Self-build project management · Chester · Cheshire · North Wales
Procurement, scheduling, site management, sub-contractor coordination, building control, warranty and snagging. A fixed management fee for our time, every merchant and sub-contractor invoice passed through at cost plus a fair ten percent. You keep control of cost and specification.
Clarity in Simplicity
The main contractor problem
Most people who choose to self-build have chosen it for a reason. They want a house that isn't from a developer's pattern book. They want to spend real money on the things that matter to them — proper glazing, a decent roof, a kitchen that works — and less on the things that don't. And they want to see, on their own plot, exactly what everything costs.
A traditional main contractor sits at odds with all of that. You give them a fixed price on day one for the entire build. If they've priced it well and the job runs well, they win. If they've priced it tight and the job bites, they hunt for variations — every specification tweak, every drawing clash, every "the client asked for" moment becomes an extra. And every merchant discount, every material saving, every sub-contractor deal stays with them.
Open-book flips it. You own the plot, the design and the specification. Built Clear runs the build for you — procurement, scheduling, site management, sub-contractor coordination, building control, warranty and snagging. A fixed professional management fee for our time, and a flat 10% on every merchant and sub-contractor invoice. You see every number in real time on Buildertrend, and every saving stays with you.
Why open-book on a self-build
A main contractor's fixed price bakes in every merchant discount and every trade negotiation as their margin. Under open-book, every one of those savings passes through to you at cost. Ten percent on top is our margin, not our suppliers'.
Want to upgrade the glazing halfway through the design? Downgrade the kitchen so the roof budget stretches? Choose your own tiles direct from a supplier? Under open-book that's a conversation. Under fixed price it's a variation with a fee attached.
Every sub-contractor gate, every lead time, every material delivery is visible to you live on Buildertrend. If a window supplier slips two weeks, you see it the day we do — not in an argument about liquidated damages three months later.
What we do for self-builders
Comparing merchant and specialist quotes, negotiating lead times, placing orders and tracking deliveries. Every quote and every invoice is visible to you, and everything passes through at cost plus 10% — no hidden supplier commissions.
Building the full programme from your drawings and specification — every trade, every gate, every dependency. Then running it in real time on Buildertrend so you can see what's on site today, next week and next month.
Daily site presence during active phases, health and safety, waste, deliveries, coordinating with neighbours and the local authority. You get one point of contact for the whole build, not fifteen sub-contractors ringing you at once.
Groundworkers, brickies, joiners, roofers, sparks, plumbers, plasterers, tilers, decorators. Each is a specialist package priced openly, with quotes visible to you before we appoint. All invoiced at cost plus 10%, all managed on your behalf.
Liaison with your chosen building-control body (local authority or approved inspector) through the stage-by-stage inspections. Coordination of the structural warranty inspections (LABC, Premier Guarantee, BuildZone, Protek) so the warranty is issued cleanly at the end.
Full handover with all certificates, warranties, O&M documentation and as-built drawings, followed by a proper snagging period. Anything that surfaces in the first months is handled directly with the responsible trade — no fingerpointing about who owns what.
Where we work
Our base in Rossett puts us within an hour of most self-build plots in the region — through Chester (Hoole, Handbridge, Christleton, Boughton, Newton, Vicars Cross, Upton, Blacon), out to Tarporley, Tarvin, Tattenhall, Malpas, Farndon and Waverton, across to the Wirral villages, and over the border into Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham. If you've secured a plot and want to see every number before you break ground, we'll come and walk it with you.
What clients say
Ben and his team were meticulous in planning and really clear in their communications throughout. From start to finish, the project ran seamlessly and was actually delivered earlier than anticipated. After this positive experience, we're booking for a further renovation and extension project with Built Clear in the next six months.
Jack Best · Google Review · June 2026
Common questions
A main contractor gives you one fixed price for the whole build and takes the profit or the loss depending on what the job actually costs. That means you carry the padding on day one and lose the savings if the job runs well. Under open-book self-build project management you carry the real cost of the build and we manage it for you — a fixed professional management fee for our time, and a flat 10% on every invoice from merchants and sub-contractors. If the job runs well you keep the saving. If a material spike hits, you see it in real time and we plan around it together.
Yes — we assume you already have your architect, structural engineer and any specialist consultants (SAP, acoustic, ecology) either appointed or lined up. We coordinate with them, we don't replace them. If you want an introduction to trusted local practices we can make one, but the design team is yours.
Yes. As a self-builder you can reclaim VAT on qualifying materials under the DIY housebuilders' scheme once the build is complete. We keep the paperwork clean on your behalf — VAT-splittable invoices from merchants, clear separation of zero-rated labour on new builds, and a tidy file of everything you'll need to submit. We're not tax advisors, so we recommend you have an accountant sign off the final claim, but we make the record-keeping straightforward from day one.
Built Clear carries full public liability and employers' liability cover, and all sub-contractors are asked for evidence of their own public liability before they set foot on site. On top of that, most self-builders take out a self-build site insurance policy covering works in progress, materials on site, and contract works — we can recommend brokers who deal with self-build clients regularly.
Yes. Most self-build mortgages and future buyers will require a structural warranty from a recognised provider (LABC, Premier Guarantee, BuildZone, Protek). We coordinate the inspections through the build so the warranty is issued cleanly at the end. The premium is your cost, invoiced at cost plus 10% like any other trade package.
A four- or five-bedroom traditional-build detached house in Cheshire runs 40 to 60 weeks on site once foundations are dug. Timber-frame or SIPs can shave 4 to 8 weeks off the superstructure, and modular systems can go faster still. We build the programme from your drawings and specification before we start and share every gate and milestone on Buildertrend. If a supplier lead time slips, you see it the day we do.
Discuss your self-build
Whether you've got planning granted and a design pack ready, or you're still weighing up a plot, we'll have an honest, open-book conversation about what running the build for you would look like.