ACR Build

Residential Extensions, Renovations and New Builds.

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Renovations, Extensions, New Builds

"Vision and Craft"

VISION AND CRAFT

ACR Build is determined to deliver your dreams and make them a living reality. We pride ourselves on being accessible and transparent, delivering on time and within an agreed budget.

"All Services"

Conservation & Heritage Projects

ABOUT US

ACR Build is a Hertfordshire based building company that serves St Albans, Harpenden and the surrounding vicinity. The company was founded over twenty years ago by Andy Ryder, who has decades of local experience and project management expertise.

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Who We Are

We have a core team of four including Andy our Director, John our Chief Foreman, and Alex our Project Support Manager. Andy is at the helm alongside the team, on all of ACR Build’s construction and design projects and works directly with clients to ensure they have as smooth an experience as possible.

How We Work

We are based in Hertfordshire and have served Harpenden, St Albans and the surrounding vicinities for decades. We have long-term and close partnerships with trusted local subcontractors, tradespeople and suppliers. We believe that a building project should be truly a partnership with our clients, built on trust.

Why Choose Us

We build with honesty, employing a personable approach with our clients. Our team understands a building project can be daunting and we do all we can, employing decades of expertise and bringing passion to each design, to ensure our clients find the process straightforward and reassuring. You will see this from our references.

Showcasing what we do best

Projects

Explore our portfolio of delivered projects - each one thoughtfully built to combine functionality, quality, and craftsmanship tailored to our clients' unique visions.

Our Projects

Fallows Green, Harpenden

Manland Way, Harpenden

Roundwood Lane, Harpenden

Hill House, Ayot St Lawrence

Haven Lodge, St Albans

West Way, Harpenden

Granby Ave, Harpenden

Tennyson Road B, Harpenden

Dalewood, Harpenden

Old London Road, St Albans

Tennyson Road A, Harpenden

Kimpton Road, Blackmoor End

Jennings Road, St Albans

Westwick Place, Leavesden

Piggottshill Lane, Harpenden

Loudwater, Rickmansworth

Kitchen and dining rooms: Extensions and renovations

Living area and hallway renovations

Bathroom renovations

Transforming Spaces: Expert Articles and Insights

"Creating Spaces, Inspiring Life"

News

"Get the latest updates on building trends, design innovations, and industry insights that define the future of construction."

More Details

How to Check the Renovation Potential of a Property in Hertfordshire?

To check a property’s renovation potential in Hertfordshire, assess four things before you buy: what you can build

Why Get a Pre-Purchase Review Before Buying a Property in Harpenden & St Albans?

A pre-purchase review before you buy a property gives you an independent builder’s assessment of a property’

Buying a House to Renovate in St Albans or Harpenden? 5 Red Flags to Check Before Exchanging

If you’re buying a house to renovate in St Albans or Harpenden, the five biggest red flags to check before exchang

How a Hidden Water Leak Led to a Complete Victorian Home Renovation in St Albans?

A family in Ladysmith Road, St Albans, discovered an untraceable water leak beneath their Victorian semi-detached home a

Creating local homes that fulfil and excite.

"Designing Beyond Boundaries"

Process

We do all we can to bring skill and support to a building project to ensure that our clients enjoy a smooth experience in achieving their dream designs.

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Consultation

The journey begins with our Director Andy popping by to meet you in person to understand your vision and goals, budget, deadline and any specific requirements. If you do not have an assigned architect, we can recommend local architects we have worked with over recent years. We can also recommend interior designers depending on your project scope and budget.

Review

We invite our clients to share any architectural and/or structural plans with us so we can prepare a budget estimate or full tender. We may ask some further questions but usually we have what we need. This step can take approximately two weeks.

Preparation

At this stage, we present either a budget estimate (which gives you a gauge of costs) or a full tender, depending how far along you are in the planning and drawings phase. Our tenders are very comprehensive and detailed. We encourage clients to chat these through with us as it can be tricky to compare like for like quotations with other contractors. There may also be areas in which the specifications can be amended and cost-saving initiatives applied so we always recommend a conversation. We do all we can to align on a budget and timeline upfront.

Engagement

When you're ready to go ahead, we take a small deposit to secure your position in our schedule. We can largely fit in around your preferred timeline in a matter of weeks or months. The first steps will include any required demolishment. From the outset, we share a budget tracker based on the detailed tender which allows our clients to see exactly line by line, what we are billing and when.

