Cast for the job, not pulled off a shelf.
We have been casting concrete in North Devon for 53 years. Long-serving yard crew know what an awkward farm slab looks like, what a tight civils retaining job needs, and what a one-off conservation piece is worth taking on. Roughly a third of what we ship is bespoke — the rest is the catalogue, but the bespoke runs are why customers keep coming back.
Bespoke precast wins where the job has an oddity: a non-standard retained height, a beam-bearing pocket, a curved face, an opening, a finish to match a listed building, or a service void that has to land in millimetre-tolerance.
Step 1 — Drawing in Friday, quote Monday.
Send us a sketch, a photo of an existing unit, an engineer's drawing, or just a description on the phone. We do the rest. Most quotes go back inside a working day; bespoke geometry that needs a structural calc usually comes back inside the week.
Step 2 — Design to Eurocode 2.
Every bespoke structural unit is designed in-house to BS EN 1992-1-1 (Eurocode 2), with crack-width control to BS EN 1992-3 where liquid retention applies (slurry tanks, water tanks, push-walls). Concrete specification follows BS 8500-1:2023 with the right exposure class for the duty.
Step 3 — Mould fabrication.
A bespoke mould is built in our yard from steel, plywood or GRP — whichever holds the form best at the volume. A simple flat-faced panel reuses standard formwork. A curved or pocketed unit takes a week to fabricate; very complex moulds run two to three weeks.
Step 4 — Rebar fix and pour.
Reinforcement cages are tied off-mould and lifted in once the mould is dressed and release agent applied. The pour follows our BS EN 13369 factory production control: cube tests every batch, slump tested at the mixer, cover checked before pour, dimensional record at demould.
Step 5 — Demould and cure.
Strip the mould at 18–24 hours, then cure for 7–14 days depending on duty. Slurry-spec units cure for the full 14 days before they see any load. Each unit is marked with a casting reference that ties back to the cube-test record and the declaration of performance.
Step 6 — Transport.
Loaded onto our own HIAB-equipped lorries (or a low-loader for tall items) and run to your slab. We do most of the South West weekly and run planned routes into the Midlands and home counties. The unit comes off the lorry into position on the day — no third-party haulier, no transhipment damage.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a bespoke precast unit take to make? +
From approved drawing, typically 4–6 weeks for a single bespoke unit. Mould fabrication is the variable — a flat-faced panel reuses standard formwork, where a curved or pocketed unit needs a one-off mould that takes a week or more to build. Stock catalogue items are 2–3 weeks.
Can WCCP design a unit from a sketch? +
Yes. Drop us a sketch, an existing photo, or a written description on Friday and we usually have a quote and a draft drawing back by Monday. We design every bespoke unit in-house to BS EN 1992 (Eurocode 2) and BS EN 1992-3 where liquid retention applies.
What is the smallest bespoke order WCCP will take? +
A single unit if the geometry justifies it — we have cast one-offs for vintage tractor displays and conservation jobs alongside thousand-unit precast runs. Smaller orders carry a higher per-unit cost because mould fabrication is fixed; that is one reason we ask early what else you might need.
Do you supply structural calculations with bespoke units? +
Yes. For every bespoke structural element we can supply the calc, the mix certificate, the cube-test record and the conformity documentation — as a single PDF pack for the engineer of record, available on request. Non-structural decorative items come with the mix cert and a dimensional record.
Where can WCCP deliver a bespoke unit? +
Anywhere in mainland Britain on our own lorries. We have planned runs into Wales, the Midlands and the home counties from Holsworthy. Larger units go on a low-loader; tall items on planned wide-load routes.
Have a bespoke job in mind?
Send the sketch — we'll quote inside a working day.