Highly recommended builder

[R.Grieve]

I recently had some major works done on my home in East Dulwich and want to recommend local builder,George Pistolea.07570924915

He and his team are incredibly hard working, honest and great to deal with. The works were completed on schedule and any changes were made without hesitation or fuss. I will definitely use them again.

He carried out structural works, right through to final finishes and decorating. They also carried out external landscaping works to a fine finish.

[mmaloret]

Hi, I'm currently looking for a builder that would take on a big job. Thanks so much for your recommendation!

Best regards,

Maja

Only just posted this description here:

bit more about the project:

- We currently have a rear ground floor kitchen extension and conservatory above it that will be demolished, and replaced same size (open plan kitchen and bedroom above).

- There will be an internal reconfiguration of the stairs, so we can gain access to the new first floor rear bedroom from the long hall way, and also down to a small study in the basement (room exists already down there but access is from under the current stairs.)

- Other changes on the ground floor will include old chimney breast removal, new engineered wood floor leading to the new kitchen extension, structural steel where required due to the new layout, and other minor changes which will be in the final technical drawings.

- Existing basement room will need to be properly tanked and slightly remodelled.

- Upstairs the bathroom is being downsized due to the new stair layout, work will include a remodel of the bathroom.

[R.Grieve]

Hi Maja,

Looking at your description of your proposed works, I recommend that you contact George 07570 924 915

[stevie23b]

I thought George didn't get out until september?

[davepeak]

I would also like to recommend George, he did some renovation work on the front of my house, fixing a crack that had developed as a result of land movement due to living on a hill. George and his team did a fantastic job at a very reasonable price, they were a pleasure to work with and I will definitely hire them again when the next bit of work is required on the house.

Cheers,

Dave.

[Ganna]

Hi Maja,

Please check our website www.artofglassbuilding.co.uk or Facebook Art of glass

We do a lot of project in Dulwich and have plenty of recommendation.

Kind regards

Ganna 07894556072

[misskathleenmurphy]

I can also recommend George. He did our side extension and house refurbishment. George is well priced, knows his stuff, and is very hardworking. He's come back promptly too to do some extra things for us, which has been great. We're very happy with all of George's work!

[dean1962]

just another recommendation for George. he painted the front house, render fence, rebuilt alley mosaic old victorian style. quick to reply queries and offer quotes.

[Timothy]

I can highly recommend George Pistolea, 07570924915. He had done one double and one single story extension on my home in Nunhead last summer. Finishing the works throughout down to painting and decorating. He carried out all works including ground works, re routing drains and sewers as well as structural works. I am very happy with the quality and standard of the work. After doing several building works over the years I can honestly say George was been a pleasure to work with. He is always willing to make changes and adjustments to make sure you are happy with the final job and nothing is a problem for him. He has a positive attitude and is reliable and honest. If you would like to contact me to ask questions or come and see the work he has done please do. I am more than confident and happy to recommend him to others.

Timothy

[rawsparks]

Please do not use this builder. As he was working on my project at the same time as the previous poster, he basically abandoned my project to his brother who is a plasterer. Together they have ruined my home and cost me a further ?30k ontop of the ?60k that he charged me to do a loft extension. I have had to have the roof and the entire electric wiring redone, the staircase has to be ripped up as it is not compliant with building regulations and he has created an ensuite bathroom without a soil piple which makes it completely useless.

You can PM me for details or come and see the mess for yourself - if you search his name in this forum, you will also see my previous warning review. If you do chose to use him or his brother Pepe, please do so with absolute caution.

[dean1962]

hey! I know george from 2 years,what surprises me outrageous is this lady rawsparks an extraordinary malice,trying to denigrate this builder.I understand from George and i believe,you had no good plan for construction of the house, you have not paid and tried to sleep with him!and now try to take revenge in the most despicable way.I hope this forum administrator to take action and remove these people who combine business with pleasure personal.

[rawsparks]

Hello Dean1962

This forum is here, not to get into personal and petty arguments, but to share with others their opinions about their experiences. I used George based on feedback from EDF because his reviews were good. Unfortunately he let me down badly. This has been my personal experience with George and I am entitled to my opinion of the matter.

I invite you to come and have a look at my house. I will also furnish you with bank statements to show you how much I paid as well as the builders who have come in after him to fix the problems. This is concrete evidence. As for your claim that I 'tried to sleep with him', I really have no words to express how completely preposterous and laughable that is. Please very careful with your accusations here. I am going to end this conversation here - I've said what I needed to say. If people want to use George the builder, they do so at their own risk.

[Timothy]

Hello Rawplug

I am amazed at your comments. To be honest this does not like sound like George at all!!! I have experienced the opposite and found him to be reliable, honest and all of my alterations and changes which I have wanted to make throughout the build he has been happy to accommodate.

I can not imagine what has happened for this to occur to you? I can say that I have recommended him to friends who have also had a very positive experience with him. Judging from your urgency to reply to positive recommendations to George's work after such a long time since you did your building project you do seem rather hung up on the situation.

Perhaps you should have a think about the way the project was managed to answer some of your woes!

