First Choice Decorating & Refurbishments

I would highly recommend Gary and his team! 

They have recently completed a full refurb of our front bay window which was in need of a spruce up.  Gary and his team did a really good job and completed the works to a really high level and in good time despite the varied weather. 

There were a few issues with elements done by previous builders, but Gary and his team managed to strip it right back and mould broken elements back to the original look. 

Really pleased with it and would really recommend Gary & his team for any decorating works required. 

Gary and his team completed a full renovation of our studio flat in July/August 2025. He was able to quote and get started on the work very quickly after we contacted him and he and his team carried out the work to a high standard while also being sensitive to our limited budget. The flat is unrecognisable from the poor condition it was in before with a stunning new kitchen, bathroom, new flooring and upgraded electricals. Gary was very communicative and responsive to our requests (including some last minute changes of plan) and we would have no hesitation in recommending him to others or using him again.

Another big recommend for Gary and his team from me! 

We had a leak in our roof and Gary gave me a quote over the phone. However we had to reassess when it transpired the previous roofer had done a poor job, resulting in water getting in under the felt which pretty much disintegrated the boards underneath. The complication added a lot more time and labour to the job but Gary was always honest and transparent, explaining the additional work and trying to keep the price as close to the original quote as possible.

Further complications arose when our old chimney stack was revealed to be falling apart but Gary was quick find a creative solution - with safety being foremost in his mind. Again, he was honest and transparent about implications and cost, and we were able to get it sorted as part of the overall job. 

Gary is very easy to communicate with, and he's very conscious of leaving the site in a safe and tidy condition during and after the job. He's clearly busy - running between multiple jobs - but he always found time to keep us updated, check in on the work, and often come by at the end of the day with a broom to make sure everything was in order. 

Despite the complications, the work was completed to a high standard and within a reasonable time frame. We'll definitely bear Gary in mind for other jobs in future. 

I’d also like to recommend Gary and the team (Jason, Tony, Nick) who did a fantastic job renovating our bathroom.

I contacted Gary initially because we had a shower leak so decided it was a good time to refit the bathroom.

We were on a bit of a shoestring budget which Gary accommodated for by making suggestions for jobs we could do ourselves and parts of the bathroom we could keep in situ to save money.

We agreed a price and a timeframe and everything was perfect!

Unfortunately, as is often the case with old buildings, once you start peeling back the layers, you reveal more and more problems that need sorting (walls not straight, uneven floor, unsuitable sub floor etc etc).

That’s when I knew we’d found the right company and were in safe hands -

Gary is a genuine, honest bloke with a really professional team – who all just got on with it and dealt with the issues one by one without any fuss. It was very reassuring to have them around as they were all very approachable and happy to answer any questions we had (even providing some advice for the rest of our house renovation!).

Gary keeps you in the loop every step of the way (he loves a voice note!) – so you know where you are in the project. We stayed away from the house for the actual bathroom refit but received regular updates and videos from Gary on how things were progressing.

The finished bathroom is absolutely stunning – we couldn’t be more thrilled! We highly recommend Gary and his team at First Choice Decorating – so much so the team are going to help us with other parts of the house now was well.

Internal Works

Kitchen/Dining Area

Small Shower Room

Front Living Room

Main Bedroom (one specific area)

Hall Over three floors, including stripping of two flights of stairs to match lower two flights, and replacement risers.

Budget £ 15k plus 20% contingency, as we knew certain walls had problems.

Initial quote £ 14.5k – approx. 6 weeks

Final cost just north of £ 20k – ten weeks

We contacted Gary in mid-February, and within a day or so we had an initial quote of £ 14.5k, which was acceptable. We knew they would be extras as some of, quite a few as it turned out, the hall walls were in a bad way. The hall was the one part of the house that had nothing done to it since we moved in, around 20 years ago!

