These terms cover the use of this website and the general basis on which we quote and work. The contract for any specific job is the written quotation and specification we issue for that job, and where the two differ, that document wins.
Who you are dealing with
Essex Probuild Ltd, trading as Probuild Extensions Colchester. Registered in England and Wales, company number 15979928. Registered office and trading address: Scarletts Chase Offices, Scarletts Chase, West Bergholt, Colchester, CO6 3DH. Email Essexprobuild@outlook.com, telephone 07487 706530.
Using this website
The content on this site is provided for general information. Planning rules and Building Regulations change, and how they apply depends on the specific property, its planning history and its designation. Nothing on this site is advice on your particular project, and you should not act on it without us or another competent person looking at your property. Pages that describe regulations carry a last reviewed date.
We own the text, images and design on this site. You may read it, print it and share links to it. You may not republish it as your own.
Quotations
We survey before we quote. A quotation is based on what was visible and known at the time of that survey, and on the drawings and structural information available.
Quotations are valid for 30 days unless stated otherwise. A quotation is an offer to carry out the work described in it. A contract comes into existence when you accept it in writing and we confirm.
Where a quotation makes an assumption, it says so. The most common are foundation depth, ground conditions, and the condition of structure that cannot be seen until work is opened up.
Variations and things found on opening up
Building work on an existing house regularly uncovers something nobody could see beforehand: an unexpected drain run, a wall with no proper foundation, rot behind a finish, or ground that differs from what was assumed.
Where that happens we stop, tell you what we have found, explain the options and price the change before carrying it out. You approve variations in writing. We do not carry out additional chargeable work and present it afterwards.
Where you request a change, the same applies in reverse: we price it and confirm the effect on the programme before proceeding.
Payment
We work to stage payments against work completed, set out in the quotation. We do not ask for a large payment before work has started. Invoices are due within the period stated on them.
We may suspend work where an invoice for completed work remains unpaid, having given you notice.
Prices exclude VAT unless the quotation states otherwise. Certain residential work qualifies for a reduced rate of VAT in specific circumstances; where that applies to your job we will tell you.
Programme
We give a realistic programme and we work to it. Some things are outside our control and will move it: weather affecting groundworks or roofing, statutory notice periods, local authority determination times, third party approvals such as build over agreements, materials lead times, and variations you request.
Where the programme moves we tell you as soon as we know, and why.
Permissions and approvals
Where we manage a planning application on your behalf, we prepare and submit it and deal with the correspondence. We cannot control the outcome, and no one can. A planning decision is the local authority’s, and neither the submission of an application nor our view of its merits is a promise that permission will be granted.
Statutory fees, including planning fees, Building Control fees and party wall surveyor fees, are payable by you unless the quotation includes them.
Your responsibilities
You will provide reasonable access to the property and to services, tell us about anything you know that affects the work, such as buried services or a dispute with a neighbour, and deal promptly with decisions we need in order to keep going.
Where the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies, notices must be served in your name as the building owner. We will tell you when this is needed and can arrange it.
Insurance and liability
We carry £2m public liability cover. Your buildings insurer should be told that structural work is taking place, because most household policies require notification and some restrict cover during works.
We are responsible for our own workmanship and for damage we cause. We are not responsible for pre-existing defects in the property, for the design work of a third party you appointed directly, or for losses that were not reasonably foreseeable.
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
Your rights as a consumer
If you are a consumer, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires our work to be carried out with reasonable care and skill, and any materials supplied to be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. Nothing here reduces those rights.
Where a contract is agreed away from our business premises, for example at your home, you may have a 14 day right to cancel. Where you ask us to begin within that period, you may be liable for work already carried out. We will set this out in writing when it applies.
Complaints
If something is wrong, tell us. Our Complaints Procedure explains how to raise it and what happens next.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.
These terms are a starting point drafted for a small building contractor. They should be reviewed by your own legal adviser before you rely on them.
Last reviewed July 2026.