Builders in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire

“We are very lucky to have used Karim as our structural engineer. We live on a slope which comes with a lot of extra things that need to be considered when doing ground works. Karim was meticulous with his calculations and great at communicating what he had proposed and why. I felt like he treated our home extension project like his own. Karim has been available at any time for me as a self builder. We have great confidence in Karim. He was happy to work with trades, Thames water, council building control and anyone else we needed to make sure things ran smoothly. Based on all of the above, we would strongly recommend him.”

“I have worked with Refresh Renovations on several building projects and found them to be very professional, reliable and friendly. Will definitely be working them again in the future and highly recommend them to anyone considering a renovation/extension.”

“We hired Trevor as our architect to oversee our whole project from concept, planning, detailed design and project management - it was the best decision we made! The main focus of the project was a side return and ground floor extension with a reconfiguration of the downstairs living space and also the upstairs bathrooms to offer an en-suite to our back bedroom and a new gorgeous family bathroom. We commenced work with Trevor in January 2015 and as soon as we met and conveyed our vision and wishes, we felt that he grasped it straight away, He understood the needs of a young working family in London and the way we wanted to live and more than anything he wanted to open up our house and maximise the light into our North facing house. My essential list included a utility room, downstairs toilet and cloakroom whilst opening up and offering a large kitchen/diner/living space. Trevor designed all the functional spaces to be positioned in the middle of the house (the darkest area) and whilst we were nervous about losing a room we trusted him and it has transformed the house as basically a dark unused room is now 3 very practical and beautiful areas. Trevor also understood my obsession for storage and magically worked this into every possible area of the brief, including a clever computer cupboard/office in the kitchen area. Throughout every stage of the project Trevor was patient, a good listener and enthusiastic, however he also challenged and questioned some of our requests and stood firm on some design ideas which his expertise allowed. We felt that Trevor was much more than just an architect as he also helped tremendously with the interior design and sourcing the finishes from the radiators, work surfaces and bathroom tiles. We worked incredibly well together and it was great to have someone to bounce ideas off. Trevor also helped us recruit our builder who was brilliant and the two of them had a very positive relationship and he implemented and managed the building contract. Trevor's disposition is very calm and measured and so any small issues or problems that arose were dealt with in a constructive and managed way. Considering the size and budget of the build there was very little stress involved. Trevor was very considerate about our neighbours and helped us keep them informed with the party wall notices/planning and other legalities. As both my husband and I work full-time, Trevor was willing to conduct some evening and early morning meetings which was incredibly helpful and all meetings were very productive with a clear agenda and subsequent action list. The budget was constantly kept in mind and reviewed and we were able to maintain the original budget. Initial discussions started in January 2015, followed by design, planning and ongoing design and construction began in mid-October 2015 and we moved back in March 2016 with some finishing off continuing into April. We are absolutely thrilled with our project and it has transformed the way we live and use our home. There are so many aspects that we would not have thought about had we not used Trevor, the use of space is so well balanced and the design details were a real partnership between client and architect, which is a joy. Trevor's attention to detail and standards matched ours so it was a very successful working relationship. I would not hesitate in recommending Trevor and his services and can only thank him for enabling us to achieve and live in such a stunning house.”