Your build, week by week

The Build Plan

When planning permission is granted, BrightNest sends the homeowner this plan. It sets out what happens in each month of the build and which trade they need to line up next. The trades worth having are booked months ahead, so knowing the order is the difference between a build that runs and a build that waits.

Ask about your slot See pricing

Week1

Getting it booked

Permission has just been granted. Nothing is on site yet, but the trades worth having are booked months ahead — this is the month to secure them.

What happens this month

Appoint your main contractor and agree a start date.
Serve party wall notices on your neighbours.
Confirm structural drawings and building control.
Get your plumber, electrician and plasterer pencilled in now.

Extension builder

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Scaffolder

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Groundworks & drainage

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Plumber

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Electrician

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Plasterer

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade

Week4

Structure up, decisions due

Groundworks and structure are underway. What goes inside can no longer wait, because glazing and units run eight to twelve weeks from order.

What happens this month

Sign off kitchen and bathroom layouts.
Order glazing and external doors.
Confirm the roof specification.
Order anything else with a long lead time.

Bathroom fitter

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Kitchen designer & fitter

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Window & door fitter

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Roofer

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Gas & heating engineer

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Underfloor heating

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade

Week8

Watertight, first fix done

The shell is closed in and first fix is complete. This is the month the house stops being a building site and starts being a home.

What happens this month

Choose flooring and confirm the delivery date.
Book decorators before they disappear.
Agree tiling layouts.
Confirm second-fix joinery and lighting.

Flooring specialist

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Painter & decorator

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Carpenter & joinery

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Tiler

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Lighting & smart home

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Blinds, curtains & shutters

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade

Week12

Finished, and filthy

The work is done and the dust has settled everywhere. This month is about getting your home back.

What happens this month

Walk the snagging list with your builder.
Book the post-build deep clean.
Get the garden and remaining waste cleared.
Leave reviews for the trades who did well by you.

Post-build deep clean

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Window cleaning

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Landscaping & garden design

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Waste clearance & skip hire

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Carpet & upholstery cleaning

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade
Removals & storage

Your firm here

SE24 · one firm per trade

After the build

Two more letters, once the work is done

The plan does not end when the scaffold comes down. Two letters follow, and every partner firm is named in both.

The completion letter

Sent to the homeowner when the project finishes. It congratulates them on the house and asks them to review each trade they used, by name, with a direct link for each one. Reviews are what wins the next job on the street, and most homeowners simply never get round to it unless they are asked.
The street letter

Sent to the rest of the road once the work is complete, letting neighbours know which firms did the job just down the street. On a road where one extension goes up, three usually follow. Every firm in the plan is named.

Partner firms pay to appear in The Build Plan. We list one firm per trade per postcode district, and only firms we have vetted and would use ourselves.

One trade, one district, one hundred pounds a month

If your trade is still open in your patch, it is open to the first firm that asks. We list one firm per trade per postcode district, and we do not run auctions.

Ask about your slot See pricing