SC4 is passionate about encouraging more women into STEM and Construction. Owner/Director, Katy Hall, believes that changing attitudes to gender from a very young age, and in our day to day interactions, could cause a shift towards this and improve life for all.

SC4 Carpenters Ltd is pleased and proud to announce that Katy Hall, joint owner & Director of SC4, has won an Inspirational Business Women in STEM and Construction Award in 2025.

On a rainy day in January 2025, SC4 Carpenters Ltd collaborated with Lovell Partnerships Ltd in providing a site visit at Drummond Park to 30 carpentry students from Newbury College, Berkshire, UK and Wiltshire College & University Centre.

As a contractor or contractor-developer, you understand the significance of selecting the right specialist trade contractor to support your new-build housing projects. Working with the right specialist contractor can significantly impact your project's success, bringing in further expertise, experience, quality assurance, project management capabilities, and a strong commitment to health and safety. This eBook delves into the key aspects that a competent specialist trade contractor can contribute to your new-build housing development.

UK National Apprenticeship Week 2024, taking place between 5^th and 11^th of February, is a great time to explore what a carpentry and joinery apprenticeship involves and its practical aspects, and if this could be the right path for you into the construction industry.

In this, the second part of our mini-series on women in construction, we tackle some of the most commonly asked questions surrounding the role of women in the industry.

One of the biggest trends in UK construction is the growing involvement of women at all levels of the sector. In this two-part article series, we’ll look at the challenges and opportunities faced by women in the construction industry. From breaking down stereotypes to exploring the benefits of a diverse workforce, we will address some of the most commonly asked questions and uncover the untapped potential of women in a traditionally male-dominated sector.

Let’s take a look at the five main benefits of building sustainably in the construction industry and our best practices. Building sustainably is becoming the new norm when constructing new residential buildings, offices and even hospitals. As a responsible business owner in the construction industry, therefore, it is crucial to understand the benefits of sustainable building practices.

Whether you are a business owner, manager, or employee, we all have a part to play in creating a more welcoming and inclusive work environment within our industry. As business owners, it is easy to make all the right moves in our attempts to hire a more diverse team of tradespeople and on-site operatives, but what happens when they quit due to bullying, discrimination, or lack of accessibility?

In this article, Katy Hall discusses neurodiversity in construction and how to build a neurodiverse work culture. Many people working within SC4 Carpenters from Directors to tradespeople, and within the Construction Industry as a whole, are neurodivergent, including Katy herself. Many of the challenges faced by ND people are invisible - don't assume everyone else is ok, just because you are not struggling with the working environment.

Long working hours, heavy lifting, and exposure to the elements can all take a toll on your well-being. Here are five ways you can look after your body and physical health while on or off the job. Looking after your body when working in construction is one of the most important things you can do. After all, your body is your most important tool in the day-to-day. 

In this article, we discuss the UK housing shortage and the role downsizing could play in more of the population having access to affordable homes. Despite the thousands of new build houses popping up like summer flowers all across the UK, the country is still facing a housing shortage. Or, to put it more accurately, the UK has a shortage of appropriately priced housing for certain demographic groups.

In this article, SC4 Carpenters Ltd Owner/Director talks more about her nomination as a UK Construction Week Role Model in 2023 and why the promotion of women, neurodiversity and equity in construction is so important. When I first started out there were very few women in construction and in fact it took me many years to understand that I was working in the construction industry.

During Neurodiversity Celebration Week, 13 -19 March 2023, Katy Hall, Owner/Director of SC4 Carpenters Ltd, considers the pros and cons of being neurodivergent, including the many benefits neurodiversity brings to the company as well as the difficulties neurodivergent people face. In construction , neurodiversity is more common than you probably realise and frequently an advantage.

Katy Hall, Owner Director of SC4 Carpenters Ltd talks to the Federation of Master Builders about the many opportunities for Women in Construction and the improvements the industry has seen over the last decade to increase the number of women entering the construction industry. Katy discusses her experience over her 20 years and the shift in attitudes to women in construction.

SC4 Carpenters promoted National Apprentice Week in February 2023 by celebrating the achievements of second year carpentry apprentice, Ethan. Ethan has been working on various sites in Hampshire. Ethan takes on new tasks willingly and is not afraid to come up with new ideas and get involved with every day site issues and is good fun to have around the team.

Saturday 10th September 2022 marks #WorldSuicidePreventionDay, a day designed to raise awareness of, and to promote action to reduce the number of suicides globally. Here at SC4, we believe in making sure everyone under our employment feels safe, enjoys what they do, and cares about the community and environment. We feel this is important not just for our work, but also for the wellbeing of our staff.

