Upstairs, Downstairs Disabled Wet Rooms

What was involved?
The original plan was to change the downstairs toilet into an open plan wet room and toilet that would be wheelchair accessible my father whose disabled. It's a project I took on so that my dad would have a better standard of living.

In addition, another wet room and disabled toilet was installed upstairs where we had never had a toilet before. To add this, one bedroom was made smaller, the hotpress was knocked out and the boiler was moved.

How did you choose Alan Doyle?
I wasn't getting money from any services, it was my own so I was very conscious about getting the right person to do the job. It was through word of mouth from local people that I knew about Alan. Alan and I are both originally from East Wall in Dublin and I would have known his mother. I had spoken to a few others about the job but felt that with Alan being a local guy I would have more trust with him being in the house with my dad. I knew he would pick up the phone and call me if there was a problem and he wouldn't do anything extra without my say so.

Had you definite ideas in mind before you talked to Alan Doyle?
To be honest, I wouldn't have had a clue. My father can still go upstairs and the occupational therapist said it would be good if we could do a disabled bathroom up there as well because that's where his bedroom is. I asked Alan if it was possible with the available space.

Did Alan introduce new ideas?
Alan came up with all the ideas and explained exactly how the upstairs disabled wet room could be done and what the benefits were. I think Alan has a fabulous vision. Not only is he good with his hands but he can walk into any room and turn it into a amazing finished space. It was Alan who convinced me to add the upstairs disabled bathroom in addition to the downstairs wetroom.

How did the project run?
Very well. Alan told me to leave everything up to him and to not worry about anything. He literally arranged everything and managed the whole project. That was a great relief to me because I'm very busy with work, I travel the whole country and it would have been difficult to stay on top of the job. I have to say that Alan did so much more than what I asked.

My father stayed at my house for about six weeks while the work was being carried out. The first part of the project to be done was the upstairs wet room. Alan put himself under some pressure to complete it quickly so that my father could move back to his own house, use the upstairs bathroom and have his bedroom. Once that was done and my father could move back home, Alan was able to work around him, do the downstairs wetroom and all the finishing touches. My dad is very happy and that's all that matters in the end.

What was the biggest benefit to you of using Alan Doyle?
The biggest benefit was Alan's reliability, I didn't have to worry about anything. I went to work, came home and everyday the project was further along.

What's your favourite part now?
Probably for me it would be the bathroom upstairs because I grew up in that house and we never had a bathroom up there. I still can't believe how Alan was able to make everything fit. The house before was a 3 bedroom house and it still is, but Alan was able to add a wet room upstairs as well. All along Alan said he could do it but I just couldn't visualise it until I saw it, I was amazed!

Would you recommend Alan Doyle to others?
I've already recommended Alan on to a few people.

Any tips for other people?
I would say to others considering having work done to not be so set in stone about what you want before talking to the guys that do this for a living. Talk to the experts and listen to their advice. It's still your choice in the end but you may get something better than you would have gotten otherwise. I pretty much had my mind made up and it's hard to get me to change, but Alan was able to win me over to some of his ideas. Alan took the time to sit down and go through what the benefits would be if we did the project as he was suggesting. I went with his advice and and I'm glad I did.