Work started on 17 March with Cliff and Ashley, who were permanent throughout. We had a lot in common with Cliff, due to our respective ages, musical taste, mutual acquaintances, and we used to live next door to his aunt! Ashley is in his early twenties and has a tremendous work ethic. Always polite, they would always clean up after themselves each day and leave the house (although it did resemble a building site) as best they could. The standard of their work is excellent.  

The re-plastering work gave us the most anxiety. The hacking-off was as expected but because of the fellas who did the boarding and plastering, Scott and Jason, had their own work, we agreed to some evening work (around 16 April) but then they both seemed not available further, and that stalled. Meanwhile Cliff and Ashley continued to paint where they could.

Gary then suggested that Omar and his colleague (I cannot recall his name) could come on Sunday (27 April) but after agreeing to it, we were advised that they were not available until Tuesday.

Boy, do Omar and his colleague put in a shift! By the time they had left on Tuesday, we were back on track, and that the end was in sight. Of course, the new plaster had to dry and bond before painting could take place. Once that had been done Cliff and Ashley pressed ahead with the painting, and by mid-May it all started to come together.

At the very last the upper stairs were stripped, and whilst some of the new risers had been painted in anticipation, it turned out that the correct amount had not been ordered. This was quickly resolved and were installed by another of Gary’s merry band, Tony, who had previously popped in and had done one or two bits and pieces.

As the job had taken longer than expected, Gary sent in another fella (name escapes me) to assist, and they finally left on 27 May.

Save a couple of minor things that we shall sort out ourselves, we are really pleased with the results. The work in the hall especially has completely transformed the house.

So, a big thank you to Gary, Cliff, Ashley, Tony, Scott, Jason, Omar and his colleague, and one other.

Would definitely recommend these guys.

Hired Gary after looking at the reviews on the forum and him and his team certainly met expectations, transforming my drab-looking bathroom into a lovely breathable space. Gary works with highly skilled tradesmen with Tony has his point man and he does not shy away from highlighting any unforeseen issues and clearly lays out options and associated costs unlike many others who would happily deliver an average final product. Would recommend his services and will know where to look in the future for other projects

We've just had a new roof done by Gary's roofer Danny. Absolutely brilliant job. Danny and his team clearly take real pride in their work and did a fantastic job. Gary organised and oversaw the whole thing from beginning to end and was a pleasure to work with- always in touch, very responsive to all our queries and questions and in touch when the inevitable unexpected issues arose, as they always do with solutions and options.  Danny worked only on our job from start to finish, so there were no delays or days when progress wasn't made. Very happy to recommend him and his team to anyone. Thank you Gary and Danny. 

REMOVED

I recently contacted Gary to have some flooring installed. He arranged for Tony to do this and I'm pleased with the result - thank you, Tony was great. 

Gary and his team have just completed the restoration of our front facade, along with extensive repairs to our roof on our three storey victorian house. They have done an incredible job. The quality, care and expertise they have brought to this project has been excellent. Plus they have been a lovely team of people to work with, keeping us fully updated on progress and costs. My only issue is that we didn't meet them sooner!  We will definitely be working with them again and look forward to future projects. I cant recommend Gary and his team enough! Thankyou First Choice and thank you East Dulwich Forum. 

Another vote for Gary and his team.  Gary has just completed decorating a bedroom and painting a new understairs cupboard that I had fitted.  The work was completed to a high standard with loads of preparation work, my ancient skirting boards look like new!  I am very happy with the work and he will be back in the new year to do some work in my bathroom.  Highly recommend.

I would recommend Gary, who recently re-did our downstairs toilet to a very high standard with his team, especially Tony, putting in a new vanity unit, toilet, extractor fan and new tiling. The job was slightly trickier than planned because the previous builders had cut corners plumbing in the old toilet, which Gary put right at very little extra cost, enabling us to move the new toilet further back, and creating more space in a very small room. The other builders we contacted were either vastly more expensive, or just didn't reply - probably because it wasn't a big enough job. Contact on 07572 588222

I would like to add to the recommendations for Gary and his team. They were able to sort out a few minor issues (that other companies said they were too busy for and would only have capacity at some point in early 2025) within a short space of time. Gary kindly liaised directly with my tenants which is such a bonus as a landlord. The work was finished to a high standard and there was plenty of communication throughout.

