Services/Construction, structural & civils

Groundworks and excavation in West London

Excavation, foundations, drainage and retaining — the part of the job that happens before anything you will ever see.

2–8weeks on site, typically
Trial holesbefore anyone prices a dig
Engineerdesigned foundations
Accesssolved, not surcharged

Listed, vetted and reviewed on

Ogival Ltd, registered in England & Wales no. 15191703 · Public liability insured · NICEIC registered electrical work · Gas Safe registered plumbing and heating

Groundworks decide the programme and a large part of the price of almost every building job, and they are finished before the first brick anyone notices goes on. Get the levels, the foundations and the drainage right and everything above behaves. Get them wrong and you find out two winters later.

What we deal with underground

Access. Most London sites have no vehicle entry, so how spoil leaves and materials arrive shapes the price more than the dig itself.
Ground conditions. London clay, made ground and old foundations under half the terraces in W6 — trial holes tell you what you are actually building on.
Drainage. Almost every extension crosses an existing run, and diverting it properly costs a fraction of discovering it after the slab is poured.

Excavation, foundations and below-ground works

What's included in a groundworks job

Our groundworkers handle the whole of it, so there's no second company to chase and no gap between trades for something to fall through.

Site clearance and demolition
Trial holes and investigation
Excavation and muck away
Foundations and footings
Concrete slabs and oversite
Retaining structures
Drainage runs and connections
Soakaways and surface water
Ducting for services
Hardcore, membranes and insulation
Levels and setting out
Excavation and muck away

Send a photo of the site

A photo of the garden or the space, plus one of how you'd get a machine to it. Access is what decides the price.

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At a glance

ServiceGroundworks & civils
GroupConstruction, structural & civils
Typically2–8 weeks on site
CoveringWest London
BasedLondon W10

Why Ogival

25 years in London construction
Thirty-one trades under one contractor
Drawings and calculations in-house
A written schedule of works and payments
NICEIC and Gas Safe registered

How we work

Options

The groundworks we're asked for most

Extension foundations

Trenches, footings and slab for a rear or side return extension, to an engineer's design.

Basement excavation

Digging out and muck away for a new or lowered basement, in sequence with the underpinning.

Drainage and soakaways

New runs, diversions around new structures, and surface water taken somewhere legal.

Retaining and levels

Retaining walls and level changes in gardens that fall the wrong way.

Quickest way to get an answer

Send a photo of the site.

A photo of the garden or the space, plus one of how you'd get a machine to it. Access is what decides the price.

No form, no callback queue, no salesman. Emanuel looks at it himself and tells you what he sees — including the times the answer is that you don't need us.

WhatsApp a photo Call 07428 135100

OOgivalonline

Planning a rear extension. How much of the price is the groundworks?

More than people expect — often a quarter of it, and it's the bit that's hardest to price from a drawing.

Two questions: is there a drain run across the back of the house, and can we get a machine to the garden?

If it's hand dig and a diverted drain, that changes the number a lot. Worth me coming to look.

Message

A typical exchange. Usually answered the same day.

How it runs

How a groundworks job runs, stage by stage

Four stages, and you'll always know which one you're in.

01
Survey and trial holes
We look at levels, access and what the existing foundations actually are, before anyone prices a dig.
02
Setting out
Levels pegged and agreed against the drawings and the neighbouring boundaries.
03
Dig and muck away
Excavation in the designed sequence, with spoil removed by whatever the access allows.
04
Foundations and drainage
Poured, inspected by building control, and drainage tested before anything is covered.

Groundworks & civils by Ogival in West London

Excavation, foundations and below-ground works

Recent projects

Groundworks we've carried out

Excavation, foundations and drainage on jobs from a rear extension to a new basement.

Maida Vale, W9Read the case study →

Macfarlane Road, W12Read the case study →

Providence Villas, W12Read the case study →

All our case studies

Permissions

Building control, party walls and what's underneath

Foundations and drainage are both notifiable, and both are inspected before they are covered. Excavating near a neighbour's foundations also brings the party wall process into play.

Rules change and every property is different. We confirm what applies to yours in writing at the survey rather than leaving you to guess.

Foundations are inspected by building control before concrete is covered
New drainage connections need approval, and a build-over agreement near a public sewer
Excavating within 3m of a neighbouring structure normally requires party wall notice
Protected trees and their root zones restrict where and how deep you can dig
Spoil removal from a London site is regulated waste and must be documented

Budget

How much does a groundworks cost in London?

We don't publish prices, because a number without a survey is a guess and you'd be right not to trust it. These are the things that actually move it.

Depth of dig and volume of spoil

Access for machinery and muck away

Ground conditions and whether trial holes change the design

Existing drainage in the way

Retaining structures and whether they are structural

Concrete volumes and reinforcement

How long does a groundworks job take?

2–8 weeks on site on site for a typical job in West London, though the drawings, permissions and party wall process before it can add longer. We give you a written programme with the quote so you can see both.

A site visit and a written quote cost nothing, and the quote comes with a written schedule of works so you can see what every stage is for.

WhatsApp a photo

Before you appoint anyone

Four questions to ask before you hire anyone for groundworks work

Ask them of us as well. The answers tell you more than the number at the bottom of the page — and a contractor who can't answer them quickly is telling you something too.

