MLS Contractors are built on two trades: groundworks and brickwork. We self-deliver both – independently or as a single combined package – for architects, developers and main contractors across Surrey and Sussex
4.5m
Extension footprint
4
Working days on site
3
Directly employed operatives
96
Total man-hours delivered
WHO WE ARE
A Groundworks and Brickwork Contractor at Our Core
MLS Contractors are a groundworks and brickwork contractor operating across Surrey and Sussex. These are not bolt-on services — they are the trades the business was founded on, and the work our directly employed teams deliver every day. From excavation and foundations through to facing brickwork and parapet completion, we carry the full substructure-to-superstructure capability in-house, under one contract.We operate across three delivery models: supply and fix (labour plus key materials), full supply and build (all labour and all materials, including bricks, blocks, aggregates, concrete, and drainage goods), and combined groundworks and brickwork packages where a single MLS team takes a scheme from cleared ground to finished masonry. We also deliver single-trade packages where the project requires it.This case study covers a brickwork-only package at a residential extension in Horley, Surrey — a small scheme that illustrates the standard our teams maintain on every job, regardless of value.HOW WE WORK
Single Trade, Combined Package, or Full Supply and Build – You Choose
MLS price and deliver work in whatever structure suits the project and the client. The table below sets out the main options:
Bricklayers only, client provides all materials
This project - client supplied bricks and blocks
Labour + mortar, insulation, ties, DPCs, sundries
Most common MLS brickwork package
Labour + excavation, concrete, drainage, formwork
Most common MLS Foundations, slabs, drainage runsrickwork package
Groundworks + brickwork delivered by one MLS team end-to-end
Substructure to superstructure, single contract
Complete package: all labour and all materials including bricks, blocks, aggregates, concrete, drainage goods
Full turnkey - nothing for client to procure
The most common enquiry we receive from main contractors and developers is a combined groundworks and brickwork package — one subcontractor, one programme, one point of accountability from ground clearance through to finished masonry. It removes the coordination risk between two trade packages and simplifies the procurement process considerably. On residential schemes in particular, where the groundworks and brickwork often run back-to-back with a short overlap, a combined MLS package typically produces a tighter overall programme than two separate subcontracts.
For architects and self-build clients who want maximum cost certainty, our full supply and build option means you provide the drawings and the design intent — MLS procure, deliver, and install everything. No material scheduling, no supplier management, no delivery coordination on your part.
PROJECT CASE STUDY — PR-10178
Brickwork Package: 51 Hevers Avenue, Horley, Surrey
This project was a labour-led supply and fix brickwork package — the client supplied the facing bricks and blocks, and MLS provided all labour, mortar, cavity wall insulation, wall ties, DPCs, lintels, cill profiles, and sundries. It is a straightforward example of the kind of work our brickwork teams complete regularly across Surrey. The scope ran from DPC level to finished parapet on a 4.5m single-storey rear extension.
4.5m
Extension footprint
4
Working days on site
3
Directly employed operatives
96
Total man-hours delivered
Scope of works
- Facing brickwork to outer leaf — substructure and full superstructure, all elevations
- Blockwork inner skin — full height throughout
- Cavity wall insulation — supplied and installed progressively
- Vertical DPC and wall starter ties at substructure stage
- Cavity tray DPC above all lintel positions
- Lintel installation over all window and door openings
- Window cill profiles — cut and fitted in-situ
- Toothed bond returns to all corners and T-junctions
- Overhand brickwork from scaffold at upper level
- Parapet construction — completed to full height on all elevations
All three operatives on this project are directly employed MLS bricklayers. No agency labour. For any client specifying a brickwork or groundworks package — that means a single point of accountability, daily site diary records, and full photographic progress reporting as standard.
