With Planning consent safely in place for our new-build detached home, we sought quotes from a number of builders. We wanted a ‘fixed – price’ basis. Horizon was the most competitive. After extensive discussions with Horizon Building Contractors we were very happy with their whole approach, and we awarded them the Contract to build.
From the outset, we were impressed with the approach they adopted – and maintained throughout the build. We were welcomed on site on a daily basis; partly this was to be able to observe the processes – and see the quality of the work – partly it was to enable us to adjust details as the work progressed, ensuring that the finished building was ‘how we wanted it to be’.
We were due to start ‘in the New Year’, with a plan to be ‘In by Christmas’, but for a variety of delays (on our side, not Horizon’s) it was late May before they had access to the site. Astonishingly, Horizon made up for the lost time and enabled the build to finish mid-December! We were in for Christmas.
This emphasises two significant points:
1] Horizon are truly ‘customer-focussed’ and strive hard to deliver for their clients
2] Quite apart from the practical skills from all their trades, there is a most unusual quality of planning in Horizon’s work. The customary excuse ‘the plumber (or any other trade) has let me down, he’s stuck on another job’ NEVER occurred. Horizon could predict the dates when critical stages would arrive and the specialist tradespeople always arrived on time.
Construction must be no different from life in general – unforeseeable problems can arise and have potential to be a serious impediment to progress. Inevitably, various issues did arise during our project, but Horizon just took it in their stride and coped; their focus was on delivering a quality build on time and to our satisfaction. Every problem had its solution and delays were not accepted!
At the conclusion of a build, there is always the issue of a ‘snagging list’. Things that were not done quite right and needed fixing. Except in our case, nothing was not done right.
These days current Building Regulations require an airtightness test – done independently to ensure the integrity of the insulation/draught proof/quality of the build. When our air-test was scheduled, we were inevitably anxious, we had friends who recently had their build fail the test several times. This is not unusual, buildings fail initially (some several times) and require remedial works to get below the target maximum permitted numbers. Our build – thanks to Horizon’s constant care, from the bottom up – passed the test not just under, but at half the permitted level.
Another point is well worthy of comment. Some builders can be noisy, some ill-mannered and some foul-mouthed; once given a contract it’s too late to be able to control these things. Horizon were different: their first point was to contact each neighbour personally explaining what to expect and giving a direct point of contact to air any issues. No issues arose – thanks to the strong attitudes of Horizon and their tradespeople. They were all a pleasure to work with.
I have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending Horizon to any prospective builder (whether a developer or self-builder).
