Slimm Construction ltd reviews (5)

Andy Slimm agreed to build our retirement house. Unfortunately, six months later our dream has turned into a nightmare. For the early part of the build he was helpful and wanted to do a good job. He promised much and we trusted him with everything. When he went over the deadline he started to cut corners and build 'off plan’ in order to save money and try and finish. Suddenly, the day after we had parted with most of the final payment; he took his men off site without warning and abandoned us. We had to carry on renting as the house was unliveable. Three months later we have had to move into our unfinished home which is deemed “unsafe“ due to the mistakes that have been made. Multiple roof leaks, damaging the interior, creating damp and mould problems. Unfinished roof, drainage. Sewage smells in the house due to an unvented toilet system.2 metre deep/2 metre wide hole at the back of the house full of water, unfenced and uncovered. Building control have asked for his structural calculations where he did not build to architect's plans. We have requested many times that he come back, rectify/finish the work and provide the structural engineer's calculations. He refuses, so no other option but to use other builders and to sue Andy for damages. Such a sad and disastrous end to our dream. We have never written a negative review before, however, we feel strongly that we need to warn others as we do not want other clients to go through the traumatic time we have.

In total I obtained 5 quotes - the price quotes were in a fairly broad range - Slimm construction were not the cheapest or the most expensive. I was impressed when I met Andy - he made careful notes for each room (some of the other builders were in and out very quickly) and made many suggestions concerning the small details - that was important to me - its clear he has done many HMOs before and really knows what is involved - some of the other quotes, for example, asked me to source my own fire alarm etc - I didnt like that. Communication was clear and the team started exactly as planned - the estimated timing was 4 weeks and the work was complete in 3 weeks. The finished house is excellent I am thrilled with it - everything is high quality. In addition, during this work I had a problem with drains at a different house I own - Andy sent his team over and fixed that for me as well at a lower cost than I had been quoted and for a more extensive piece of work. One final point - I ordered furniture that hadnt arrived on time and Andy kept the keys and offered to be at the house to receive it for me as I would not have been available - it really is the complete service. We all choose suppliers based on different criteria - if you are looking for clear communication, sticking to what is promised to the letter and a high quality job at a reasonable cost then I highly recommend Slimm Construction.

Overall I am extremely happy with Andy and his team's work and he really has gone above and beyond what I expected of him. He even collected carpet and tiles on my behalf, helping source cheaper materials was able to provide additional workers at very short notice e.g. tiler, carpenter, carpet fitter. From the start he has come across as extremely knowledgeable and is definitely a problem solver in that he only comes to me with solutions rather than issues. Furthermore, the team that he has put on site have also been very good and I feel that I have built such a rapport with them and trust that they have a key to my place to come and go as they like. One more point, they are definitely not against putting in the hours to get the work done whether it is in the evenings or on the weekend. Andy originally suggested the work would take from 6-8 weeks and all the work apart from the snagging list was completed in exactly 8 weeks. The only reason it has taken the maximum of his estimate is due to changes as requested by us. I would happily recommend Slimm Construction to any friends or family and I will definitely be using them when we have work done in the future.

Mr Slimm is an excellent builder and project manager. I would recommend him to anyone. I have dealt with many builders who have worked on my 20 plus properties - now only use Mr Slimm.

Loft conversion and double rear. The company was very accommodating and helpful despite the changes I made from the original specification. There was continuous labour from start to finish, which is a rarity these days. The company was very mindful that our property is listed and in a conservation area and that there was restricted access. I am very pleased with the finish and would recommend them to friends and family.