Complete refurbishment Thoughton Hough Wirral

About the build

The property I bought was a bungalow built in 1968 which had been lived in by the same couple since new. Having been empty for 2 years when acquired it was in need of significant repair and renewal. The necessary scope of refurbishment work allowed me to both extend and redesign the property.

I decided to convert the internal garage into a second living room; create a family bathroom and a master bedroom with en-suite and dressing room; and extend the property to create a large open plan dayroom at the back of the property overlooking the garden with a wall of sliding doors.

A local architect prepared the drawings for planning and I then had to find a builder. Paul Bennett at Open Plan Building Company came highly recommended. I made contact with him and went through the plans for my property. He invited me to visit a couple of his recent projects which I did. It was reassuring to see the quality of his work and to hear positive testimonials from people he had worked with. He prepared a budget for me and I was happy to accept this as a basis for our contract.

From the outset it was clear that Paul would manage the whole build and co-ordinate all the trades. When you embark on a project like this it is not just a matter of finding the ‘right’ plumber, pasterer, electrician etc but, as importantly, to co-ordinate them all during the building process. Paul planned all of this. I can honestly say that this team worked extremely well together and I have been very pleased with the quality of workmanship which they all demonstrated.

It would be foolish to expect that everything during a building project would move forward without a hitch. Co-ordinating trades is not an exact science and there were occasions where one trade’s start date would be delayed, but Paul was always there to manage the process and reassure me that the overall timetable would not be affected. Paul also recommended additional trades after the main building project was finished, for example the decorator and tiler, and again these individuals were of the same high standard as the main team.

I am absolutely delighted with the house, and on the whole the project came in on time and budget. Obviously there were some additional costs on top of Paul’s original budget, for example the building inspector insisted on deeper foundations, but Paul kept me aware of any cost variations and there were always good reasons for the increase. The house is a pleasure to live in and my visitors have been extremely complimentary about the works that Paul carried out as well as the quality of the finish. I would not hesitate to recommend Paul to anyone wishing to embark on a building project.

Julia Axford

Technical details

• Large open plan living.
• K-rend.
• Aluclad windows.
• Complete refurbishment.
• Triple track sliding door.
• Internal and external energy efficient LED lighting system
• Upgraded energy efficiency.