Ask us right now

01
Ask whether they have dug trial holes or are pricing from assumption
02
Ask how spoil leaves the site, and what that adds
03
Ask who books building control for the foundation inspection
04
Check the drainage survey has happened before anyone quotes a slab

What clients say

Word of mouth, written down.

Left by Ogival customers on MyBuilder and TrustATrader

I have used this company for years for many different jobs including painting my whole house, tiling my bathroom, laying flooring, astroturfing my garden and putting up fences. Very knowledgeable, professional and polite. If you want a company that care, I'd stick with Ogival.

★★★★★Repeat client, MyBuilder

Ogival has a friendly and professional team. Our new bathroom looks great and we're very happy with the choice of products used and the quality of their work.
★★★★★New bathroom, MyBuilder

Great communication, polite workers and excellent tidying up afterwards. Definitely recommend.
★★★★★Painting and maintenance, MyBuilder

They were professional, polite, easy to get hold of and easy to deal with. They did a great deal of work for me including building an internal wall, moving a bathroom, carpentry, electrics and plumbing, they re-rendered my balcony, relaid the decking and repainted the whole flat.
★★★★★Full flat refurbishment

I have used this company for years for many different jobs including painting my whole house, tiling my bathroom, laying flooring, astroturfing my garden and putting up fences. Very knowledgeable, professional and polite. If you want a company that care, I'd stick with Ogival.
★★★★★Repeat client, MyBuilder

Ogival has a friendly and professional team. Our new bathroom looks great and we're very happy with the choice of products used and the quality of their work.
★★★★★New bathroom, MyBuilder

Great communication, polite workers and excellent tidying up afterwards. Definitely recommend.
★★★★★Painting and maintenance, MyBuilder

They were professional, polite, easy to get hold of and easy to deal with. They did a great deal of work for me including building an internal wall, moving a bathroom, carpentry, electrics and plumbing, they re-rendered my balcony, relaid the decking and repainted the whole flat.
★★★★★Full flat refurbishment

He replaced eroded bricks and once the wall was dry replastered ready to decorate. Work was delayed because he uncovered wet rot in the ceiling joists. He fixed the cause of those leaks. Throughout this saga Ogival has been professional, reliable, extremely thorough and honest.
★★★★★Exterior leak repairs, MyBuilder

I found them really helpful and honest. They went out of their way to help. They also finished on time and left the place spotless.
★★★★★Renovation, TrustATrader

I decided to go with them as I liked their ideas and Emanuel knew what he was talking about. He made floor to ceiling units, redecorated my room and laid laminate flooring. I have no hesitation in recommending them.
★★★★★Bespoke joinery, TrustATrader

Good finishing.
★★★★★Mohammed D., MyBuilder

He replaced eroded bricks and once the wall was dry replastered ready to decorate. Work was delayed because he uncovered wet rot in the ceiling joists. He fixed the cause of those leaks. Throughout this saga Ogival has been professional, reliable, extremely thorough and honest.
★★★★★Exterior leak repairs, MyBuilder

I found them really helpful and honest. They went out of their way to help. They also finished on time and left the place spotless.
★★★★★Renovation, TrustATrader

I decided to go with them as I liked their ideas and Emanuel knew what he was talking about. He made floor to ceiling units, redecorated my room and laid laminate flooring. I have no hesitation in recommending them.
★★★★★Bespoke joinery, TrustATrader

Good finishing.
★★★★★Mohammed D., MyBuilder

Read them in full on MyBuilder, TrustATrader and Houzz.

Where we work

Groundworks across West London.

Groundworks across West London, where almost every site is hand-access only, the clay moves, and there is usually a Victorian drain run exactly where the foundation wants to go.

Ogival, W10 5DW
Everyday patch, within 10 miles
Regular work, 10 to 20 miles
By arrangement, out to 30 miles

Where we do this most

Outside this? Ask anyway. We'll tell you honestly whether we're the right firm for the journey.

Questions we get asked

The things people ring up about.

The questions that come up on the phone most often, answered the way we'd answer them on site.

Can you get machinery onto a London site with no side access?

Usually yes. We bring in narrow-access machines where they fit and barrow out by hand where they do not — and we establish which at the survey, because it changes both the price and the programme.

Do you dig by hand where machines can't go?

Where there is genuinely no route, yes. We will tell you at survey, because hand dig changes the price and the programme significantly.

Who inspects the foundations?

Building control, before any concrete is covered. We book the inspections and keep the records for your completion certificate.

What happens if you find something unexpected?

We stop, show you, and re-price that element before continuing. Old foundations, wells, made ground and forgotten drain runs all turn up in West London.

The rest of what we do

Groundworks, and thirty other things we do

Most jobs pull in more than one of these. Having them all under the same roof is what stops a project stalling for three weeks waiting on somebody else's diary.

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Construction, structural & civilsUnderpinning

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Construction, structural & civilsLoft conversions

Construction, structural & civilsStructural alterations

Renovations & refurbishment in West London

Construction, structural & civilsRenovations & refurbishment

Interiors & finishingKitchens

See all thirty-one services

Start here

Tell us what you're planning.

A site visit and a written quote cost nothing. If the job isn't right for us, we'll say so and point you somewhere better.

Free, no-obligation site visit and written quote
You deal with Emanuel, not a sales rep
A written schedule of works and payments before anything starts
Covering Kensington, Chelsea, Hammersmith and Fulham

07428 135100 info@ogival.co.uk

WhatsApp a photo See the case studies