When was the work done?
In September of 2019. What was involved?
It was a refurbishment of the ground floor of the house. We got a new fitted kitchen, new wooden floors, new internal doors and it was all painted and decorated. There was a lot of electrical work too on account of the new kitchen layout and the fact that we were changing to a double oven cooker.
How did you choose Domestic Fitouts?
I did a local search and their name came up. Colin came up to price the work first and I was very impressed with his approach and his professionalism. I also liked that he was very flexible. For example, other people that we'd approached would only use certain kitchen people but Colin was prepared to be as flexible as we wanted. We had seen a kitchen we loved from a kitchen manufacturer that he hadn't used before but he had no issue with that. He slotted everything in and made sure that everything was ready on time. He's really great.
Had you definite ideas in mind before you talked to Colin Clare?
Well, I have to say we're not style icons but we had found a kitchen that we loved!
Did Colin introduce new ideas?
Colin gave us lots of pointers on what might go well. I have to say too that the floors and door company that he suggested were just fabulous.
How did the project run?
It was great. Going with a different kitchen company made life more awkward for Colin to organize because he was trying to schedule with a company that he had no previous relationship with, but it all ran smoothly. It turned out brilliantly and we were really happy with the workmanship. It was all done in about 3 weeks but it would have been quicker only the kitchen we wanted had to be delivered from Germany, so that was outside of Colin's control. Their cleanup was very good too.
What was the biggest benefit to you of using Domestic Fitouts?
It was the way Colin micromanaged the project. He completely project-managed it which meant that we had nothing to worry about. Colin took the keys and he was there to let plumbers and painters and flooring people in so we had no problems. We both work full time and it would have been very awkward to try and be there to let the trades in and out. Colin managed each stage of it, so it was great. He's extremely trustworthy.
For example, we didn't realize that the kitchen people we chose wouldn't strip out the old kitchen first and that the plumbing and the electrics had to be done by somebody else. Colin dug us out of that hole because he was prepared to manage all the other trades around it. It worked out really well in the end.
Would you recommend Domestic Fitouts to others?
Yes I would and I have done. We were really happy, it really went well.
Any tips for other people?
Do your research and go with somebody like Colin who makes life easy . Also, if you're changing the kitchen or bathroom be sure that you're going to be without those services for the shortest length of time. Colin made sure that the last things to go out were the sink and the cooker so that we would have some cooking facilities except for the last couple of days. That was hugely beneficial. I'd heard other stories where the family were without a kitchen for three weeks, eating pot noodles on the stairs!
