To whom it may concern
We first met Steve Richards from CMJ Building & Construction in the latter parts of 2012 when my wife and I were considering our options regarding the extension of our home to meet the needs of our growing family. We were already deep in discussion with another building contractor and had been given Steve’s details as an alternate opinion based on a recommendation from a friend. This friend spoke highly of Steve based on him “stepping in” and “saving the day“ after an engagement with another contractor ended prematurely mid job.
Whilst we were upfront with Steve about the stage we were already at with this other contractor, he was incredibly open about his thoughts and our options. He gave us advice about how to take further ownership in developing our plans and not being tied to any one building contractor if the current discussions ended unfavourably. This would give us the opportunity to take our plans to several building contractors for quotes without having to commit funding.
After our previous engagement reached a stalemate, my wife and I took Steve’s advice and engaged a draftsman, engineer, etc and developed our own plans enabling us to operate independently through engagement of our building contractor. At this point we re-engaged with Steve (and other parties) to obtain quotes for the plans. Again through this phase Steve provided a great deal of advice regarding how to avoid nasty surprises by covering as much detail as possible. This prompted us to modify some of our expectations around pricing and avoid unforeseen costs. At the end of this process we felt confident in making a decision to engage with CMJ in a contract to deliver on the plans that we had developed. This decision was eased by the rapport we had built, the openness and regularity of communication, and the general “good feeling” that we had that Steve and Gary from CMJ were good honest people that we felt we could trust.
Throughout the building process Steve was consistent with our first impressions. An open and honest communicator. Some of Steve’s actions that demonstrated his professionalism included:
– He consulted with us where there were interpretations that could be made in the plans as opposed to implementing what was easiest or cheapest build quality.
– He offered his opinion or advice throughout the whole process. His professionalism was consistent irrespective of our decision regarding those recommendations.
– Considered the impact to my family regarding when some activities took place, and gave suitable notice when some disruptive activities might take place.
– Considered and responded to all thoughts, concerns or suggestions that we made throughout the project.
– When we engaged with someone regarding ducting, this was factored in during the build process as opposed to deferring it until after, which reduced our installation costs.
– When we engaged with a painter to try to perform some painting activities prior to that part of the construction being erected, he was flexible in allowing this to happen by focusing on other activities, despite the risk that this could have slowed the build process and put the overall timeline at risk.
The past 12 months I consider a memorable period for numerous reasons, including an addition to our family, and the opportunity to stay in a place my family calls home. Many people will happily tell you that one of the most stressful things you can do is to live through a house extension. At the end of this construction I can say that whilst there were challenging times, fundamentally this process was made easier by the professionalism showed by Steve.
The overall finished product has exceeded our expectations.
David and Marilou