Where We Work
Solid-roofed orangeries, conservatories built from the footings up and full house extensions across Stafford and its villages, one family run team from drawings to final paint.
Family run since 2013 · 40 years of building experience · £2,000,000 public liability cover
Stafford covers a wide and varied borough: the county town itself, large suburban areas at Weeping Cross, Baswich, Rising Brook, Highfields and Doxey, and a ring of villages including Gnosall, Eccleshall, Penkridge, Great Haywood, Hixon and Stone on the northern edge.
That spread means very different building conditions. Town properties tend to be tighter plots with access constraints; village properties are usually generous plots with room for a proper garden room but often older, more variable construction underneath.
Stafford's suburbs are dominated by 1930s to 1980s semi-detached and detached housing, with substantial newer development at Doxey, Marston Gate and around the town's edges. Those homes typically have a rear garden of usable depth and a standard-width plot, which is why the single storey rear extension and the orangery are the two most requested projects we handle in the borough.
Older properties in and around the town centre, and cottages and converted farm buildings in the villages, bring solid walls, uneven original levels and shallow footings. They repay careful survey work: assumptions made from the outside are often wrong once the ground is opened.
Larger village and rural properties frequently want an orangery: a brick-pillared, solid-roofed room that reads as part of the house and holds temperature through a Staffordshire winter, rather than a conservatory that is unusable for four months of the year.
Orangeries and conservatories lead, closely followed by kitchen-diner extensions and internal structural alterations to open up compartmentalised ground floors. Loft and garage conversions are steady work across the suburban estates.
We design and glaze conservatories in-house and build them from the base up, so the foundations, the brickwork, the frames and the glazing are all one contract with one point of responsibility, not a supplier blaming a builder or the other way round.
What we build here
Single and double storey extensions that add genuine living space and lasting value to your home.
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Solid-roofed, brick-pillared rooms that feel part of the house all year round, not bolted on.
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Designed, built and glazed in-house, from the base up, to suit the age and style of your property.
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Unused roof space turned into a bedroom, office or en-suite, with building control sign-off handled.
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A fast route to an extra room, fully insulated, plastered and finished to match the rest of the house.
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Full kitchen fits including joinery, plumbing, electrics, tiling and making good.
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Wall removals, steel beams and open-plan reconfigurations, calculated and installed properly.
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Plans and engineer's calculations prepared for you, so planning and building control run smoothly.
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The trades your project needs, coordinated on one programme by one point of contact.
Read moreWhy Parker James
We are based at 5 Hysopp Close, Hednesford, Cannock: a short run up the A34 or M6 to Stafford, and part of our regular working area.
We build from the base up rather than assembling a bought-in kit on somebody else's slab. One contract, one point of responsibility.
Four decades behind the work, family run since 2013, with Wayne Nolan dealing with you directly.
Held on every project and available for you to see before work begins.
A 10-year insurance-backed guarantee on structural work through Quality Assured National Warranties.
Prepared and handled for you, so planning and building control run in the right order rather than catching up with the build.
Local conditions
Stafford's ground varies markedly between the town and the surrounding countryside, with clay and areas of soft alluvial deposits near the Sow and Penk. Foundation depth follows the trial holes and the engineer, not a standard figure.
Parts of the town sit within recognised flood risk areas. Floor levels, drainage strategy and surface water disposal have to be designed for that context and will be assessed by building control.
Stafford town centre and several villages, including parts of Eccleshall, Penkridge and Great Haywood, carry conservation designation, restricting what can be done to visible elevations and which materials are acceptable.
The borough has a lot of 1990s and 2000s conservatories on inadequate bases, with polycarbonate roofs and no meaningful insulation. Replacing the roof alone rarely solves it if the base and frames were never up to the job.
Village and older suburban gardens often have significant trees close to the proposed footprint. Species, distance and soil type together determine foundation depth and whether heave precautions are needed.
Small separate kitchen, dining and living rooms divided by load-bearing walls. Opening them up is steelwork with engineer's calculations, correct padstones and proper propping, not a job for enthusiasm and a lump hammer.
