Alastair McDonald Joinery and Building

We recently were lucky to have Alistair and his team do a garage conversion for us. The quality of the work done was excellent and the costs were to budget. We took Alistair’s advice to buy materials early and avoid the huge price rise due to Covid. I was phoned to let me know when deliveries of materials were coming and when workmen were coming to advance the next part of the remodelling. We had a chat about some additional elements of the project and these were quickly priced and carried out entirely to our satisfaction. Workmen arrived punctually, worked steadily and tidied up after themselves. We had no problems with the work at all. There was very easy, good natured communication between the workmen and Alistair and us. Once I saw how the work was done I arranged for additional work to be done in the house itself to install a loft ladder and hang some new doors. I have also asked him to do further work for us. We made a very good choice in engaging Alistair McDonald Joinery and I can recommend this company without reservation.

We had a wooden corner post in a glass porch which was very exposed to wind and rain, and was rotting to such an extent that damp was coming into the porch. We also had a similar corner post in an extension room, which was heading the same way, but not quite so bad. We wanted both of these replaced with a new solid corner which was clad in metal to avoid long term maintenance problems. Alastair was the only one of the several tradesmen who came to look at the job, who actually seriously considered the task. He took time to clearly understand our requirements, proposed an acceptable solution, and identified a fabricator who could make the metal pieces, using the accurate measurements Alastair needed to take to make a template. Alastair was very easy to deal with, and was very good at keeping us updated on progress, and if any holdups occurred (with the fabricator rather than Alastair), he got in touch to explain what was happening, and chased things up without prompting. He made sure that the new metal corners were painted at the fabricator with the correct RAL code of paint to match the existing windows, and always turned up when he said he would – a rare thing for a builder! The end result was that the new corners were well fitted, look like they’ve always been there, and are coping with all weathers. We believe we got good value for money and are very happy with the end result, and all our interactions with Alastair. We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend him.

We had a problem with our front door not closing and contacted various people to see if they would come and look at it. Alastair was the only one who responded (which was within 24 hours), and his man came as arranged the next day. He fixed the problem there and then. We're very happy. Not all tradesmen leave us that way!