[dean1962]

I agree with you rawsparks is a forum where we share our experiences unite others, recommendations, warnings.but all arguments must be accompanied by truth, not lie.6 people have written positive recommendation for George,and only you negative recommendation.George is to blame, he is responsible for all evil, and you're an innocent angel!i m sorry for you,I can not believe you!

[llyamah]

dean1962 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

.6 people have

> written positive recommendation for George,and

> only you negative recommendation.

That doesn't make his review dishonest.

[southsidesally]

I would just like to add that I have been let down by George. I contacted him because he came highly recommended on this site. In response to my enquiry he visited me and sent me a quote for a job which is very time-sensitive as it involves damp damage to my spare room which I needed to get taken care of so that I could have friends stay over Christmas.

I agreed to his quote but unfortunately he has not replied to half a dozen messages, emails and texts - even to let me know that he was no longer interested in taking on the job.

With xmas round the corner I now have to put up my friends in a damp, wall damaged room.

From the comments here I understand that he can do very good work. But I wanted to share my disappointing experience with the Forum, as this is where I came across his name.

[scareyt]

All the recommendations for him are from people who have only made a tiny number of posts on here. That alone always makes me steer clear.

[Sean Of Dulwich]

personaly i think before you start to troll someones post and say negative things about them . maybe you should come up with some kinda proof.

[Adam]

My advice, I'm sorry to say, is to avoid George Pistolea. In 2015/2016 he worked on our extension and loft conversion and he has caused us a huge amount of stress over two years. Our project was the largest project he has taken on and he was completely out of his depth.

He costed the project completely wrong, we ended up having to pay him significantly more money, and then he left us to work on another project, leaving our project unfinished.

Our contract included all electrics, and he assured us he would bring in a qualified electrician, yet because he ran out of budget he tried to do the electrics himself and I got a potentially lethal electric shock. This was particularly scary as I have 2 young kids. I immediately called in an electrician, who also shocked himself on the faulty wiring, and he told me the wiring was a deathtrap.

The paintwork on the front of our house started peeling off after just a few weeks. George laid paving stones over the top of our manhole cover so we can't access it. He fitted the Velux so that they don't open properly. He left gaps around our sliding doors so the cold air gets in. There were many other issues too.

All of these things can be fixed, but the huge problem with George is that he doesn't know how to organise his business, so rather than sort out the problems he has created for people, he always prioritises the new work that will pay him more. So while he was getting more money from us, he abandoned "rawsparks" (the poster above) leaving her house completely open and unfinished. Then when our project was no longer profitable for him, he went off to work on Timothy & R.Grieve's project.

George - if you are reading this - you need to come back and fix these problems for your customers or your reputation will be beyond repair.

Timothy above may "be amazed" by rawsparks's comments, but I am not. I believe that Timothy and R.Grieve (2 of the posters above) live together and are big fans of George. I have spoken to R.Grieve at length and his recommendation was a big reason I used George. I also visited the house of "misskathleenmurphy", the other positive poster above, and she had a good experience with George. So I know that on these two projects George has done a good job. But I have also spoken to rawsparks about her project and I know she had a very expensive nightmare with him. George abandoned her project not long before he abandoned our project, to go back and do more work for R.Grieve and Timothy. I am just lucky that I was able to pay George some extra money to finish most of our project, whereas rawsparks ended up in a terrible situation.

Timothy patronisingly writes above to rawsparks: "Judging from your urgency to reply to positive recommendations to George's work after such a long time since you did your building project you do seem rather hung up on the situation." This shows a complete lack of empathy for what it is like to experience a traumatic building project. You feel betrayed and exploited by the builder, and it is hard to draw a line and just forget about it because you always hope that he might come back and fix the problems. You also want to make sure others in the neighbourhood don't fall victim to a similar experience. I'm sure Timothy is very happy though because George left our projects to go to work on his.

The poster "dean1962" above who accused rawsparks of "trying to sleep with" George is disgraceful and should be banned from this forum for posting such an accusation. I have to say, if George really did say that to him, then this reflects very badly on George as well.

[DHudson]

I would like to add a recommendation to this thread for George.

My experience of George's (& Pepe's) work is very positive and despite finding out that my house is a very unusual concrete construction (!) and subsequent issues around getting new structural engineers calculations and new designs for steel supports- George delivered on time and budget. He listened to my instructions and carried them out without issue. I have also been very impressed by George's general knowledge, problem solving and help with building control.

I'm surprised there are such varying reviews of his work posted above but can honestly say I can only recommend him.

I would suggest that with all building works managing your builders and getting them to work well with the other trades you are using (electricians / gas engineers / plumbers / glaziers etc) is vital. I have found that George and his team already have working relationships with local trades and this helps to effect an efficient build.

George could perhaps benefit from a more professional image but has been excellent for me on a very tight budget with time constrictions.

[Timothy]

As a fan of George, I am glad others can post positively about his work and positive attitude. After the big works they did with us I am still using him to come back for smaller jobs and from my experiences I can still only be positive about his work and have not hesitated to recommend him to friends and family. Myself and Richard my partner have both worked with him and both value a great working relationship with him.

My reason for being so keen to post positively about George is that I have done a few building/renovation projects in the past and had very poor experiences with builders, however George is the first builder who I have trusted to do the right thing and leave you happy with the finished project.