New build · Refurbishment & restoration · Bespoke joinery · Hertfordshire
Builders and bespoke joiners for Hertfordshire homes — from the ground up, or back to their best.
Lignum Build is an independent Hertfordshire building firm led by Patrick O'Malley. Ground-up design and build, refurbishment and restoration of existing properties, and bespoke joinery and carpentry made by hand — with bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, tiling and electrical work carried out by our own team, so one company carries the whole job.
“Pat and his team were courteous, knowledgeable and efficient.”
Joy B, Harpenden — on an internal reconfiguration that involved a good number of steels and moving an electrical supply.
Lignum
Latin for timber — bespoke joinery is the heart of the firm
One director
Patrick O’Malley prices and runs every project himself
Every trade
brickwork, plastering, plumbing, tiling and electrical in-house
Company 10691532
Lignum Build Ltd — active on Companies House
Independent builder & joiner · led by Patrick O’Malley · St Albans & Harpenden
A builder whose name is the Latin word for timber — and whose joinery shows it.
Lignum Build Ltd is a Hertfordshire building company run by Patrick O'Malley. It takes on the complete job: ground-up design and build for new houses, the refurbishment and restoration of existing properties, and the bespoke joinery and carpentry that make a finished room feel made rather than bought.
The difference on a Lignum project is that the trades belong to the same firm. Bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, tiling and electrical work are all carried out by our own experienced team, so there's one programme, one standard of finish and one person to call — which is why clients tend to describe Pat, rather than a company, when they talk about how their build went.
Lignum · Latin for timber
The joinery is why the firm has the name it has.
Almost nothing in a Hertfordshire house is square, plumb or a standard size — which is the whole argument for bespoke work. Staircases, fitted wardrobes, panelling, cabinetry, doors and the skirtings and architraves copied off what's already there: measured against the finished opening, made by hand, scribed on site so it sits tight to a wall that isn't straight.
What we do
Three services, and every trade a build needs inside them.
The work in practice
The jobs Hertfordshire clients actually ring about.
These are the project types behind the three services — including the three that clients have written about by name: a reconfiguration full of structural steels, a loft conversion, and a bathroom taken back to the walls.
Internal reconfiguration & structural steels
Knocking a plan about so a house works properly — walls out, steel beams in, openings formed and everything around them made good. A Harpenden client's reconfiguration involved a good number of steels plus relocating an electrical supply, which is the kind of complication we'd rather handle than avoid.
Loft conversions
Turning unused roof space into rooms a family can actually live in — floor structure, stairs, dormers or rooflights, insulation, plaster and the joinery that makes the awkward angles feel deliberate. One Markyate loft was converted for two girls during lockdown and completed on time.
Bathroom transformations
A bathroom taken back to the walls and rebuilt: first fix plumbing and electrics, tanking, tiling, sanitaryware and the cabinetry. Tiling and plumbing are our own trades, so the tile setting-out and the pipework are decided together rather than argued about.
Ground-up design & build
In Lignum Build's own words, "a complete professional service from ground up design and build" — taking a plot or a set of drawings through groundwork, structure, envelope and fit-out to a finished house.
Restoration of older properties
Hertfordshire has a lot of houses worth keeping. Restoration work means repairing rather than replacing where the original is better — sound masonry, honest plaster repairs, and joinery copied from what's already there.
Extensions & knock-throughs
Single and double-storey extensions, rear knock-throughs and garden-room links, with the structural drawings, building control sign-off and the sequencing of every trade handled by one firm.
Loft conversions
Roof space into a room the family actually uses.
Floor structure, stairs, dormers or rooflights, insulation, plaster, and the joinery that turns awkward angles into storage instead of dead space. One Markyate family needed more room during lockdown; the loft they asked for was converted and, in their words, completed on time.
“Our family required more space during lockdown. I contacted Patrick at Lignum for a quote, to convert our loft space… The build was completed on time… Great job and much appreciated for creating a beautiful space for our girls.”
Roy, Markyate · Loft conversion
In their own words
“Lignum Build did a complicated internal reconfiguration job for us which involved a good number of steels and other complications such as moving of electrical supply. Pat and his team were courteous, knowledgeable and efficient… I would highly recommend them.”
Joy B, Harpenden — Internal reconfiguration with structural steels
“Our family required more space during lockdown. I contacted Patrick at Lignum for a quote, to convert our loft space… The build was completed on time… Great job and much appreciated for creating a beautiful space for our girls.”
Roy, Markyate · Loft conversion
“Big thanks to Pat and the team at Lignum Build for transforming my bathroom. Quality work, on time and budget and great customer service (all my questions answered with patience and expertise!). They have done a brilliant job.”
Amanda, Harpenden · Bathroom transformation
How a Lignum project runs
Five stages, and you know who owns each one.
01
A look at the job, and an honest read on it
Pat comes out, walks the property with you and tells you what the work you're describing actually involves — where the structure needs opening up, what the drainage or electrics will dictate, and which parts of the wish list are worth the money. Nothing is priced before it's understood.
02
Drawings, approvals and the structural detail
For anything structural — a loft, a knock-through, an extension, a reconfiguration with steels in it — the drawings, the calculations and the building control side are pinned down before work starts. It's the stage that decides whether a build runs smoothly or stalls halfway.
03
A written price and a sequence for the work
You get the price in writing, broken down so you can see what sits where, along with the order the trades will come in. Because bricklaying, plastering, plumbing, tiling and electrics are all ours, that sequence is something we control rather than something we hope for.
04
The build, run by the person who quoted it
Pat is on the job with the team rather than managing it from a distance — the point clients keep making in their own words. You get one number to ring, decisions answered the same day, and the site left in a state you can live alongside.
05
Joinery, finishing and a proper handover
The bespoke joinery goes in last: the staircase, the wardrobes, the cabinetry, the trims that make the room fit its house. Then it's snagged properly, cleaned, and handed over with the paperwork you'll want for the file.
Where we build
Hertfordshire — St Albans, Harpenden and the villages between them.
Lignum Build works out of Harpenden and St Albans, and the jobs clients have written about are close by: an internal reconfiguration in Harpenden, a loft conversion in Markyate, a bathroom in Harpenden again. We're a Hertfordshire firm, not a London one — so if your project is in or around St Albans and Harpenden, we're already on your doorstep.
Got a project in mind?
Ring Pat and describe it, or email the drawings and photos over. You'll get an honest read on what the work involves before anything is priced.
St Albans & Harpenden, Hertfordshire · Lignum Build Ltd · Company no. 10691532 · incorporated 27 March 2017 · active