Thanks Gary and team! Sarah

Had a great experience with Gary who re plastered my ceiling. He was quick and saved me money by advising on work I could do myself. The room was cleaned  well afterwards and I am very happy with the quality of the work.

Gary and one of his team (Tony) recently completed an en-suite bathroom refurb for me. There were a few unforeseen issues due to the underlying previous/original shoddy workmanship but which Gary found solutions for. So the job took a bit longer than anticipated but we got there in the end!  We are pleased with the standard of the work and would recommend.

I recommend Gary and his team (Tony, Jason), who recently completed a whole refurb of our bathroom and delivered excellent work. There were a number of unexpected challenges throughout the job as it was a very old bathroom in a Victorian property, and Gary was able to provide expert recommendations and guidance throughout.

Gary was also able to get in contact with expert tilers, plumbers, and electricians who could support on different aspects of the job - the tiling in particular was outstanding.

Adding another recommendation for Gary and his team. This is the second time we've used First Choice Decorating, and they did a good job at very short notice for us. They were here to redecorate a couple of rooms in the house, and then whilst the team were working on that our toilet cistern sprung a leak! Gary was able to fit in the necessary repairs for this around his existing jobs, which was very much appreciated to ensure we weren't left without a working toilet for too long!

We're happy with the work they did, and grateful for the quick turnaround. I'd definitely recommend contacting Gary for anything you need doing.

Gary recently completed an external job on my property, which included fixing my roof, painting windows, front path and all masonry walls. From the start, Gary was clear and communicative and provided a competitive quote very quickly (which was stuck to). The chaps that did the work were clean, polite and experienced. The job has been finished to a very high quality, with great attention to detail. I certainly recommend him. Gary's number is 07572588222

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Gary recently finished an exterior paintwork job for us, on time and to the agreed quote (there were some added costs but that was because we decided to do some extra work after what we'd agreed). He maintained good communication both before and during the job and his workers (especially Howard!) were exemplary in their work and behaviour. He also did some tricky work fixing some bad cover ups on the brickwork that we'd been putting up with since we bought the house. We'd definitely use him again. Thanks Gary! Lauren

Gary and his personal, friendly and supportive approach to our kitchen renovation allows me to highly recommend Gary and the team of experts he hires on all of his jobs. 

Gary made every effort to keep the costs of our renovation affordable without compromising on quality. 

Anyone looking to have any work done, no matter how big or small should reach out to him. 

Our job was not a straight forward renovation but at every complication along the way Gary and his team were able.to find a solution. This included routing new pipes through a concrete floor, moving our boiler, taking out a wall and replastering the opening, fitting radiators and re routing electrics to an amazing standard. We would certainly get them back again and hope to work with them again soon.

Amazing work. Thanks Gary! 

Josh and Barbara 

I'd recommend Gary of First Choice Decorating and his team as well. They have taken on a tricky job of building in additional support into old crumbling plaster walls so they can support heavy curtain fixings.

He communicates well through the job, has a high quality threshold and attention to detail in reviewing the work his team carry out, and was very mindful on minimising disruption and dust for a messy process. 

Gary has recently completed a refurbishment of our en-suite bathroom and has done a great job. Throughout the whole process he was very hands on in helping us decide what new shower we should go with, which tiles would work best and where best to source them from.

The job was more complex than first thought due to some previously shoddy workmanship in fitting the shower but Gary was able to rectify this with no real impact to our budget. After finishing the bathroom we were so pleased with the work we had him tile our kitchen which we couldn't be happier about.

As usual with Gary everything was completed in a timely manner and with a good sense of humour along the way so it's always a pleasure to have him round. Can't recommend him enough.