Recommendation Loft Conversion - Classic Lofts

[JSD]

I am currently half way through my loft conversation so I have decided it would be a good idea to give you a heads up on how it is going so far.

I'm based in Peckham Rye and I received 15 quotes before deciding who to go for and I am definitely going to save you the hassle of doing that... look no further, these are the guys you need.

I decided to go with a local firm called Classic Lofts, reason being they don't just project manage they know all their team and have worked with them for years, I mean years this is so important. It is a family run business so it's tight knit, from roofers, to builders, electricians to Bernie the project manager to his dad the company director its someones, son, uncle or dad working on the job. So these guys enjoy working together, are reliable, very experienced, caring and work extremely well together. It's equally important in my opinion to go for a local firm because they are so close, any questions you have they can attend to them on the day and have done with in the hour face to face if need be.

Bernie (project manager) has been remarkable, he has definitely gone the extra mile for me and has even given me so much sound advise on other jobs I asked him about that I needed to do myself around the house and has been very help with decisions I needed to make whilst taking into consideration what I as the customer wanted not what's best for his firm. He really does just want the best for his customers. I trust him and his staff which is key when you are seeing them every day and letting them into your home even when you are not there.

After each day each team has cleared up after themselves and have been extremely considerate and pleasant to have around. I have been living here during the conversion and I have a dog so understandable I was worried about this. I really had no reason to be. They even tiptoed in when I was having a lie in and respected my privacy.

So the 1st week they built a fake ceiling in my corridor so they didn't have to enter the house while they were gutting the loft and removing the ceiling for the new stairs to fit in as it's a really messy job. To my amazement the stairs were fitted in with in 2 weeks with no mess in the house! Bonus. They do this so early on so you can pop up there and see the space to make sure you are happy with where everything is going and I was and appreciated the involvement and the sneak peak.

Everybody on the job so far has worked to an incredibly high standard. My jaw just dropped when I saw how well everything has been done and I am a perfectionist to say the least.

It's now 5 weeks into the project. The roof has been re enforced, new tiles front and back, dormer has been added, main plumbing completed, boards have been laid through out, 2nd fix of the electrics has been carried out, Velux's are in place and 95% plastering has been done. This week the carpenter is in, plumber and the decorator! We should be complicated and decorated with in the the next 2 -3 weeks not including Christmas break. So the loft conversion will be finished with in 2 months. WOW! A remarkable achievement. So please if you are thinking about having a loft done I can't recommend Classic Lofts enough, it's actually been such a pleasant experience, one that I was dreading. So thank you Classic I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate all your hard work and efforts. Just so you all know this job has been far from rushed, they just aren't lazy and are masters at their trade and take pride and really enjoy doing what they do to such a high standerd!

One very happy customer.

[Jeremy]

Can I ask what road you're on? Some of the roads round that way have a lower pitch roof, did you need the ceilings lowered? It looks like some firms have been a bit cheeky and raised the roof apex by a few inches.

[JSD]

Morning Jeremy - no they didn't raise it and my ceilings weren't lowered.

[Sue]

That's a very effusive post in praise of Classic Lofts, JSD, and they haven't even finished the work yet!

First post, too.

I live next door to a house which used Classic Lofts, and my experience of the people I had to liaise with when there were problems was unfortunately less than positive in terms of communication, politeness etc (not Bernie, who was great).

Hopefully they have improved. I'm sure their actual work is fine, but if some of the same people I had to deal with are still involved, it would make me think twice about using them should I ever have a loft conversion.

[JSD]

I am very surprised as I have experienced no rudeness what so ever. Yes this is my 1st post, but I have lived in the area for 18years and used the forum for tips and advise just have never posted anything untill now where I felt I really wanted to express my gratitude as it took me 1 year to decide who to go for and for planning to go through so I am so pleased that now the job is in place it's going so well as I have had awful experience with builders in the past. So just wanted to help anyone who was/is in the same position as me and worried who to go with.

[red devil]

I think a recommendation when a project of this nature is finished, say a min of 6 months after completion, is far more preferable. It's the latter stages of a project that tend to be the most stressful, and then there's the whole snagging and post-completion period, which to me sorts out the good from the bad...

[JSD]

Well I will be doing both so I'll keep you all updated just wanted to tell the forum how well it's gone so far as I am delighted and it should be shared.

[Koermendi]

What are your thoughts now, six months later, please?

[JSD]

Delighted! See the results in the pic.

[Koermendi]

Well! That does look spiffy. Thank you!

[Csoo]

Looks really good. Do you mind if i can ask for some tips and advice? I will PM you directly if you don't mind?

Particularly keen to know which ones you got quoted for and were not impressed with. And general what to avoid or to pay attention to when considering the project. A nervous mom with a young one looking to do the loft either on its own or as part of a full refurb. Many thanks!

[JSD]

Of course you can. I had many quotes. More than happy to help it took be a year to decided on who to go with... I recieved about 8quotes in total.

[Koermendi]

We may be in touch as well. Thank you in advance for your willingness to share!

[Csoo]

Thank you in advance! I hope you accept wine in return! Will be pinging you tonight or later this week.

[Koermendi]

Classic Lofts are not responding to telephone or e-mail messages. **grim forebodings**

[B&G]

We're doing ours with them at the moment and they've been fairly decent when responding to emails etc. Not always in the same day (which can be annoying), but not long after. I know they're busy at the moment (our start date got pushed back), but I'm sure they'll be in touch soon.

JSD - looks awesome.

[Koermendi]

Thanks for that reassurance.

[Flux capacitor]

Hey, after reading your review of Classic Lofts I am sold. It really sounds as if you had a really brilliant experience. Do you have any pictures of the end results?

[JSD]

Yes there are photos in the above feed, but just incase you can?t find them here are some more.

It?s been a year now and I?m still delighted!

[Flux capacitor]

Thank you! it looks amazing I've already decided to use Classic lofts. I just felt compelled after reading your statement. An honest encounter is worth its weight in gold in my opinion.

Thanks again.

Bee

[DirtyBox]

nothing suspicious at all with JSD posting almost exclusively glowing reviews for Classic Lofts (16 of 17 posts)

[resident52]

We used Classic for a loft conversion in 2010 (we are West Dulwich). All seemed reasonably fine (normal snagging type issues but nothing major) until about two years ago when the roof to our loft conversion began to leak.

We have had a roofer up to look and the roof is covered in holes and water has started to come through - the roof timbers are getting wet and we need to repair the lead covering on the roof urgently.

The roofers who have had a look for us have explained that the lead used for the loft conversion roof is too thin - so the whole covering needs replacing with the proper grade of lead.

The sash timber windows they put in are now also rotting in places (we have repainted them a couple of times, so not from lack of maintenance).

We are going to contact Classic this week - they guaranteed the loft conversion for 10 years - to see what they say, and I will keep the forum updated on how they respond and whether they honour their guarantee.

**UPDATE*** Classic come round promptly and have agreed to re do our roof, which we are very pleased about. We have yet to discuss windows with them in any detail. But I am impressed by the speed of reply and no quibbling over replacing the lead on the roof.