We commissioned Paul from B&C to design our home extension, to get the plans through the planning permission process, and to help us choose a builder to complete the project. We have found Paul and his team to be highly professional, with a level of attention to detail that is second to none.
At the start of the design process, Paul and his team presented us with two designs, A and B, both of which were interesting with some creative and unusual ideas, whilst still meeting our specifications for the features we wanted (open plan kitchen/ diner, a downstairs bathroom, utility room and a loft conversion). It was helpful not to be overwhelmed with too many ideas at this early stage, and in fact we quickly settled on Design A with just a few modifications.
It took a while for the plans to be fully approved, mainly due to issues with tree preservation orders. Paul and his team worked hard to meet the requirements of the planning office as well as our expectations, and we were very pleased with the final approved design. Paul and his team also took a lot of time and trouble to create a detailed specifications document, which was hard work for us at the time, but very valuable as it made us think about how we envisage the finishes, down to fine details such as covings and picture rails! We feel sure that the effort put into this process will be helpful down the line, as we have already narrowed down our selections of things like door handles to a certain style.
The next stage was to find a builder, and Paul was especially helpful in selecting suitable builders for us to choose from. We came up with a shortlist of 2 builders, both of whom we felt were very capable, and at the time of writing we feel we have definitely made the right choice. The only issue at this stage was that the builders' estimates were much higher than expected, which meant that we needed to scale back the scope of the project to some extent (we are no longer having a full loft conversion but will have a useable loft space instead). Paul and his team were happy to change the specifications to our scaled-back requirements and re-issue these for revised estimates.
Throughout the process, Paul and his team guided us through various decisions so that we were always 'ahead of the game'. As a result, we have already decided on our flooring, tiling and bathroom fixtures, and have placed an order for our kitchen. We feel this is especially important as we would not wish to be panicked into making a major decision.
The time elapsed so far from initial design to putting spades in the ground has been about a year, which we understand is not unusual in this business, but it is fair to say that some stages in the process felt as if they were taking longer than expected. We did wonder if Paul and his team were perhaps overwhelmed with work at times, but this is a common issue with small but fast-growing businesses - a nice problem to have!
All in all, we are really pleased with the work that Paul and his team have done for us. If, like us, you like a job to be done properly, and attention to detail matters to you, then we would not hesitate to recommend Paul and his team.
