What were your objectives when renovating your home?
We wanted to create more living space for our families, who were joining together to become one family of six. There simply wasn’t enough space for us all.
I also wanted to make it more inviting and desirable, with more kerb appeal. I wanted a home I could love.
What made you choose Granit?
We looked for a local practice (we’re in Balham) for practical reasons, but we also wanted someone that knew the local planning authority.
Also, we knew the kind of look and feel we wanted to achieve – not bog-standard, but something a little more unusual. We’d seen Granit in a magazine and looked at their portfolio online; it felt like they would be the right fit for us.
Initially, we were a little concerned they were too big and expensive, but that wasn’t the case at all.
What has been your experience in working with Granit?
Generally, very smooth; they were easy to work with and organised. They were good at listening and had a clear understanding of what we wanted to achieve.
It was the first time we’d taken on a project of this size, and we didn’t know about all of the processes – we didn’t know who would be responsible for what. Everything seemed to happen very seamlessly; it was an added benefit when Granit took on tasks we didn’t think they were going to do.
What have been the benefits to you personally?
We had a concern they would be expensive and would always choose top-spec materials and products. But that’s not what happened. They were conscious of our budget and that we wanted a home that looked great but not necessarily with the highest spec. They were great at making suggestions and being flexible with materials to get the finish we wanted.
They were also very upfront about their costs, which they agreed to fix, which helped.
We were also working with a tight deadline as we wanted to be finished by Christmas. We lived in the property while the renovation happened and Granit was open to working around these constraints, helping us to understand and manage the risks of doing things in an unorthodox way.
They also spotted a problem during the construction works with the roof and window alignment, simply by looking at a photo from the site. Granit advised our builders, and we avoided a potentially expensive mistake and delay. This was all done remotely without the cost of a site visit.
What would you say to somebody who is thinking of using Granit’s services?
Definitely meet with Granit and talk about your requirements.
We were concerned they were going to be too expensive and our project too small, but this was not the case. We never felt as though we were treated differently because of the size of our project. We’ve been very impressed with Granit’s level of input all the way through.
We would absolutely recommend Granit. Everybody who comes to our new home is blown away by the transformation. They’ve helped us turn an unexciting 1930’s house into a home with a real wow factor.
