When was the work done?
The work was done in 2009. What was involved?
Paul's done quite a bit of work for me but the two biggest jobs was a shed in the garden and the extension. Paul did the shed first but it's more than just a shed, it was a big job. He rendered it so that it matches the house.
The situation with the extension was different. My two daughters and I have asthma and we thought that we would have to leave while the work was being carried out due to the dust. It was a big concern of ours. Paul said that he could screen the area off and take the walls down slowly so as to not create dust.
Paul nearly took the wall down by hand if you know what I mean. I don't know how he did it but it worked, he kept the dust levels down and we never had a problem. It was a real bonus for us being able to stay in the house. It was a full extension job. Paul had to break it all down and put girders in to take the weight. He also rendered it to match the existing house.
How did you choose Paul Black?
I found out about Paul through his brother. We had got this architect in to do the plans for the extension and the guy didn't work out at all. I was talking to Paul's brother and explaining the situation with the architect and he said would you not get Paul to take a look at it. Paul arrived and my wife liked him immediately. Paul's a nice fellow to talk to and he understood what my wife wanted straight away. Paul recommended an architect he knew who came in and saved the planning.
Had you definite ideas in mind before you talked to Paul Black?
My wife had kind of designed the whole thing in her head and Paul was able to understand what it was that she was after. My wife would ask about a particular feature and Paul would say yes, it can be done or no, it wasn't possible. He was fantastic that way, very understanding and wanting to do whatever was possible to get her what she wanted.
Did Paul introduce new ideas?
He did yes, some things my wife came up with Paul had to let her know that they wouldn't be structurally sound, but if she did this it would look similar and be sound. He was always trying to do what it took to get her what she wanted.
How did the project run?
Let me put it this way, when the project started I was taking photographs and notes to document what was happening but when I saw how well things were going I stopped. Paul's workmanship is the best I've seen.
Paul had built a shed for me in the back garden and an engineer visiting the extension site took one look at the roof on the shed and said guys don't do that kind of work anymore. The engineer told me that if Paul took that much care on a shed roof, something that's easy to skip corners on, he guaranteed the rest of the stuff you don't see is good. Just from seeing the shed, the engineer asked Paul to do a job for him.
Since the projects completion, we've never had to have Paul back to fix a problem. I'm not a technical person but I know when something works right.
What was the biggest benefit to you of using Paul Black?
I think it's that we trusted him and he never abused that trust, that's a huge thing. Once we saw the work that he was capable of, we trusted him even more. Paul's workmanship is definitely of a high standard. The funny thing is he's actually become a friend of mine and that's the first time I ever became friends with someone who did some work for me. Paul's just an overall nice fellow.
What's your favourite part now?
The extra room we now have in the house. When people come in the front door, they're not expecting to see the amount of space inside. It's always a surprise. A neighbour of mine saw the extension and contacted Paul to do one for her, something similar but a little different.
Would you recommend Paul Black to others?
Yes I would and I have. I've recommended Paul to quite a few people and I've never heard anything negative back about Paul from those recommendations. From what I've heard, a lot of his business has come from positive word of mouth.
Any tips for other people?
If you're going to be getting an extension done, just realise that it's a big job. I think that's something a lot of builders don't really tell their customers about. No matter how well a job goes there will be disruption of some sort, but Paul had us well briefed so we knew what to expect.