Date | Stage | Works Undertaken | Cost Code |
15 Apr | DPC Level (Substructure) | 5no. courses facing brickwork + 1no. course blockwork to DPC level. Blockwork to inner skin. Vertical DPC and wall starter ties installed. Cavity insulation to outer skin prior to inner skin closing. | 0234 — Foundation Masonry |
16 Apr | First Lift — Superstructure | Overhand brickwork to outer leaf to lift height. Blockwork outer skin with toothed bond returns. Cavity insulation installed progressively. Inner skin to lift height. Secondary wall raised +2 courses. Window cill profiles cut. Oversite cleared ahead of scaffold erection. | 0341 — Brick Outer Leaf |
22 Apr | Upper Level — Lintels & Cavity Tray | Inner and outer skin blockwork to upper level. Lintels installed over all openings. Cavity tray DPC above lintels. Overhand brickwork from scaffold — outer leaf closed at height. | 0341 — Brick Outer Leaf |
23 Apr | Parapet Complete — Handover | Masonry walls completed to full parapet level on all elevations. Site left clean. Handed over to flat roofer and follow-on trades. | 0341 — Brick Outer Leaf |
GROUNDWORKS CAPABILITY
Groundworks Contractor Surrey and Sussex — The Other Half of What We Do
Brickwork and groundworks are the two trades MLS was built on. Our groundworks capability covers the full substructure scope that typically precedes a brickwork package — which is exactly why a combined contract makes sense on most schemes:
- Excavation — strip foundations, pad foundations, and bulk excavation
- Concrete works — foundations, ground beams, pile caps, and oversite slabs
- Drainage — foul and surface water, manhole construction, UPVC and clay pipework
- Temporary and permanent formwork
- Ground source heat pump groundworks and pipe installation
- Hardcore, sub-base, and formation preparation
- External works and hardstanding
On projects where MLS delivers both the groundworks and the brickwork under a single combined package, our team transitions directly from substructure completion into above-ground masonry — no programme gap, no coordination risk, no finger-pointing between trades.
WHY SPECIFY MLS
Why Architects, Developers and Main Contractors Use MLS Across Surrey and Sussex
For architects
We work from your drawings from day one, flag buildability and specification queries before they become RFIs, and maintain a daily site diary with labour records, task descriptions, cost codes, and progress photography. Combined packages eliminate the coordination gap between groundworks and brickwork — one subcontractor to manage, one programme to track, one set of RAMS to approve.
For residential developers and self-build clients
We offer supply and fix and full supply and build packages across Surrey and Sussex — structured to suit your procurement preference and budget. A combined groundworks and brickwork package with MLS means a single fixed price from ground clearance to completed masonry, with all labour and materials managed by us. Clear scope, clear price, clean handover to the next trade.
For main contractors
We are set up to function as a clean, low-friction subcontractor. We carry our own RAMS, submit daily site diaries and progress photographs, and communicate programme risks as soon as they are identified. Our combined packages reduce the number of subcontract interfaces on your programme — particularly valuable on residential schemes where groundworks and brickwork represent the majority of early-stage risk.
COVERAGE
Groundworks and Brickwork Contractor Covering Surrey, Sussex and the South East
MLS Contractors deliver groundworks and brickwork packages — single trade and combined — across a wide area of the South East:
- Horley — where this project was completed, adjacent to Gatwick
- Crawley — brickwork and groundworks contractor Crawley (active location page)
- East Grinstead — brickwork and groundworks contractor East Grinstead (active location page)
- Redhill and Reigate — regular brickwork and groundworks projects
- Gatwick corridor — new build residential and commercial schemes
- Haywards Heath, Burgess Hill and wider West Sussex
- South London — select residential development projects
FULL CAPABILITY
Brickwork and Groundworks Services Across Surrey and Sussex
The Hevers Avenue project illustrates one element of our residential capability. Across our wider portfolio, MLS deliver:
- New build residential — traditional masonry, timber frame infill, and hybrid construction from groundworks to roof
- Combined groundworks and brickwork packages — single contract, end-to-end substructure and superstructure
- Full supply and build — all labour and materials, for clients who want a single turnkey package
- Commercial shell and core — groundworks, drainage, structural blockwork, and architectural facing brickwork
- Cavity wall construction — full insulation, ties, DPCs, lintels, and cill profiles supply and fix
- Residential extensions — groundworks, foundations, and brickwork as separate or combined packages
- Drainage and external works — foul and surface water, hardstanding, and external masonry
- Multi-phase residential development — repeat contract groundworks and brickwork for volume developers
GET A QUOTE
Groundworks and Brickwork Contractor Surrey: Request a Package Quotation
Whether you need a single-trade brickwork package, a standalone groundworks subcontractor, or a combined end-to-end contract — send us your drawings and we will return a competitive, clearly scoped quotation within 5 working days.