1 London Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire, SK9 7JU info@kiif.co.uk01625 830714 HomeAboutServicesBuilding ContractorsOne contract for the whole buildNew BuildBespoke homes and developmentsRenovationWhole-house renovation programmesRefurbishment & RestorationPeriod buildings brought up to dateLandscapingExternal works and hard landscapingPlasteringSkimming, rendering and lime workJoineryStructural carpentry and fitted joineryRoofingNew roofs, re-roofing and repairsGroundworksFoundations, drainage and site works View all services Areas We CoverCounties & Regions - Alderley EdgeOur home village: office and yard on London Road. - CheshireCounty-wide building work from our Alderley Edge base. - ManchesterPeriod refurbishment and commercial fit-out in South Manchester. - LancashireNew builds and conversions north of the Cheshire border. - YorkshireStone-built property and rural schemes across the county. - MerseysideCommercial conversions and coastal refurbishment work. Towns - WilmslowTwo miles from base: extensions, refurbishment and conversions. - KnutsfordTown centre period property and rural barn conversions. - MacclesfieldStone terraces, hillside sites and retaining structures. - PrestburyHigh-specification homes delivered discreetly. - StockportResidential, commercial and industrial work across the borough. - BramhallSuburban extensions and remodelling on close-packed plots. View all areas we cover Our WorkReviewsContact01625 830714Request an Estimate - Home - Areas We Cover - ManchesterNorth of the Cheshire border # Building Contractors InManchester For PeriodHomes And Commercial Work Period refurbishment, extensions, conversions and commercial projects across South Manchester, Didsbury, Chorlton, Withington, Sale and Altrincham, delivered by a directly employed team with four decades of residential, commercial and industrial experience. Request an Estimate01625 830714 Family-run, over 40 years in construction, in-house estimating and procurement. No-obligation site visit across Manchester. 40+ years Residential, commercial and industrial construction experience. Directly employed Joiners, bricklayers, plasterers and groundworkers on our own books. In-house support Estimating, procurement, administration and customer service under one roof. Family-run David Cain on delivery, Victoria Kennedy on project management and design. Working in Manchester ## South Manchester work is period fabric, tight sites and occupied buildings Manchester is a straightforward run north from our Alderley Edge office, and the work we do there concentrates in South Manchester and the Trafford fringe: Didsbury, Withington, Chorlton, Whalley Range, Sale and Altrincham, plus commercial projects closer to the centre. It is a different working environment to Cheshire, denser, more constrained, more regulated on access, and that shapes how a project has to be planned rather than what quality it should reach. The housing here is dominated by Victorian and Edwardian construction: large villas and semi-detached houses in Didsbury and Whalley Range, terraces and Edwardian semis across Chorlton, Withington and Levenshulme, and interwar suburban housing towards Sale and Altrincham. Almost all of it is solid or early cavity wall, with rear outriggers, original sash windows, and services replaced piecemeal over a century. The projects that follow are refurbishment-led: whole-house renewal where services and fabric have aged out together, rear and side extensions with structural openings, loft conversions, and correction of long-running damp and water ingress. Many of these houses have also been converted into flats and back again, leaving structural alterations and services that need untangling before any new work makes sense. Access defines the programme in Manchester. Terraced and semi-detached streets with parking pressure, permit schemes, restricted skip standing, narrow entries and no rear vehicle access mean deliveries, spoil removal and plant have to be planned formally. On commercial projects, loading windows, occupied premises and fire-route maintenance drive the sequence. We agree all of that before starting rather than discovering it on day one. Manchester at a glance Where we workSouth Manchester and the Trafford fringe, Didsbury, Withington, Chorlton, Whalley Range, Levenshulme, Sale and Altrincham, plus commercial work closer to the centre. Property typesVictorian and Edwardian villas, semis and terraces, converted flats, interwar suburban housing, commercial units and offices. Most requestedWhole-house refurbishment, extensions and structural openings, loft conversions, damp correction, commercial alterations and fit-out. Site constraintsParking permit schemes, restricted skip standing, narrow entries, no rear vehicle access, occupied commercial premises. Postcodes covered: M20, M21, M19, M33, M14, M1–M4 (city centre) Services in Manchester ## Everything we build for Manchester clients, under one contract ### Refurbishment & restoration Victorian and Edwardian Manchester houses fully renewed: services, damp, fabric and finishes handled in one programme. View service ### Extensions & remodelling Rear and side extensions with structural openings, planned around tight urban access and party-wall constraints. View service ### Conversions Lofts, cellars, outbuildings and redundant commercial space converted into warm, properly serviced accommodation. View service ### New builds Infill and replacement dwellings, plus multi-unit residential schemes on brownfield city plots. View service ### External works & landscaping Drainage, yards, car parks, driveways and hard landscaping for homes and commercial premises. View service ### Maintenance Planned and reactive maintenance for owners, landlords and commercial occupiers across the city. View service ### Building Contractors General contracting with our own site management, estimating and procurement, so the whole build sits under one accountable contractor. View service ### Renovation Full property renovations: roofs, windows, render, insulation, rewires and replumbing, with internal layouts reworked for the way you live now. View service ### Plastering Directly employed plasterers for skimming, float and set, dot and dab, lime plaster on