SC4 Carpenters Ltd is pleased to announce that we have won Best Carpentry Business - Southern England at the SME News UK Enterprise Awards. "We pride ourselves on providing a high quality service to our customers, safely and to programme, working in partnership with our clients – and are pleased that this has been recognised by this award."

SC4 were recently awarded a £5,000 grant from the CITB Skills & Training Fund, which we are using to fund training for our workforce, as part of our commitment to ongoing quality improvement, professional development, and health and safety. Our managers, staff, and subcontractors are all encouraged to engage with regular training and professional development courses that align with their job objectives and working patterns.

SC4 is proud to have once again been certified by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) and TrustMark for our commercial carpentry, timber frame and decorating works. The FMB has carried out an independent inspection of our works and has certified that we meets its strict membership requirements and government-endorsed TrustMark quality standards.

The concept of ‘social value’ has been making headlines for quite a while and is a hot topic of conversation among decision-makers in many industries - among them, construction. The term social value refers to the creation of benefits in various spheres of society, from the environment to the economy. In other words, it implies making a wider contribution beyond profits.

In this article, Conrad Hall, owner/Director of SC4 Carpenters Lt discusses his 40 year career in construction and how his dyslexia and neurodiversity has contributed to his success. In January 2022, when I received my NVQ 7 in Senior Construction Management it was validation for years of hard work, experience and building belief in myself.

In this article, Owner/Director of SC4 Carpenters Ltd, Katy Hall, relates her story in construction reflecting on her role and changing Construction Industry attitudes to women over the last 30 years. I was an equal owner and director and was heavily involved in the commercial strategy right from the start. Yet I still saw it as their company. They were the ones on site, they had the technical knowledge and carpentry experience.

At SC4 Carpenters and Decorators, our commitment isn’t just to delivering high-quality professional services for the construction industry. We’re also passionate about supporting and investing in our local community, from sponsoring sports teams and up-and-coming talent to promoting mental health and wellbeing in these challenging times.

SC4 is proud to have signed The 5% Club Charter and that we have repeatedly exceeded the promises made in this Charter for many years by having a minimum 5% of our UK workforce enrolled on formalised apprentice, sponsored student and/or graduate development schemes. We aim to play a role in transforming the fortunes of young, talented people in the UK and to ensure that the UK retains its reputation for innovation.

In this article we explain what Social Value in Construction means to us. We are proud that our company represents a diverse local social and ethnic community where the benefits provided by individual skills and experience, knowledge, expertise, neurodiversity and conditions such as dyslexia are valued and our workforce and local community is supported.

On World Suicide Prevention Day 2021, we have republished a couple of videos from 2019 which are sadly still relevant today. In the construction industry deaths from suicide are around ten times higher than deaths from injury, and each death is one too many.

Congratulations to Eastleigh Football Club, Joe Tomlinson, for a triple whammy this week. SC4 Carpenters Ltd is proud to be your home game sponsor and delighted by your success this season. Well done for winning TSSC (The Spitfires Supporters Club) 2020/2021 Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season. Well deserved! Read the full blog to see Joe scoring the winning goal this week.

#TimeToTalk Day 2020 , 1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem in any given year, which is why talking about mental health is so important. Join SC4 start the conversation to end the stigma for those struggling with a mental health problem or crisis. Too often, mental health problems are treated as a taboo subject – something not to be talked about, especially at work.

HRH THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE AND FOOTBALL LEGENDS CHAMPION MENTAL HEALTH ON EMIRATES FA CUP THIRD ROUND WEEKEND. Public Health England’s Every Mind Matters and the Heads Up campaign, a partnership between Heads Together and The FA, have teamed up to encourage football fans to take simple actions to look after their mental health.

SC4's Decorator, Stephen Norton, is growing his Moustache for this year's Movember campaign. He hopes to raise awareness of Mental Health issues in Construction. Stephen has been inspired by his own Mental Ill Health and his struggles to overcome them. See the video below for more. Check out his video below and visit: Conrad's Mospace to donate.

Rachael talks about how she became Marketing & Communications Manager for SC4 Carpenters Ltd and why her role as Welfare Liaison was so important.

Katy Hall has been Finance Director, Company Secretary and an owner of SC4 Carpenters Ltd since its inauguration in 2000. Read Katy's story in construction to find out how she came to construction and why she believes it is so important for the industry that it attracts more women.

Campaigning for Greater Diversity and Inclusivity in the Construction Industry