Design & build in Oxfordshire
One contract covering both the design and the construction, so there is a single team to hold accountable and one number to plan around.
- Contract range
- £250k – £4m
- Typical programme
- 30 – 70 weeks
In short
Design and build is a contract structure where one contractor takes responsibility for both the design and the delivery of a project, under a single appointment and a single price.
FF Construction delivers design & build projects across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley, from £250,000 to £4m, usually through a two-stage tender. We appoint and coordinate the design team, develop the cost plan as the drawings firm up, and fix the price before construction starts.
Scope
What does design & build include?
Everything from the first feasibility conversation to the end of the defects period, under one contract.
- Two-stage tendering and pre-construction advice
- Design team appointment, or novation of your own
- Buildability review and value engineering
- Planning and building control submissions
- Cost plan development to a fixed stage-two price
- Construction with directly employed site teams
- Commissioning, O&M manuals and as-built drawings
- Twelve month defects period with scheduled return visits
Choosing
Design & build vs traditional contracting
The difference is who carries the risk of the design and the construction staying aligned. Under design & build, we do.
Traditional contracting suits schemes where the design is settled and you want full control over it. Design & build suits schemes where the design is still open enough that a contractor’s input can save real money, and where you need cost certainty before committing.
Option A
Design & build
- One contract, one point of responsibility
- Fixed price before construction starts
- Contractor carries design and build risk
- Buildability input while the design is still open
- Faster overall, stages can overlap
Option B
Traditional contracting
- Separate design and construction appointments
- Price agreed once drawings are complete
- You carry the risk between the two
- Full client control over design detail
- Sequential, so usually longer
Process
Five stages, one appointment
Stage one is paid pre-construction work. You are free to stop at the end of it if the numbers do not work.
Feasibility and site visit
Free, about an hour. We look at access, constraints and what you are trying to achieve, and give you a budget range.
Stage one appointment
Our pre-construction team joins the project: buildability advice, a programme you can plan around, and an opening cost plan.
Design development
We coordinate the architect and consultants, run value engineering while changes are still cheap, and take the scheme through planning.
Stage two fixed price
A firm price against the agreed design and specification. It does not move unless you change what you asked for.
Construction and handover
A named site manager on site full time, weekly director visits, and O&M manuals and certificates on the day you get the keys.
FAQs
Design & build questions
Anything not covered here, ask on the site visit.
Other services
Refurbishment
Phased work in live, occupied buildings.
Refurbishment of occupied buildingsNew Build
Groundworks to practical completion.
New build commercial construction
Start a project
Get a stage-
one price
Tell us what you are planning. We will walk the site, give you a budget range and a programme, and tell you honestly whether design & build is the right route.