period walls and external render systems. View service ### Joinery Roofs, floors and timber structure through to staircases, doors, skirtings and fitted joinery, cut and fixed by our own carpenters. View service ### Roofing Cut and pitched, trussed, flat and warm deck roofs, slate and tile coverings, leadwork, skylights, fascias and guttering. View service ### Groundworks Site clearance, excavation, foundations, below-ground drainage, soakaways, service ducting and slabs, set out and levelled correctly first time. View service Why KIIF in Manchester ## A Cheshire contractor with the sector range city projects need Manchester projects usually involve old fabric, close neighbours and a fixed date. Our own workforce and in-house estimating are what make those three compatible. ### Period fabric expertise Four decades of work on solid-wall and early cavity construction, the dominant building type across South Manchester. ### Employed joiners and plasterers Repairing sashes, matching mouldings and plastering to a period standard is routine employed work rather than a bought-in extra. ### Commercial and industrial range Over 40 years across all three sectors means fit-out, structural alterations and envelope repair are normal work for the same team. ### Formal access planning Permits, skip standing, loading windows, protected routes and spoil removal are arranged before day one on constrained city sites. ### In-house estimating Pricing and procurement under one roof, so variations on a fixed-date project are answered quickly and clearly. ### Family-run accountability Keep It In Family. David Cain leads delivery; Victoria Kennedy runs project management and design. You deal with owners. Local building conditions ## What Manchester buildings keep needing put right These issues repeat across South Manchester's housing and commercial stock, and each one changes the scope of a project once it is identified. ### Rising and penetrating damp in solid walls Raised external levels, blocked sub-floor vents, defective rainwater goods and eroded pointing cause most of the damp blamed on rising moisture in Victorian houses here. ### Failing rear outriggers Almost every period terrace and semi has a rear outrigger with an ageing roof, poor gutters and no insulation, a reliable source of internal damage. ### Unrecorded past alterations Houses converted into flats and back again carry undocumented structural changes, redundant services and openings formed without proper support. ### Cellars and water Cellars across Didsbury, Chorlton and Withington are damp by design. Converting one is a water-management project before it is a room. ### Combined and shared drainage Older city drainage is often combined and shared, frequently crossing proposed extension footprints and requiring diversion or build-over agreement. ### Constrained access and permits Permit parking, narrow entries, no rear access and restricted skip standing all affect how work is sequenced, and how much it costs to do properly. Our process ## The same fixed sequence on every Manchester project - Step 1 ### Enquiry and call You describe the property or premises and the aim. We tell you honestly whether it suits our team and what we need to price it. - Step 2 ### Site visit in Manchester We assess structure, damp, drainage and access, including permits, standing and protected routes on constrained streets. - Step 3 ### Priced proposal In-house estimating prices the work element by element, with access and enabling works shown rather than buried. - Step 4 ### Programme and pre-start Permits, deliveries, loading windows, skip position, protection, out-of-hours work and neighbour notice all agreed first. - Step 5 ### Build with our own team Directly employed trades deliver the programme with David or Victoria as one point of contact. - Step 6 ### Handover and aftercare Joint walk-round, snags closed out, and continued availability for planned or reactive maintenance. Detail ## Refurbishment, extensions and commercial work across Manchester A longer read for Manchester owners, landlords and occupiers, focused on the conditions that actually drive cost and risk on city projects. ### Whole-house refurbishment of period property The core Manchester project is a Victorian or Edwardian house that has been improved in fragments for decades: partial rewires, a boiler added where it fitted, a bathroom carved out of a bedroom, three generations of decoration over unresolved damp. Refurbishing it as a single programme is both cheaper and more durable than continuing that pattern. We strip back far enough to see the building, then renew wiring, heating, plumbing and drainage together, correct damp at its cause, improve thermal performance where the construction allows it safely, and finish once. On solid-wall houses that last point is critical: internal insulation has to be detailed with moisture movement and ventilation in mind, or you produce condensation at the coldest junctions within a year. Our own joiners handle sash window repair, staircases, doors and mouldings, matching what exists. On a period Manchester house that is usually better value than replacement, and it keeps the character that gives the property its worth. - Full strip-out and reinstatement - Rewiring, heating, plumbing and drainage renewal - Damp correction at cause: levels, ventilation, rainwater, pointing - Sash window and joinery repair by our own joiners - Careful internal insulation with designed ventilation - Plastering, decoration and final finishes ### Extensions and structural openings in the city Extensions here are almost always rear or side, on plots with no spare room and neighbours on both sides. The structural work, removing rear walls, forming wide openings, altering an outrigger, is party-wall work, so load paths, temporary support, notice and protection of the adjoining property all have to be handled properly. Drainage is the other constant. Combined and shared drains cross most rear gardens in South Manchester, and a build-over agreement or diversion is frequently part of the job. We identify that at survey and price it, rather than presenting it as an unexpected extra once footings are open. Access dictates method. Where there is no side or rear vehicle access, excavation, spoil