News

A couple in Lympstone rang us last week wanting a rear extension quote for spring, and were surprised to hear we’re already booking into March. It isn’t just us. New procurement guidance published this month by the climate charity Ashden, working with Efficiency North and the National Retrofit Hub, points to an estimated 140,000 construction vacancies reported across the UK in 2025 — with shortages hitting insulation specialists, retrofit assessors, heat pump installers and general multi-trade workers hardest. Around a third of the current workforce is also expected to retire within the next decade.

For homeowners in Exmouth, Budleigh Salterton and further round towards Woodbury, that shortage is starting to show up as longer lead times and, in some cases, a real drop in the standard of finish from firms taking on more than their trained crews can manage properly. It’s worth asking any builder who’s actually on site day to day, and whether the trades doing your first fix and insulation are employed or subbed out to whoever’s free that week.

It matters more than people think on an extension or loft conversion, because the fabric performance depends on it. A trench-fill foundation poured to the wrong depth, or a cavity left without proper wall ties and Celotex board fitted to hit current Part L insulation values, causes problems that don’t show up until the first cold winter — cold bridging, condensation, cracked plaster.

We’ve kept the same core team of bricklayers and carpenters at S and P for years rather than relying on agency labour, which is part of why we can still give a straight answer on timescales. If you’re thinking about a home extension, loft conversion or renovation anywhere around Exmouth and East Devon, get in touch through sandpbuildingcontractors.com or give us a call — we’ll tell you honestly what the diary looks like.