Design and build questions.

Design and build means one company handles both the design and the construction of your project. With us, the drawings, planning and building warrant are done by our sister company, CWJ Architectural Design Services, and the build is done by Cutwood Joinery & Construction.

Yes. If you already have approved drawings and a building warrant, we can price and build from those.

The design work is carried out by CWJ Architectural Design Services, which sets out its own fees before any work starts.

It does not have to be. Because the build cost is considered while the project is being designed, you are less likely to end up with drawings for something that costs more than you planned.

Most of the work we do: house extensions, loft conversions, garage conversions, home renovations, new builds and self builds. Anything that needs drawings and a building warrant benefits from having the design and the build handled together.

Yes. CWJ Architectural Design Services prepares and submits the planning application where one is needed and the building warrant application. We then deal with the council on your behalf all the way to the completion certificate.

Our own quantity surveyors price it from the drawings. The main price covers the construction cost to build to the approved building warrant. Finishing items such as the kitchen, flooring and decoration are listed separately, and anything not included is written down before you sign.

Yes. Changes are easiest and cheapest while the project is still on paper. Because the design team and our quantity surveyors work together, you can see how a change affects the build before anything is fixed.

Every project is different. As a guide, a small extension usually takes around 8 weeks on site, a loft conversion 5 to 7 weeks, and new builds or two storey extensions 12 to 16 weeks. Design, planning and the warrant come first, and how long they take depends on the project and the council.

We are. You have one contract and one company answering for the work, and our own team builds it. There is no architect and builder pointing at each other.

We look at the house, talk through what you want and how you want to use the space, and explain plainly what is involved. If design and build suits the project, we explain the next steps.

Not always. Many extensions need a building warrant but not planning permission. CWJ Architectural Design Services checks what your project needs at the start.

Yes. You see the drawings, and 3D visuals where they help, before the build price is agreed.

Our own project manager runs the programme, the ordering and the trades, and keeps you updated. You hear from us before you have to ask.

Yes. We take on fit-outs for restaurants, cafes, bars and pavilions, and CWJ Architectural Design Services can prepare the drawings and warrant where they are needed.

Yes. We take on design and build projects across Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow and Lanarkshire, and larger projects further afield.