How we work
Step 1
Wayne visits, measures, looks at ground conditions, access and the existing structure, and talks through what you actually want the finished space to do.
Step 2
Architect's drawings and structural engineer's calculations are prepared, so the design is resolved on paper before anyone prices or digs.
Step 3
You get a priced scope from the drawings, not a figure on a doorstep, so you can see what is included and compare like with like.
Step 4
We submit and deal with building control through the build, and give you a realistic programme with the stages that will be disruptive flagged in advance.
Step 5
One team through groundwork, structure, glazing, plumbing, heating and electrics, then making good, sign-off and the 10-year QANW guarantee paperwork.
In detail
A conservatory built on a thin base with a polycarbonate roof is too hot in July and unusable in January. An orangery: brick pillars, an insulated solid perimeter roof, a central lantern and properly specified glazing: behaves like a room in the house because that is structurally what it is. It holds heat, cuts glare and noise, and can be heated economically.
The base is where the difference is decided long before anyone sees the frames. Foundations to the depth the ground requires, a properly constructed dwarf wall with cavity, insulation and a damp proof course, and a floor build-up with insulation under the screed. None of that is visible afterwards, and all of it decides whether the room is used all year.
The most valuable change in a typical Stafford semi is not always more floor area, it is removing the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and adding a modest rear extension with good glazing. That combination turns three small spaces into one room the household actually uses, usually for less than a large addition would cost.
Steel sizing comes from a structural engineer, padstones must bear onto masonry that can carry the load, and the propping sequence matters as much as the beam. Done properly, the finished ceiling gives no clue there was ever a wall there.
Stafford connects our southern and northern coverage. We work in Cannock, Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme alongside it, plus Lichfield, Telford, Derby, Birmingham and Solihull.
For properties on the borough edge, Penkridge toward Cannock, Stone toward Stoke, we are already familiar with both authorities.
Questions
Yes. We work throughout Stafford and the surrounding borough, including Weeping Cross, Baswich, Rising Brook, Highfields, Doxey, Penkridge, Gnosall, Eccleshall, Great Haywood and Stone.
It is a short journey from our Cannock base. We arrange visits by appointment, Monday to Saturday between 9am and 6pm: call Wayne on 07596 484998 or 01543 401271.
Cost depends on size, foundation depth, the roof and glazing specification and how it ties into the house. We survey, design and price from drawings, then issue a written itemised estimate so nothing arrives later as a variation.
No: we are a planned building contractor rather than an emergency repair service. Our hours are Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, and Wayne answers 07596 484998 directly.
Yes, and it is common work here. We assess the existing base and frames honestly: sometimes a solid roof upgrade is sensible, and sometimes the original base was never adequate and rebuilding gives a far better result for the money.
Parts of Stafford near the Sow and Penk are. Where that applies, floor levels, drainage and surface water disposal are designed accordingly and reviewed by building control as part of the approval.
Yes. Foundations, base, dwarf walls, frames and glazing are all ours, designed and glazed in-house rather than fitting a kit onto someone else's slab.
£2,000,000 public liability insurance and a 10-year insurance-backed guarantee through QANW on structural work.
Yes: architect's drawings and structural engineer's calculations prepared for you, and building control dealt with through the build.
Call 07596 484998, email info@parker-james.co.uk, or use the estimate form on this page. We will visit, discuss options and put a written estimate together with no obligation.
Extensions, conservatories, orangeries and conversions for homeowners in Cannock.
Extensions, conservatories, orangeries and conversions for homeowners in Stoke-on-Trent.
Extensions, conservatories, orangeries and conversions for homeowners in Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Back to the homepage, see all our services or browse every area we cover. To talk to Wayne, call 07596 484998.
One visit, one written itemised estimate, one team from start to finish: backed by £2,000,000 public liability cover and a 10-year QANW insurance-backed guarantee on structural work.
Next step
Send a few details and Wayne will arrange a visit, talk through the options and put a written, itemised estimate together. No obligation.
Tell us what you have in mind. No obligation, no pressure.