A Builder You Can Trust

The main problem is finding one that you can trust and who will not just disappear in the middle of the job or get it wrong and then go off leaving you with a mess to clear up and start all over again.

We wanted alterations to our property and we asked for quotes from five different builders, three were from recommendations and one from an advert.

The first came up with a quote in two days, having given a cursory look at the house.

The second took three weeks to quote and then proposed alterations to three bathrooms (we only have two).

The third never came back to us at all.

The fourth quoted a price three times that of the first guy

The fifth, a recommendation, came and looked at the house, listened to what we wanted done and asked for an outline plan from which he could work.

This we duly provided and he made suggestions that actually cut down the work needed whilst still giving us the space we wanted.

We then got an estimate for the work that was within our budget, were given a suitable time frame for the work and  asked him to undertake the job.

At the same time, we spoke with a built-in furniture man and a PVC window installer so as to co-ordinate the whole work needed.

The builder called us and arrived two days early.

His team of Thai workmen and women were all neatly dressed in company polo shirts and went to work with gusto.

The foreman kept his staff on the go. Apart from a lunch break, they kept at it all day; also clearing up behind themselves.

The first day the house was gutted, windows out, doors off and walls knocked down...it looked like a bomb had hit it, but it was what was needed.

Then, as days went by, the foundations and walls for the extension were done. The window areas were cleaned up ready for new windows, ones not wanted were blocked up and new ones cut out. Only one problem happened when we found that a support girder went right through where we wanted a window, so this was modified to make two smaller windows and they actually suited the room better than just one.

The existing porch was integrated into the main house, the old internal front wall was cut higher to give more light and new front steps were put in.

The garage area that was wasted was altered to give a store and workshop with a window for light and power points inside plus a new carport taken out to the front gates to keep the rain off.

Talking of power points, I had every one turned over, so that the appliance leads went down, not up. Having been in the trade I was aware that when an appliance lead breaks, it does so within the first 5-10 cms of the plug top or the appliance itself. So by turning the sockets over, the lead does not bend as the plug top is put into the socket. This is worth remembering.

All the walls were marked as to where we wanted power points and lights but we still found out as we progressed that we needed more and these were duly installed with no fuss being made.

The two bathrooms were tiled out completely and shower installations put in by San Glass.

The roof went on in the extension and then the tiler took over, doing the floors and walls to our specification apart from the areas awaiting the kitchen furniture.

The outside areas were tiled where shown with a random pattern of tiles inserted. The front wall was made higher and stainless steel gates and decorative work added after discussions with all parties.

The window man fitted all the PVC windows, all the doors were on and finally we moved in, awaiting the kitchen installation. This was the first mistake we made as it was a purpose built teak kitchen with granite work surfaces and we did not realise so much work would have to be done on site.

In hindsight we should have stayed one more month in the rented house to avoid the last lot of work.

The Builder...PROVENSA...call Darko on 0890959376.

This is one man I can unequivocally recommend.