Charles Henderson Construction

Having had Charles complete a loft conversion and extension on our house in Kensal Rise (review below), when we had some further work to have done in the garden and patio area we didn't hesitate to call Charles. Suffice to say Charles didn't disappoint us with the way he has organised this smaller task and has done a fantastic job at a reasonable price. We have always found Charles very personable, and that extends to everyone that works for him. You couldn't ask for a nice, more polite and definitely hard working group of people to be around the house.

We found Charles through this website when we were looking to renovate a house we had recently bought. It was required a fair bit of work - it had no heating, needed completely rewiring, needed new windows throughout and we wanted to convert the loft as well as add an extension to the kitchen and dining room. From the several quotes we received, Charles was certainly not the most expensive, nor was he the cheapest, but what was clear from his very detailed quote was that he didn't cut corners, used the best materials and had an eye for detail. Everything we had asked for was quoted in detail - unlike some of the 'cheaper' quotes where lots of things were missing, inevitably leading to the price rising throughout the job. We were confident Charles would manage the job proficiently from the start, and he helped us decide the details of the work and get the necessary plans and building regs. He was able to communicate clearly and really managed the entire project well. Because his quote was clear we were able to keep tabs on the costs, and Charles kept within the budget - letting us know if we changed anything (as we inevitably did!) what the cost implications were. Any extra costs were reasonable and in line with the costs he had quoted already. Unlike most builders Charles was always willing to our ideas about what we wanted and helped advise us the best way to achieve it rather than tutting and shaking his head! He certainly is not someone who looks for the easiest solution for him. We also liked the fact that we had the same team working throughout the project - this meant that each tradesman knew the project and we could talk to them direct if we wanted about details of the project. We were not able to be on site every day, but this was not a problem with Charles overseeing the project. He did this really well, and kept us in the loop and was a pleasure to deal with. The loft space he created is really fantastic - he manage to create a large room (larger than other quotes we received) and the finishing and craftsmanship was first class. The best thing is, it really feels like part of the house rather than added on. The same is true of the extension. It has transformed the downstairs of the house and again is really nicely done. There were several potentially tricky things in the design and layout, but Charles was so patient in helping us get it right. Inevitably there are hiccups in any job of this size, but Charles was never anything but a joy to deal with - polite, conscientious, very patient and always willing to go the extra mile and find a solution without breaking the bank. We have recommended Charles to a number of people who have also said how great Charles was and been more than happy with his work. We would always ask Charles to do any building work for us in the future - in fact it was such a positive experience we wouldn't use anyone else. We still stay in touch with Charles and he has really made the difference to the house, and we couldn't recommend him highly enough.

When we decided to have our loft converted to give us an extra bedroom and bathroom we also resolved to get plenty of quotes and references to avoid hasty decisions. We contacted the firms that seemed to be doing most of the work in our area. However, we also used Which Local to get a more objective view. In the main, the written quotes we received were all very standard looking documents that contained little real detail. In comparison, Charles' quote was detailed and itemised because he had taken the time to analyse our architect's plans and take note of what we spoke about at our meeting. Although his quote was higher than the other firms we felt confident that there would be no hidden costs and extras and we are very happy to say that this was indeed the case. Charles' references were superb and we spoke to a number of his past customers who had had similar work done before deciding to engage him. The whole project was managed very well. Charles made sure we were kept fully informed about what would be happening at every stage. In a work of this scale it is inevitable that some things will go wrong or at least not go to plan. Charles always dealt with these problems - which were minor - swiftly and effectively. The day to day living with building work going on was made much easier for us by Charles' staff who were all very professional, considerate and friendly. We would have no hesitation in recommending Charles. In fact, we are hoping to have him back to do more work for us in the near future. Jackie & Phil Totteridge