Builders In Manchester

Finding trusted builders in Manchester is harder than it should be. Unreturned calls, vague quotes, and trades who disappear mid-job are frustrations too many homeowners know well. Reliable Builders Ltd has been doing the opposite since 1974 — showing up, delivering quality work, and treating every Manchester home with the same care we’d give our own.

Based in Stretford, we work across the full breadth of Greater Manchester: from the Victorian terraces of Didsbury and Levenshulme to the 1930s semis of Chorlton and Whalley Range, from the newer builds of Salford Quays to the conservation-designated streets of Altrincham and Bury. Whatever your property, whatever your project, we bring over 50 years of construction knowledge to it.

What Makes Us Different From Other Manchester Builders?

Manchester’s construction market is busy. There’s no shortage of firms advertising themselves as builders in Manchester — but not all of them have the track record, the staff, or the local knowledge to back it up. Here’s what we bring that others often don’t.

Half a century of Manchester experience. We’ve been building, extending, reroofing and paving across Greater Manchester since 1974. That’s more than 50 years of working with the city’s housing stock — understanding how different areas behave structurally, what planning constraints apply, and what local building inspectors expect.

A genuinely local team. We’re not a national franchise placing subcontractors in postcodes they’ve never worked in. Our team lives and works in Greater Manchester. We know the difference between working in an Article 4 Direction area in Didsbury and a standard residential street in Leigh. That knowledge saves our clients time, money, and planning headaches.

Full project management. From your initial consultation through to building regulations sign-off, we handle every stage. You won’t need to coordinate between multiple contractors or chase anyone down for updates. One team, one point of contact, one job done properly.

Transparent pricing. We provide detailed written quotes that don’t change unless the scope does. No surprises on completion day.

Our Building Services in Manchester

We are a full-service Manchester construction company, covering the four core disciplines most homeowners need. Every service is delivered by our own directly employed team — not subcontractors.

Extensions and New Builds

Whether you need a single-storey rear extension to open up your kitchen, a double-storey side addition for extra bedrooms, or a full new build on a cleared plot, our extensions team handles the entire process. We manage planning applications through Manchester City Council and the relevant borough authorities, prepare structural calculations, liaise with building control, and project-manage every trade on site.

Manchester homeowners are increasingly choosing to extend rather than move — and with good reason. Extending a semi-detached in areas like Sale, Didsbury or Wythenshawe typically adds significantly more value than it costs to build. Read our guide to house extension costs in Manchester.

Find out more about our extensions and new builds service.

Brickwork

Our brickwork team covers everything from structural repairs on older Manchester properties to full new-build walls, garden walls, boundary features, and repointing. Manchester’s Victorian and Edwardian housing stock demands specific skills — understanding lime mortars, reclaimed brick matching, and how to work around existing foundations that were never built to modern tolerances.

We regularly undertake brickwork on Conservation Area properties in Didsbury, Altrincham, and Bury where English Heritage guidelines apply and material matching is critical.

Find out more about our brickwork service.

Roofing

From replacing aging felt flat roofs on 1950s extensions to full re-tiles on Victorian bay-fronted terraces, our roofing team operates across Manchester’s diverse property types. We handle repairs, full re-roofs, felt and EPDM flat roofs, lead work, and chimney repairs. All work is completed to BS 5534 standards.

If your property falls within a Conservation Area, we can advise on approved roofing materials that satisfy local planning requirements whilst providing long-term weatherproofing.

Find out more about our roofing service.

Paving and Hard Landscaping

We design and install driveways, patios, paths, and boundary features across Greater Manchester. Our hard landscaping team works with natural stone, block paving, resin-bound gravel, and traditional sett materials. All driveway work uses permeable or suitably drained surfaces in line with Manchester City Council’s SUDS requirements — meaning no planning application is needed in most standard cases.

Find out more about our paving and hard landscaping service.

Areas We Cover Across Greater Manchester

Whilst we work across the whole of Greater Manchester, our core operational area covers the following boroughs and districts. Each has its own planning nuances, housing stock characteristics, and local authority requirements — and our team is experienced working across all of them.

Manchester City — Victorian and Edwardian terraces, back-to-back conversions, post-war housing estates, and new-build urban developments. We work across all Manchester postcodes: M1 through to M23 and beyond.

Salford — A mixture of inter-war semis, 1960s estates, and newer Salford Quays–area developments. Salford City Council planning department has specific requirements for properties near the Irwell corridor and listed structures. Builders in Salford.

Stockport — Includes some of Greater Manchester’s most varied housing: the Edwardian villas of Bramhall, 1930s semis across Cheadle Hulme and Hazel Grove, and Victorian terraces in Stockport town centre. Cheadle Hulme and surrounding areas carry conservation designations that affect permitted development. Builders in Stockport →

Trafford — Home to some of Manchester’s most sought-after residential streets, including those in Stretford (where we’re based), Sale, Urmston, and Altrincham. Altrincham’s conservation areas and Article 4 Directions are well known to our team. Builders in Altrincham.

Bury — A mix of pre-1919 stone terraces, 1930s semis and post-war estates across Bury, Ramsbottom, Radcliffe and Whitefield. Several Bury streets fall under local conservation designations, particularly in Ramsbottom and parts of Bury town centre itself. Builders in Bury.

Wigan (Leigh) — We cover the Leigh and surrounding areas of the Wigan borough, where mid-century housing stock dominates and many homeowners are extending to adapt older layouts. Builders in Leigh.

Wythenshawe — One of Europe’s largest planned housing estates, built predominantly in the 1930s and 40s, with more recent infill development. Most properties are standard semis with strong extension potential under permitted development rights. Builders in Wythenshawe.

We also regularly take on projects in Didsbury, Chorlton, Levenshulme, Withington, Fallowfield, Prestwich, Middleton, Oldham, Rochdale, and Tameside.

Planning Permission for Building Work in Manchester

One of the most common concerns Manchester homeowners raise with us is planning permission — specifically, what needs it and what doesn’t.

The good news is that a significant amount of building work in Greater Manchester falls under Permitted Development Rights (PDR), meaning planning permission isn’t required. Single-storey rear extensions up to 4 metres on detached homes (or 3 metres on semi-detached and terraced properties) can often proceed without planning approval under PDR, subject to the Prior Approval process for larger extensions under the Neighbour Consultation Scheme.

However, PDR is restricted or removed entirely in certain circumstances common across Greater Manchester:

• Properties within Article 4 Direction areas (common in Didsbury, Altrincham, and parts of Salford)
• Listed buildings, which require Listed Building Consent for virtually any structural change
• Properties within designated Conservation Areas, where additional restrictions apply to roof alterations, cladding, and outbuildings
• Homes in the Green Belt fringe around Manchester (affecting parts of Bury, Stockport, and Trafford boroughs)

We handle planning applications as part of our full project management service, and our local knowledge means we know before we start which constraints apply to your specific postcode.

Read our full guide to planning permission for extensions in Manchester.