Design & Build companies

[poochiepants]

I am interested in hearing of your experiences with one of the many Design & Build companies cropping up, especially in London. This will really help me develop my business as I have an idea that will help them increase their profile as a reputable design company, but could also be taken up by the home owner early on in the process.

Please don't name & shame businesses, I really don't want to offend anyone!

The main questions are...

1. in hindsight, do you think they did they do the best design job they could? Why not, if no is your answer?
2. were they clear about the whole process, and were they upfront about the long list of additional costs that invariably crop up?

Thanks in advance!

I have worked in construction industry previously and D&B contracts generally produce poor "design" and cheap construction with no impartial controls. Would never use a D&B company for a domestic project.

I'm not sure if it's exactly what you mean but we used a loft conversion company that did everything. Overall they did a good job I think. However, their designs are all a bit similar, kind of cookie cutter. A designer would definitely have done a better, more interesting job and we would probably use one if we did it again.

All the fittings were pretty standard but we did have the option to provide our own which we did with some of them - windows, light switches/sockets, doors etc. They were very clear with the pricing - what was included and what was extra. They asked us to provide the bathroom fittings which was a good idea as we had control over that and there were no surprises on either side.

Thanks for the replies Agent and Cheese - this is definitely helping me formulate my idea, thanks!

Any more responses gladly received....