07542 569 403 office@akjohnbuilders.co.uk
A K John Building & Refurbishment

OUR SERVICES

Groundworks and foundations in Oldham and Greater Manchester

Digging, footings, drainage and slabs. The part nobody sees that everything else sits on.

Call 07542 569 403 WhatsApp

Get a price for this job

Tell us what you want to do. No obligation either way.

Goes straight to Andrew John. No obligation, and your details are not passed on.

WHAT IT INVOLVES

What groundworks involve

Digging, footings, drainage and slabs. The part nobody sees that everything else sits on.

What you get

Digging, foundations, drainage and slabs. Everything that happens before a wall goes up.

The sequence

Setting out, trench dug to suit the ground, anything found in it dealt with, footing concreted, up to damp course, drainage run and connected.

What moves the price

The ground itself and what is buried in it. A mature tree close to a foundation on clay means going deeper, which is dig, muck away and concrete all at once.

Example image
Example image: the brickwork stage of a rear extension

IN THE QUOTE

What is in the quote

  • Setting out, and the dig itself
  • A stated assumed depth, and what happens to the price if the ground requires more
  • Concrete footings, and brickwork or blockwork up to damp course
  • Drainage runs, connections and inspection chambers
  • Muck away, which on a city plot is often the biggest single line in this part of a job
  • The floor build-up, whether that is a slab or beam and block

The one part of a job the customer genuinely cannot inspect, which is exactly why it is worth seeing it itemised.

Call 07542 569 403 WhatsApp

HOW WE DO IT

How a groundworks job actually goes

Four steps, start to finish, so you know what happens and when.

  1. 01

    Tell us what is going on top

    An extension, a garden room, a driveway or a slab. What it is carrying is what decides everything underneath it.

  2. 02

    What is in the ground

    Trial holes where they are needed, where the drains and services run, and whether there are trees close enough to matter. Clay near a mature tree changes the depth.

  3. 03

    A written quote with the muck away in it

    Dig, footings, concrete, drainage and the cost of getting the spoil off site, which on a terrace with no side access is a bigger number than people expect.

  4. 04

    Dug, inspected, poured

    Dug to depth, inspected where building control requires it, then poured and brought up to damp course in blockwork.

THREE WAYS TO START

Talk to us about your groundworks

Whichever is easiest. You get the same answer from all three.

Call 07542 569 403 Quickest if you want to talk it through Send a photo on WhatsApp A picture answers more than a paragraph

Or send it in a minute

Three boxes and a photo if you have one.

Goes straight to Andrew John. No obligation.

PAST WORK

Recent work

Finished jobs, photographed on site.

A finished media wall: backlit marble effect panel, wall hung television and a long floating unit
A finished media wall: backlit marble effect panel, wall hung television and a long floating unit
A level access walk in wet room with a black rainfall shower, grab rail and a tiled niche
A level access walk in wet room with a black rainfall shower, grab rail and a tiled niche
A finished bathroom with a close coupled WC, a two drawer vanity unit and black fittings
A finished bathroom with a close coupled WC, a two drawer vanity unit and black fittings
The finished arch with its ceiling light, looking through into the tiled bathroom
The finished arch with its ceiling light, looking through into the tiled bathroom
A living room ceiling with a recessed feature panel, ceiling rose and downlights
A living room ceiling with a recessed feature panel, ceiling rose and downlights
The media wall close up: the marble effect panel and the curved bulkhead with its spotlights
The media wall close up: the marble effect panel and the curved bulkhead with its spotlights

Call us for your groundworks quote

A written quote, itemised, with no obligation.

Call 07542 569 403 WhatsApp Get a quote

USEFUL TO KNOW

Groundworks questions

Why can you not tell me the exact cost before digging?

Because the depth is set by what the ground turns out to be, and nobody can see through a lawn. What an honest quote does is state the depth it has assumed, say clearly what the rate is if more is needed, and tell you before going deeper rather than after. A quote that gives one confident number for a hole nobody has dug is not more accurate, it is just less honest.

We have a large tree near where the extension will go. Does that matter?

It can matter a great deal, particularly on clay, because roots draw moisture out of the ground and the ground moves as a result. It usually means a deeper foundation and sometimes a different type. It is one of the first things looked at on the visit, precisely because it is expensive to discover later.

Where does all the soil go?

Off site, and it is priced as its own item because on a Manchester plot with no vehicle access it can be a significant part of the cost. Getting muck out of a back garden by barrow through a house is slow, and pretending otherwise is how a quote ends up short.

Do you do drainage as well as foundations?

Yes, they are part of the same piece of work. Where a new extension crosses or builds over an existing drain that has to be dealt with properly rather than worked around, and you will be told at the quote if that is the situation.

Often booked alongside

Plastering and skimmingGarden roomsNew buildsAreas we cover

GET A PRICE

Tell us about your job

Three boxes and a photo if you have one. We price it in writing, with no obligation.

Goes straight to Andrew John. No obligation.

Where we work from

Based in Oldham, covering Greater Manchester.

Call Get a quote