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What was involved?
It was primarily a refurbishment and also an extension of a 1930s house, which we'd lived in for 13 years. So it really needed a lot of work in terms of insulation and upgrading and bringing it into the twenty-first century. All the floors had to be taken up and we had a drainage issue in the garden which had to be dealt with, and in addition to that we extended the kitchen and over the garage for two new rooms. We extended the side of the house as well. With these old houses, we had two outhouses that had to be demolished and that left us room at the side of the house and gave us an opportunity to extend the width at the back of the house as well.

How did you choose Gray Construction Ltd?
The architect. He put their name and a couple of others onto a list when we were going out to tender, and he had worked with him before. Karl seemed like a nice guy.

Had you definite ideas in mind before you talked to Karl?
We obviously had a detailed plan from the architect, but then as the project unfolded there are always things that you need to tweak as you go along.

Did Karl introduce new ideas?
Yes, as time went on, Karl would've been more involved in the smaller decisions and bits and bobs that we were changing along the way and what was the best way to do that. He was always very positive about making changes; there was never any issue or difficulty there. From that point of view he was very proactive and easy to get on with.

How did the project run?
They were definitely very clean. We were renting just a few doors down so I was here quite a lot. Luckily enough I was always very welcome on-site, which was great. His team were very nice guys, a great team. Very high quality workmanship. We had a big issue with weather ... it was that winter of storm after storm after storm. To get the extension built and the house sealed in all that bad weather was difficult. Karl did make up for it and he did increase the team as much as he could afterwards to move things on a bit once the house was sealed.

What was the biggest benefit to you of using Gray Construction Ltd?
The quality of the workmanship really. They did a great job and everything was done to a high standard. The sub-contractors were all excellent and they came through Karl and probably through the architect as well.

What's your favourite part now?
The most exciting thing is that we have this amazing patio that one of Karl's guys put together for us. He was obviously a very good paver. That was the highlight. They did a really good job, a very arty job. We weren't anticipating it, it wasn't in the original plan and it came out looking so well. If you go out into the back garden, you see this lovely winding path down to a patio in the back garden. It finishes the whole thing out. With the big windows now in the back, you can see so much of the garden; it's an added bonus, the garden is now a room.

Would you recommend Gray Construction Ltd to others?
I would yes, absolutely. Karl's an easy guy to get on with and the team are great. It just makes life a bit easier. Also, he's also very good at coming back very quickly if there's anything that needs fixing after, as there always is.

Any tips for other people?
I'm glad I'm at the other end of it now. At the end of the day would I have done anything differently, probably not. I certainly wouldn't cut corners, that's the one thing.