New build in Oxfordshire
Ground-up commercial construction, from groundworks to practical completion, on sites from a single unit to a phased commercial quarter.
- Contract range
- £500k – £6m
- Typical programme
- 40 – 90 weeks
In short
New build is construction from the ground up: groundworks, frame, envelope and fit out, delivered on a site with nothing on it worth keeping.
FF Construction builds commercial, industrial and community buildings across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley, from £500,000 to £6m. We self-deliver the groundworks and the external works, which is where new build programmes usually slip, and hold the frame and envelope packages on our own supply chain.
Scope
What does new build include?
From the site investigation to the landscaping, under one contract and one programme.
- Site investigation, enabling works and demolition
- Groundworks, foundations and drainage
- Steel and concrete frames
- Envelope, cladding and roofing
- Mechanical and electrical installation
- Full internal fit out and finishes
- External works, car parks and hard landscaping
- Commissioning, certification and handover
Choosing
Traditional vs design & build
New build schemes come to us both ways: priced against a completed design, or as a design & build appointment where we hold the design team too.
Which one suits depends on how settled the scheme is. A fully designed building with planning permission tenders well traditionally. A site with a use in mind and little else usually gets there faster, and cheaper, through design & build.
Option A
Traditional new build
- You appoint and hold the design team
- We price a completed set of drawings
- Full client control over specification
- Competitive tender against other contractors
- Design must be finished before pricing
Option B
New build under design & build
- One appointment covering design and construction
- Buildability input before the design is fixed
- Fixed price at stage two
- Design and construction stages can overlap
- Less direct control over detail decisions
Process
Five stages, groundworks to keys
The ground is the risk on a new build. We investigate it before we price it, not after.
Site visit and appraisal
Free. Access, levels, services and what the ground is likely to be, with a budget range and an outline programme.
Investigation and enabling
Ground investigation, surveys and any demolition or diversion needed before a foundation design can be relied on.
Fixed price and programme
A firm price against the drawings and specification, with a programme showing the frame and envelope critical path.
Substructure and frame
Groundworks and drainage self-delivered, then frame and envelope to get the building watertight as early as possible.
Fit out and handover
Services, finishes and external works, then commissioning, certification, O&M manuals and a twelve month defects period.
FAQs
New build questions
Anything not covered here, ask on the site visit.
Other services
Design & Build
One contract, concept to handover.
Design and build in OxfordRefurbishment
Phased work in live, occupied buildings.
Refurbishment of occupied buildings
Start a project
Get a price and
a programme
Tell us what you are planning. We will walk the site, give you a budget range and a programme, and tell you honestly whether new build is the right route.