I spend my working life stopping big projects from making costly assumptions.

I'm Miles Oliver, a civil engineer. I lead pre-construction on major UK infrastructure — Sizewell C, HS2, Crossrail and Thames Tideway — which means my job is interrogating drawings, methods, temporary works and prices long before anyone breaks ground. The whole discipline is asking awkward questions early, when the answer still costs nothing.

I also built my own off-grid, timber-framed outbuilding: 89×38 CLS frame, mineral wool between the studs, corrugated steel roof, a slab I set out myself. So I know the gap between a tidy drawing and a wet Saturday with a mixer, and I know exactly which decisions you can't undo later.

Second Look Advisory is my own independent practice — I've recently gone fully independent, so it's a separate business with no employer, no sales agenda and no contractor to protect. Just the same pre-construction discipline applied to your project, from a garage or extension up to a full renovation or new-build home.