height, position relative to boundaries, proportion of garden covered and use. Sleeping accommodation is excluded. The rights are reduced in conservation areas and can be removed by an Article 4 direction.

    Planning Portal ↗

  • Community Infrastructure Levy

    New floorspace can attract a levy charged by the borough and, in London, by the Mayor. Extensions below the threshold are generally exempt, and self-build relief must be claimed before work starts rather than afterwards.

    Community Infrastructure Levy ↗

  • Asbestos and existing structures

    Any building or refit predating 2000 may contain asbestos in render, sheeting, boards or floor tiles. A survey precedes demolition or strip-out, and licensed material is removed by a licensed contractor before general works begin.

    HSE: managing asbestos ↗

Common questions

Straight answers.

Not answered here?

Tell us what you are planning. We read every enquiry ourselves and reply within one working day.

Ask us directly

Ask for three things before price. A written specification naming materials and standards, so you can compare like with like. Evidence of insurance and of who will act as principal contractor under CDM 2015. And the name of the person who will be on site, and how often. A quotation that is one page and one number is not cheaper; it is less defined.

Have a project that does not fit a category?

Describe the site and what you want built. We will tell you whether it suits us and what it is likely to involve.

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