Free site visit
Surveyed on site, not priced from drawings alone.
Barnet and north London · Domestic and commercial
Tell the neighbour
Tell the neighbour
before you dig.
Work on a shared wall, or excavation near a neighbour's building, needs notice served under the Party Wall Act before it starts. Skip it and they can injunct the site. We check whether notice is needed and serve it first.
- 2020trading since
- Barnetbased in
- Partywall notices
- Cert.at handover
What we build
Four types of work, two certificates
Party wall notices served before we start. The Building Regulations completion certificate handed over at the end.
New builds
New domestic and commercial buildings, built to the approved drawings.
See the programExtensions and loft conversions
Side, rear and wrap-around extensions, and loft conversions.
See the programRefurbishment
Full and partial refurbishment of houses, flats and commercial premises.
See the programCommercial fit-out
Fit-out and alteration of commercial premises, programmed around trading where needed.
See the program
How it works
How we work
Survey on site, check whether a party wall notice is required and serve it before starting, write the exclusions into the quote, send reserved work to registered specialists, and obtain the completion certificate at the end.
Notices and consents
Party wall checked and served; Building Regs notified.
Built and inspected
Progress reported, inspections arranged as we go.
Certificates handed over
Completion certificate and electrical certificates to you.
Working together
Ways to work with us
Quoted per project after a site visit. Party wall surveyors, asbestos removal and licensed trades are referred and priced separately.
A single job
One piece of work, surveyed and quoted.
- Surveyed before quoting
- Exclusions written down
- Party wall checked first
- Realistic programme given
- Site left clean
Full project
New build, extension or full refurbishment.
- One point of contact
- Notices served before starting
- Trades sequenced in writing
- Completion certificate obtained
- Certificates handed over
What goes elsewhere
Said plainly, because the law reserves it.
- Gas work: Gas Safe engineers only
- Asbestos removal: HSE-licensed firms
- Notifiable electrics: Part P registered
- Planning permission: your architect
- Party wall surveyor: independent
Every engagement is quoted after a free consultation. No subscription.
How we work
A builder who serves the notice first
FRB Builders Ltd is a private limited company registered in England and Wales under company number 12407014, based at Regency House on Wood Street in Barnet and trading since January 2020. We build domestic and commercial buildings: new builds, extensions and loft conversions, refurbishment and commercial fit-out, across Barnet and north London.
Two pieces of paper decide whether a job was actually done properly, and both are easy to leave out. The first comes at the beginning: where works affect a shared wall or involve excavating near a neighbour's building, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires notice to be served on that neighbour before starting, and an owner who was never served can obtain an injunction. The second comes at the end: the Building Regulations completion certificate, which is what a buyer's or lender's solicitor asks for years later. We check and serve the first, and we see the second issued. Gas work goes only to Gas Safe registered engineers, notifiable electrical work through a Part P registered person, and in pre-2000 buildings an asbestos survey comes before any intrusive work.
Frequently asked
The questions we get most
What is a party wall notice and do I need one?
It is a formal notice to your neighbour, required by the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 before works that affect a shared wall or structure, cut into or raise it, or excavate within the distances the Act specifies of their building. We check whether your project triggers it. If it does, notice is served and the statutory period runs before we start. A neighbour who was never served can apply for an injunction and stop the site.
Why does the completion certificate matter so much?
Because it is what someone else's solicitor will ask for. Building work needing Building Regulations approval should end with a completion certificate, and without it a sale or remortgage can stall years later while you try to resolve it retrospectively. It costs nothing extra to see it issued at the time, which is why we treat it as part of the job rather than an afterthought.
Can you move the gas boiler as part of the work?
Not ourselves. All gas work must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and we do not undertake it. We will coordinate a registered engineer into the programme, which is the honest version of saying yes.
The house is from the 1960s. Can you just start knocking through?
Not before an asbestos survey. In anything built before 2000, artex, insulation board, old floor tiles and pipe lagging can all contain asbestos, and disturbing it contaminates the house. Licensable removal goes to an HSE-licensed contractor. It costs a short delay at the start and avoids a serious problem.
Who gets the planning permission?
You do, with your architect, unless we agree otherwise in writing. We will tell you whether we think the works need it, and we do not start before it is granted. Building Regulations notification is a separate matter and we handle that side as part of the work.
Can you guarantee when it will be finished?
No, and a builder who does is either padding the programme heavily or planning to disappoint you. We give a realistic programme and we tell you promptly when something moves. Weather, material lead times, inspection availability, asbestos findings and unforeseen ground conditions all shift a build, and changes of scope shift it most of all.
Got a project to price?
A free site visit and a written quotation, with the exclusions set out.