Folkestone · Sandgate · Cheriton · Hawkinge · Capel-le-Ferne · Etchinghill
Ten trades under one call. Repairs, guttering, timber, small roof, painting, fence-and-gate, small plumbing and electrical, flat-pack, property maintenance. Fixed prices, honest scope, coastal-aware. No fix, no fee.
Why Folkestone work is different
Folkestone runs from the Leas clifftop down through the steep Old High Street Creative Quarter to the Harbour Arm and the seafront, with Sandgate's Esplanade taking the Channel weather straight on. Folkestone & Hythe District Council is the planning authority. Grand Victorian villas split into flats, Edwardian terraces on steep streets, salt-laden air that ages exposed timber and metalwork faster than a few miles inland. Everyday small jobs on this stock are not the same as everyday small jobs on a 2015 estate up at Hawkinge.
Behind the town the ground rises to the plateau at Hawkinge, built up around the old Battle of Britain airfield, and out along the clifftop past Capel-le-Ferne toward Dover. Weather comes in hard off the Channel - blown-in fence panels, storm-slipped tiles, gutters and railings that corrode faster on a seafront frontage than they would at Etchinghill in the sheltered valley below the Downs. Coastal-house maintenance runs on a different clock to inland maintenance.
Ten trades under one call. Straight quote against the actual job, not a day-rate estimate.
Conservation Area & the Leas villas
The Folkestone Conservation Area covers much of the Leas and the town centre, administered by Folkestone & Hythe District Council. Repair-and-like-for-like work on listed frontages does not need Listed Building Consent - a sash-window sill splice, a matched-mortar re-point, a timber fascia patched in matching stock. Anything that changes the look of a listed elevation is paused and routed through the council's conservation team first.
What I do
£95 call-out, first hour included, £45 per hour after that, plus parts. Or a fixed price on a specific job (a gutter clear, a flat-pack unit, a fence panel swap).
The small jobs that a builder will not turn out for and a plumber does not cover. Sticking doors, cracked plaster, dropped shelves, squeaking stairs on steep terraced houses. £95 call-out (first hour included), £45/hour after.
Spec & pricingGutter clear, gutter re-align, downpipe re-fix, joint replacement. Salt-air corrosion on seafront and clifftop metalwork means more frequent checks than inland streets. £95 call-out (first hour included), £45/hour after, plus parts.
Spec & pricingRotten fascia and soffit patches, sash-window sill repair on Leas villas, feather-edge closeboard patching. Salt-laden coastal air ages exposed timber faster than a few miles inland.
Spec & pricingSlipped tiles re-bedded, ridge re-pointing, flashing patched, chimney-side lead reset. Not full re-roofs - the small jobs a roofing firm will not book in for, sorted before the next Channel gale.
Spec & pricingInterior rooms, exterior fascia and soffit, Leas-villa sash-window re-paint, seafront-grade exterior systems that actually hold up to salt spray. Fixed price per room, one working day per standard room.
Spec & pricingStorm-damaged panel replacement, dropped gates re-hung, clifftop boundary post resets. Same-week callout after a Channel blow, which happens more here than most Kent postcodes.
Spec & pricingDripping taps replaced, isolation valves added, toilet fill-valve swaps, waste-trap replacement, outside-tap installs. Not boiler work - fleet stops at the CH boundary.
Spec & pricingLike-for-like socket and switch replacement, outdoor light re-fix, CU-side isolation and tidy. notifiable work routed to a qualified electrician - flagged at quote stage.
Spec & pricingIKEA and equivalent flat-pack assembly, wall-mounted TVs on stud or brick, curtain poles, blinds, floating shelves, bathroom accessories. Fixed price per unit.
Spec & pricingStanding maintenance visits for holiday-let and second-home owners near the seafront and Harbour Arm. Quarterly walk-round, snag list, fixed price per visit. Post-storm check option after a Channel gale.
Spec & pricingStandards
On completion I walk you round the finished work. If any joint is off, any paint line is wrong, any fixing is not what we agreed - no fix, no fee. I stay until it's right, or you don't pay. No small print.
Priced against a real scope at quote stage - parts list, time estimate, disposal. Once quoted, the price is the price. No day-rate creep, no "we hit a surprise" mid-job phone call.
Every job leaves you with a photo record. Useful for house-sale packs, useful for insurance claims after storm damage, useful when the neighbour asks who did it.
Where I work
The town itself - the Leas clifftop villas, the steep Old High Street Creative Quarter, Harbour Arm, and the Victorian and Edwardian terraces running down to the seafront.
More on FolkestoneThe coastal village west of Folkestone along the Esplanade - sea-frontage cottages and antiques-trade shopfronts, exposed directly to the Channel with real salt-spray and flood-risk considerations.
More on SandgateThe inland district toward the Channel Tunnel terminal - mixed Victorian terraces and 20th-century housing, a step back from the worst of the coastal weather.
More on CheritonThe plateau town above Folkestone, built up around the former Battle of Britain airfield - newer estates alongside older stock, more wind exposure on the open ridge than the sheltered town below.
More on HawkingeThe clifftop village toward Dover, home to the Battle of Britain Memorial - detached and semi-detached houses right on the White Cliffs edge, full Channel exposure.
More on Capel-le-FerneThe village in the valley below the North Downs escarpment, inland of Folkestone toward Lyminge - more sheltered than the coast, with its own mix of period and newer stock.
More on EtchinghillRecent work
A running log of jobs across the Folkestone patch. Updated as I finish them.
Frequently asked
Send photos of the job and a one-line description to WhatsApp on 07763 100 477. For most straightforward Folkestone-area jobs (a gutter clear, a rotten fascia, a fence panel down, a set of shelves) I can come back with a fixed price the same working day. For bigger jobs or listed-frontage work I'll come out to verify onsite - free, no obligation.
£95 call-out, first hour included, £45 per hour after that - no day rate, no tiers. Fixed-price jobs (a gutter clear, a flat-pack unit, a fence panel swap) quoted individually. VAT included where applicable. 5% pensioner discount on every job.
No notifiable electrical work (notifiable jobs go to a qualified electrician). No gas-side boiler or cooker work (Gas Safe engineer). No structural work (removing walls, altering lintels). No full re-roofs. Nothing that changes a listed-elevation appearance without Listed Building Consent from Folkestone & Hythe District Council. I flag any of these at quote stage and refer to the right specialist.
Yes, on repair-and-like-for-like work that does not need Listed Building Consent. Timber patch repair, matched-mortar re-pointing, sash-window sill splice, matched-paint schemes. Anything that changes the appearance of a listed elevation is paused at quote stage and routed through Folkestone & Hythe District Council's conservation team for LBC first. That is your protection, not just mine.
Same-week callout across the patch (Folkestone, Sandgate, Cheriton, Hawkinge, Capel-le-Ferne, Etchinghill) for storm damage, blown-in fence panels, blocked gutters and anything weather-related. Booked-in work usually 1-2 weeks out. Emergency same-day: WhatsApp or call directly.
Send photos and a one-line description on WhatsApp. Fixed price back same-day on straightforward Folkestone-area jobs; site visit on anything unusual. No pressure, no upsell.