removal and material delivery are done with mini plant, protected routes, grab lorries and planned skip permits. That is more work to organise, and it is why honest access planning belongs in the proposal. - Rear and side extensions on constrained plots - Structural openings and outrigger alterations - Party-wall support, notice and protection - Drainage diversion and build-over agreements - Skip permits, protected routes and mini-plant working - Roof alterations and flat-roof renewal ### Loft and cellar conversions Loft conversions on Manchester semis and terraces depend on head height, the existing roof structure, and where a staircase can land without wrecking the floor below. Where a dormer is needed, its size and position are a balance between usable space and how the rear elevation reads. Cellars are a different discipline. A period Manchester cellar is damp by design, it was built to breathe, and it sits below external ground level. Converting one properly means managing water: drainage, sump and pump provision where appropriate, correct membranes, insulation that will not trap moisture, and ventilation. Cellar conversions that are simply lined and boarded fail, and they fail expensively. ### Commercial projects and fit-out Our commercial and industrial experience is directly relevant in Manchester, where fit-out, alterations for a new occupier, structural changes, envelope and roof repair, external works and planned maintenance make up a steady share of the work. The difference from domestic projects is programme discipline. Work has to be phased around trading and occupancy, fire routes and access have to stay usable, dust and noise have to be controlled where staff and customers remain, and sections have to be handed back so the business can use them. In-house estimating means variations get priced quickly when a fit-out date will not move. ### Manchester within our regional coverage Manchester sits north of Stockport, Bramhall and Wilmslow, with our Alderley Edge base a short run south. One directly employed team covers the whole corridor, so labour and materials move between city and Cheshire sites without a subcontractor's diary in the way. The period refurbishment work in Didsbury, Chorlton and Withington uses the same fabric knowledge we apply in Stockport's Heatons and in central Knutsford, while the commercial and industrial capability extends across Cheshire, Greater Manchester and further into the North West. Manchester questions ## What Manchester clients ask first Do you serve Manchester?Yes, principally South Manchester and the Trafford fringe including Didsbury, Withington, Chorlton, Whalley Range, Levenshulme, Sale and Altrincham, plus commercial work closer to the centre. Our office is at 1 London Road, Alderley Edge. How quickly can you reach a property in Manchester?Manchester is a short run north from our Alderley Edge base, so site visits are routine. Call 01625 830714 to arrange one; we do not advertise guaranteed response windows we cannot honour on every job. What does building work cost in Manchester?Cost is driven by the building's condition, access constraints and specification, so we do not publish rates. After a survey we price element by element, with access and enabling works shown separately rather than hidden. Do you carry out reactive or emergency work in Manchester?Yes, for homes and commercial premises. Ring 01625 830714, describe what has happened, and we will tell you what we can do and when. Can you fix damp in a Victorian house properly?We diagnose the cause, external ground levels, blocked sub-floor ventilation, failed rainwater goods, eroded pointing or a leaking rear outrigger roof, and correct that, instead of applying an internal treatment over an unresolved source. Can you convert a cellar?Yes, where it is viable. A period cellar conversion is a water-management project first: drainage, membranes, pumps where needed, moisture-safe insulation and ventilation. Lining a damp cellar without that fails. How do you handle parking permits and skip standing?We arrange permits and standing as part of pre-start planning, and use grab lorries, mini plant and protected routes where a street will not take conventional access. Do you take on commercial fit-out and alterations?Yes. With more than 40 years across residential, commercial and industrial construction we handle fit-out, structural alterations, envelope repair, external works and planned maintenance. Can you work while our premises stay open?Yes. Phasing, out-of-hours work, protected access and fire routes, and dust and noise control are agreed before we start so the business keeps trading. Who will run my project?KIIF is family-run, Keep It In Family. David Cain is Project Director and Victoria Kennedy leads project management and design. We also work in Stockport, Bramhall, Wilmslow, Alderley Edge and across the wider North West, see every area we cover, all services, recent projects, the homepage or contact the office. ## Project in Manchester?Get a proposal thatprices the real job. Call the office or send the details. We will survey the building, tell you what the work involves, including access, and price it element by element. 01625 830714Request an Estimate - Family-run, over 40 years in construction - Directly employed joiners, bricklayers and groundworkers - Office at 1 London Road, Alderley Edge - Site visit with the team who will build it ### Tell us about your project Send the details and we will arrange a site visit in Manchester at a time that suits you. Keep It In Family. A family-run building contractor in Alderley Edge with over 40 years' experience across residential, commercial and industrial construction. ### Services - Building Contractors - New Build - Renovation - Refurbishment & Restoration - Landscaping - Plastering - Joinery - Roofing - Groundworks ### Areas We Cover - Alderley Edge - Cheshire - Manchester - Lancashire - Yorkshire - Merseyside - Wilmslow - Knutsford - Macclesfield - Prestbury - Stockport - Bramhall ### Get In Touch KIIF Limited1 London Road, Alderley EdgeCheshire, SK9 7JU 01625 830714 info@kiif.co.uk Request an Estimate © 2026 KIIF Limited. All rights reserved. ReviewsCookie PolicyPrivacy PolicyTerms & Conditions Call UsGet Estimate