Testimonials

Dear Steve,

During the final inspection you suggested we write you a letter which you could show to future clients. We’re very pleased to do so because our loft conversion is exactly what we wanted and exactly what you said you would build.
Having seen you working for many weeks, turning up every day on time, we soon realised you are hard-working and very trustworthy and we developed a very good relationship in which you were open to our suggestions and willing to give advice based on your experience. You were keen for us to see how you were progressing and when we were too cowardly to climb your ladder you took photographs for us. You were even happy for our neighbour to go up to look at their roof and see how our loft extension connected with theirs. They approved -so no problems with next-door.

We appreciated your network of professionals who did the plastering, electrical work, plumbing, scaffolding, tiling and roofing whom you obviously brought in because they are very good at their jobs. Like you they we also personable, tidy and professional; and going by the friendly chatter we heard you’ve used them for years. You arranged for them to turn up at just the right time for each job – even dealing with their summer holidays. For instance the roofer returned from holiday on a Wednesday and next day appeared on our roof. Before you came we’d had an intermittent leak and while you were up there with him you spotted the problem (unrelated to the loft conversion) and arranged for it to be fixed.

Good though the others were, we soon realised that your excellent craftsmanship and carpentry skills were the most important ingredient of the mix. You often worked alone or with Malcolm, and we saw the quality of your carpentry and the care you took. Most of this ended up hidden under plasterboard but it’s the basis of everything and needs to be sound. All the visible results of your carpentry were perfect bannisters, skirting boards, architraves, window ledges and the entrance to the storage area. So it looks good and we are confident the hidden structure is good.

We experienced virtually no disruption while you worked because you let yourself into the loft through a hole in the roof at the front each morning, and closed it every night with tiles. Apart from an electric wire going through our sealed trap door we hardly knew you were there no loud radio and certainly no loud shouting (and no builders’ swearing either!).

We stayed away for a couple of nights while you broke through the ceiling and installed the new staircase. When we returned we were very surprised at how clean the place was. All doors had been sealed so that none of the black dust got into our rooms and you had clearly taken great care with dust sheets because our hallway floors were clean – just some dust on the door mouldings and some streaks on the wall. You showed us a bag of black sooty dust you’d swept up none of which remained.

You were tidy and methodical throughout the work. There was no skip outside -you took rubbish home with you every night. Even the pile of heavy old tiles from the back roof went quickly.

You made us feel involved. We told you what height we wanted the Velux window, and once it was installed you came down and told us the actual measurements, which corresponded almost exactly with ours. You brought us various coloured tiles so we could choose the most appropriate ones for the dormer and were very patient when we dithered for longer then we should have done. All the time we were kept reassured. I recall an interesting chat with you about the quality of the wood on offer at various builders’ merchants, how a lot of it was substandard (wet, twisted, knotted etc.) and how you’d been to Lewes and then been obliged to drive all the way to Shoreham to get some decent joists. As you said – who is buying the bad stuff and where does it go?

The whole process was so much less stressful than we thought it would be. No cowering downstairs not knowing what was going on. The windows, lights and electrical sockets were installed just where we wanted them. The new bannisters match the old. You even provided your own tea so the only thing we had to give you was the occasional glass of water when it was really hot.

We are very pleased with our new loft. We saw a number of companies who said they would do the job but we felt we wanted an individual builder who would be on site all the time; someone to speak to whenever we wanted, face to face; someone who would organise and supervise known and trusted professionals needed to complete the task. We are convinced we chose the right person to build it. If any of your prospective clients want to talk to us please feel free to give them our details.
Thanks for all your hard work. Now we have to decide what colour to paint it!

M & B

Brighton, East Sussex