Frequently asked questions

Start with the intended setting, approximate size, subject or design references, required-on-site date and delivery postcode or country. Photographs of the setting and known access constraints are useful, but exact drawings are not required for the first discussion.

Please identify the decision-maker and say whether the enquiry is exploratory, at design stage or ready for quotation. Confidential plans, private addresses and third-party drawings should only be sent through an approved file-transfer route.

Prepare an enquiry↗

The proposed sequence is: initial brief; feasibility and scope; quotation basis; design and material approval; production record; pre-dispatch inspection; and freight and site handover.

Each stage has its own inputs, deliverables and approval. The written quotation must say which drawings, samples, maquettes, progress records or inspections are included; none is implied simply by using the word bespoke.

Review the seven stages↗

A change can be considered, but it should be recorded against the approved version before work continues. The feasibility, price, material allocation, programme, packing and site interfaces may all need to be reviewed.

The quotation should define the included review rounds and the point after which a change is separately priced. Silence or an informal message should not be treated as approval to alter an agreed design.

It depends on the project. Design development, client approvals, specialist review, stone availability, quantity, carving complexity, inspection, packing, freight, customs and final-mile access are separate dependencies.

A project programme can be proposed only after the scope and start event are defined. Any freight or customs date is an estimate from the relevant provider, not a universal carving-to-delivery promise.

See the programme dependencies↗

The contract should name the start event. It may require a signed agreement, the relevant payment, an approved design, sufficient technical information and confirmed material availability.

The first enquiry, an indicative quotation or a verbal instruction does not by itself start production. Delayed inputs, changes or unresolved site information can move later milestones and should be recorded through change control.

Payment amounts and due dates are set out in the project quotation and contract; there is no public fixed percentage. Depending on scope, milestones may relate to appointment or design work, approved design and material allocation, pre-dispatch completion, and delivery where that service is included.

That sequence is illustrative, not a set of trading terms. Each payment event should identify the corresponding scope or evidence, currency, taxes, payment method and consequences of delay. Contract wording must not restrict any statutory rights that apply to a consumer.

No in-house or nationwide UK installation network is represented. Installation is normally coordinated by the client with a suitably competent local contractor or specialist, with responsibilities agreed before manufacture.

If a third-party site service is considered for a project, its provider, scope, insurance, supervision and contract relationship must be stated in writing. It should not be described as our installation service unless it is genuinely supplied under our responsibility.

Sources: UK Legislation

Where included in the quotation, the handover pack can record piece references, approved dimensions, measured or estimated mass, interfaces, fixing assumptions, crate identification, handling cautions and stone-specific care information. Remote clarification can be arranged for questions about those supplied records.

These documents do not by themselves provide a site survey, structural design, foundation design, lifting plan, temporary works design, risk assessment, method statement or statutory approval. Those remain with the appointed competent professionals unless a separately named provider and scope are contracted.

Unless the quotation expressly includes them, the client and local project team arrange safe vehicle access, any permits or bookings, unloading equipment and operators, storage, foundations, drainage, fixings, services and installation.

The lifting and access plan should be checked against final crate and piece data before dispatch. A kerbside, tail-lift, crane-assisted or positioned delivery must never be inferred from the word delivery alone.

The receiving team should follow the agreed safe unloading plan, record the external condition and identification of each crate, retain transport documents and report visible exceptions through the contract and insurance procedure. A crate should not be opened or a heavy piece moved merely to obtain photographs if it is unsafe to do so.

Inspection and notification terms should be proportionate to the handling method and must not be presented as removing statutory consumer rights. Concealed issues should be documented when safe access is available and raised promptly under the applicable contract.