28/01/2021
Another happy customer with their completed Kitchen Extension.
We simply cannot recommend Dean Bickerton and his team highly enough. Our project involved extending what was the old scullery to our Victorian house, which is in a conservation area, and then installing a new kitchen. We chose Dean because of his honesty, his understanding of what I was trying to achieve, the extra ideas he gave me, and the fact that his team includes all the crafts needed to complete our project from start to finish. Also, his quotation was sufficiently detailed for us to see that he had really thought through what was entailed in the work and was very competitive. COVID lockdown affected the timescale for when our project could start, and also meant that we were trapped in America (one of us works there) and couldn’t come back to the UK at the time when COVID rules allowed Dean to start work again. Dean agreed to project manage the extension for us and he did that brilliantly. We communicated well via What’sApp, despite an eight-hour time difference, and Dean was so imaginative in finding ways to get us to understand what decisions were needed and by when. Dean went the extra mile to find the bricks, tiles and windows which matched the original style of our house, despite the demands that COVID made on the supply-line. There had to be some unexpected changes along the way because of unforeseen problems (this always happens with older buildings) and Dean was brilliant at finding the right solution to those problems, explaining to us what was needed and why. It turned out that our old scullery was in such a bad shape the walls needed to be completely re-built. Dean went out of his way to minimise the cost impact of those changes. He has a team of excellent builders and craftsmen who have worked with him for ages. They know and trust each other, and they communicate so well together. Dean and his team are what I would call “old school” – people who know about their craft and really care about the quality of their work and what the finished product looks like. Also, because he has such a comprehensive team, his project management is incredibly smooth. Dean even helped us source appliances for our kitchen, because it was so hard for us to order them ourselves from the States. The only delays we experienced were due to problems to the supply-line that COVID caused. Throughout the build, Dean’s team communicated well with our neighbours, keeping them appraised of what would be happening next, and minimising any issues. Our neighbours have all been in touch, commenting on what a fantastic job Dean’s team have done and asking for his details.
Our finished kitchen is simply stunning. We’ve lived in our house for over 30 years and have had a lot of building work done over that time. Also, I used to work as a development director for a large housing organisation, so I have a lot of experience of working with building companies large and small. Our experience of working with Dean is absolutely the best I have ever had. I really don’t think anyone else could have made such a beautiful job. Definitely an 11 out of 10!
