HOW IT BEGAN

My names Richard and I left a secure e-commerce project-management career within the tools industry and started my career again but this time in a hands-on position. I started out pushing barrows, stacking blocks, whilst learning and absorbing everything that went in to building the house I was on. 2 years of labouring, contracting, night school and several site assessments later I earned my City & Guilds Carpentry qualification and opened Enriched Building Services which has now been going for over 3 years.

Pictured to the right is the first ever porject I was on. This modern slate-roof property just started construction when I first swapped office life for site labouring, and it became my hands-on classroom for the full build cycle. My tasks included:

• Basement excavation & waterproofing – operating site plant to roller out the lower level, installing external tanking and membranes to keep the new basement dry.

• Structural steelwork – assisting with the positioning and bolting of steel beams, then laser-checking levels to millimetre accuracy.

• Rebar & blockwork – tying and placing reinforcing steel, laying starter courses of blockwork, and backfilling cavities ready for subsequent lifts. Wall ties added as well as Surecav and insulation installation ready for stone work.

• Guttering & rainwater goods – installing concealed aluminium gutters and downpipes to protect the new roof and stone façade.

• Stud-wall framing – setting out internal partitions, fixing sole and head plates, and squaring walls for services and plasterboard.

• Aluminium floor decking – laying interlocking sheets that formed the base for structural screed on the first floor.

• Roofing – installing Actis foil insulation and Kingspan, laying breathable membrane and battens, stage-loading Brazilian slate, then fixing slates and dry-ridge components for a watertight finish.

Working across these stages taught me how each trade interlocks, from steelwork and joists that ties everything together, to the precise gutter falls and drainage that keeps the surrounding areas water free. The experience cemented my belief that quality craftsmanship depends on understanding the whole build, not just one piece of it, an approach that now guides every project at Enriched Building Services.