A leading Northampton-based asbestos management consultancy is supporting an all-female design and build project, by providing skilled women to complete vital tasks on site.

To mark Women in Construction Week from 2-8 March, Acorn Analytical Services is shining a spotlight on the pioneering project by Kat Parsons and her wife Fiona, which sees a full-scale renovation and extension of a family home, using only female tradespeople.

The duo, both environmental consultants, bought a house in Ipswich three years ago and decided to refurbish the building themselves, as well as add an extension.

Kat, who now works in diversity and inclusion, recalls: “My wife and I are quite handy and enjoy getting our hands dirty. The plan was a full renovation as the owner before us had been here 70 years and the house needed a lot of work.

“Fi said it would be nice to get some female trades involved and very quickly that snowballed. Given our backgrounds – my role now is to get more representation in male dominated sectors – we wondered if it would be possible to do an all-female design and build project.”

Having worked in construction for more than 20 years, Kat and Fiona are used to male dominated teams and have experienced numerous challenges for women on construction sites, including ill-fitting PPE and ill-equipped temporary toilets.

Kat said: “I think we learned quickly that the design element wouldn’t be to difficult to do. Technical and structural engineers we know but we struggled with building surveyors. I must have contacted eight local companies and there wasn’t a single female surveyor.

“We have tried to prioritise sustainability for the project, but we had to employ a surveyor from Essex in the end and take the hit on the travel.

“We were so adamant that we wanted to do this, but it has taken months to get the team together.”

Kat found Acorn Analytical Services by accident through LinkedIn. She contacted head of commercial Sian Stone and was amazed by the speedy service.

“I dropped Sian a note about the project, and she replied saying she could help with everything we needed,” she said. “Within days we had a surveyor on site, and she had completed all the work.

“Acorn were fantastic. Sian had all these brilliant women – a female surveyor, female lab technician and female report writer. It’s such a male dominated environment that this was such a positive for us.

“The surveyor was brilliant. I asked 10,000 questions and like to know why things are done in certain ways, especially given my background in contaminated land and understanding the risks of asbestos. She answered all my questions and more.”

Sian said: “This project has been a pleasure to be involved with. Kat and Fiona are doing an incredible job of empowering and shining a spotlight on women in construction and it’s a privilege for Acorn Analytical to play a small part in making this build a success.”

The build is expected to be finished this summer. Kat and Fiona will then complete the interior.

For more details visit www.all-female-build.co.uk and all_female_renovation on Instagram for daily updates.

To find out more about Acorn Analytical Services visit www.acorn-as.com