Management

We live and work locally - our management team of four is based in both the office and on site, so we have all bases covered. We welcome open communication and are a pretty relaxed bunch, who are happy to help! In addition, we set regular monthly meetings on site to review the progress of the build with the client, and to discuss the monthly valuation of works in person.

TESTIMONIALS

ACR added a kitchen extension to the house we have lived in for thirty years. We stayed in situ throughout. At all stages we found Andy and the guys positive, good humoured and considerate. The quality of the work was excellent, and even when they hit the unexpected, which will always happen in a period house, they were pragmatic and worked through the issues. Andy is repeatedly described as trustworthy in these reviews. I got that impression when deciding to use ACR and it remained to the end of the project.

NS247 -Nic, Ayot St Lawrence

I cannot speak highly enough about Andy and the team at ACR who recently completed a full home renovation for us. This included relocating the kitchen to the other side of the house, fitting extra large windows across the back of the house, adding a flat roof, building an outside patio, knocking through rooms to give a more open plan feel and a larger bathroom, fitting a Rako smart lighting system, upgrading the plumbing and making the whole house look amazing! From the first meeting with Andy, I was impressed with his level of communication and engagement, and this continued throughout the 6 months project and after completion. Andy was always on hand to answer any questions I had or sugg...

Melanie Kerr- St Albans

We engaged Andy and his team to reconfigure the downstairs layout, remove a chimney breast, install a small ensuite, and redecorate our house. This was the first time we had undertaken a project of this scale so it was a steep learning curve. The majority of the work took place February to July 2022 and was finally completed in October 2022 because we were waiting for a particular internal door set to come back into stock. From the start Andy was very communicative and interested in our project, answered a lot of questions, and provided a lot of detail in his quote. There were some challenges along the way, which is to be expected when working with an existing building, but these issues were...

markferguson2513 -Kipton

ACR Build, led by Andy Ryder, have enabled us to radically transform this 1972 house into a contemporary, spacious, light and energy efficient home with full solar array and excellent insulation. An awkward side door, step and narrow hallway has been changed into a welcoming, step free, front entrance with wide hallway. A carport and garage, both too narrow for a car, have been demolished and with a rear extension, a large open plan kitchen, diner, lounge has been formed. Full height sliding doors and architecturally interesting 5m long roof light, all with solar glass to prevent the greenhouse effect, give a light airy feel and easy inside-outside living. A new front lounge, new utility roo...

Jane -Harpenden

From start to finish I was in safe hands. Andy, was honest all the way through and kept his word as the project progressed. He is extremely knowledgeable and was proactive in making suggestions that would improve the build. It really felt that Andy cared about doing a great job, and that it mattered to him that we were happy too.His team were friendly, helpful and considerate throughout. They always turned up as agreed and worked to schedule.Andy managed my expectation on costs all the way through and provided frequent updates. It came as no surprise that the project was finished on time, on budget and with an excellent finish.Over the years I have worked with several building compa...

Ash -St Albans

"I wanted to say thank you so much for all of your help and expertise in getting the en-suite bathroom done. I am delighted with the bathroom and it was a pleasure dealing with all the different tradespeople that came in. I really appreciate everything, thank you."

Isabel - Harpenden

Very happy with the quality of work and with the responsiveness of this friendly company.

Pam Ganju

      
   ACR Build Ltd
   19 Google reviews 
  Write a review 
  
 
 
   
 
 
       Posted on Google  
   
   Pam Ganju 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Very happy with the quality of work and with the responsiveness of this friendly company.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Garrett Admin 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Andy fitted our job into his busy schedule and got the work done to a high standard despite several difficulties. The surveyor stated the work done was “perfect!” What more could you ask? Andy kept us in the loop at all stages. Would definitely recommend.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Alice Knox 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Andy and the team at ACR just completed a downstairs renovation project for us - new kitchen, bathroom and living space and the transformation is unbelievable. Their professionalism, communication and attention to detail is impeccable. Our house looks amazing ❤️ Have already been recommending ACR to neighbours and friends.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Rita Scollan 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We are pleased with our new double-sized extension. Andy and his team were a pleasure to work with, and the quality of their work was outstanding. We would like to thank them for their excellent service.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Melanie Kerr 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I cannot speak highly enough about Andy and the team at ACR who recently completed a full home renovation for us. This included relocating the kitchen to the other side of the house, fitting extra large windows across the back of the house, adding a flat roof, building an outside patio, knocking through rooms to give a more open plan feel and a larger bathroom, fitting a Rako smart lighting system, upgrading the plumbing and making the whole house look amazing! From the first meeting with Andy, I was impressed with his level of communication and engagement, and this continued throughout the 6 months project and after completion. Andy was always on hand to answer any questions I had or suggest alternative solutions for something that wasn’t quite right. His attention to detail is second to none, so much so that he put right the snagging list before I had even given it to him! He managed the project from start to finish and made my life very easy. He works with a very talented team of tradesmen, and I can honestly say that everyone was a highly skilled specialist in their field and did an excellent job. All of who went the extra mile to ensure that their work was to the highest standard and were a pleasure to have in my home. I cannot recommend Andy and the ACR team enough, all my friends and family comment on how my house has been transformed and how amazing it looks, which is down to their hard work. And they finished on time…. even though I added additional work part way through the project! This is the fourth home project I have done and I have never had a builder before Andy who has not gone over their time schedule by several weeks or months. Thank you Andy and the whole team!
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Vic Wing 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. I am so happy with the project Andy and team completed for me. The quality of work was excellent, and working with Andy was smooth, with any unforeseen hurdles explained, solutions identified, and we move on. I would highly recommend ACR Build
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Jane Parker 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. ACR Build, led by Andy Ryder, have enabled us to radically transform this 1972 house into a contemporary, spacious, light and energy efficient home with full solar array and excellent insulation. An awkward side door, step and narrow hallway has been changed into a welcoming, step free, front entrance with wide hallway. A carport and garage, both too narrow for a car, have been demolished and with a rear extension, a large open plan kitchen, diner, lounge has been formed. Full height sliding doors and architecturally interesting 5m long roof light, all with solar glass to prevent the greenhouse effect, give a light airy feel and easy inside-outside living. A new front lounge, new utility room and new washroom complete downstairs. By careful changes to window openings and internal walls upstairs, the four bedrooms, ensuite and family bathroom are all improved spaces, enabling better layouts. Outside improvements now allow the parking of three cars instead of one and at the back a sun trap patio, level with the inside floor height is enhanced by a now level lawn. On this sloping and tight site, ACR Build achieved the depth of foundations the structural engineer required and the team of different trades people they brought in for specialist work were experienced, professional, honest and helpful and worked to a high standard. Andy Ryder was fair in his pricing and gave us honest advice when we faced unexpected issues. He helped us save money where we could. We are enjoying the transformation of the house ACR Build and Andy Ryder have brought about.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Ash Miller 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. From start to finish I was in safe hands. Andy, was honest all the way through and kept his word as the project progressed. He is extremely knowledgeable and was proactive in making suggestions that would improve the build. It really felt that Andy cared about doing a great job, and that it mattered to him that we were happy too. His team were friendly, helpful and considerate throughout. They always turned up as agreed and worked to schedule. Andy managed my expectation on costs all the way through and provided frequent updates. It came as no surprise that the project was finished on time, on budget and with an excellent finish. Over the years I have worked with several building companies and this was honestly the best experience I've ever had.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Nic Savage 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. ACR added a kitchen extension to the house we have lived in for thirty years. We stayed in situ throughout. At all stages we found Andy and the guys positive, good humoured and considerate. The quality of the work was excellent, and even when they hit the unexpected, which will always happen in a period house, they were pragmatic and worked through the issues. Andy is repeatedly described as trustworthy in these reviews. I got that impression when deciding to use ACR and it remained to the end of the project.
  
 
      Posted on Google  
   
   Shona Crichton 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Working with Andy on our extension and full house renovation has been a pleasure. Even from the very beginning stages where we were just gathering quotes and asking a lot of questions, Andy was quick to respond and easy to communicate with. Throughout the project Andy has worked really collaboratively with us, including us in important decisions and keeping us informed of progress. Andy has a great team that he works with and he is hardworking, knowledgeable and has an eye for detail which I really appreciate! He has also provided us with a lot of much needed advice along the way. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend ACR build.