Fresh Approach Design & Build Ltd -

Paul Aston

Chris and the team were outstanding from start to finish as we did a full refurb on our "new" house. We agreed a May 2023 start date in Feb 2023, with a 14 week project span for new kitchen, UFH, bathrooms, glazing (including 5 sliding units up to 4500mm wide), re-plumb and a long list of external cosmetic changes, together with painting, decoration and flooring (Amtico, wood and carpet). Chris started on the day he originally said and finished in 15 weeks even after we added a complete garden remodel into the mix as well. He also brought it in on budget (apart from our additions, all of which he bought in for the quoted sums). I've never come across a building firm that delivered so accurately to time & cost.

At the same time Chris and the tradesmen all work on the basis that the customer deserves a top-notch result, so their quality of work and pre-snagging left almost nothing for me to snag, and I consider myself quite picky. I even had to stop Chris digging up a large cast concrete greenhouse base off his own bat and at his own cost because of a quite trivial crack when I was happy with a small local repair (it's a greenhouse base after all !)

Fresh Approach aren't the cheapest building firm in the area, but in terms of what they deliver (speed, quality, predictability) and what they eliminate (stress, arguments, post-purchase remorse) they are worth absolutely every penny. If you buy cheap, you generally pay twice and get ulcers in the process, so Chris and the team are exceptionally cost-effective in the round and I couldn't recommend them more highly.

(as a PS, the back-office admin is handled by Lisa who is a dream to work with - she even sent me her weekly working documents so that we could make sure that my control documents and her's synced up properly)

Nick Goff

Fresh Approach recently completed a circa 7-month project on a detached Victorian house we've just moved into in Maidenhead. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering similar renovation work. We weren't living at the property at the time but over an hour away by car so having a team we could trust was really important to us. The house was stripped back to brickwork, we started again with all new electrics, plumbing, windows, plastering, remodelling of some existing living areas and so on. The team were all fantastic, from dealing with Chris, Sean and Lisa to all the tradesmen they had on the job. From the very first discussions with them, Chris really stood out to us for his responsiveness, consultative approach and patience (having never taken on a project like this previously). Everything was thorough, our expectations were fully managed throughout and the overall detail and execution was impeccable. We are absolutely delighted with our new home and would welcome speaking to anyone seeking references on Chris and his team.

Chris ESGconsult

Christiaan and team were amazing. From start of process with architect and structural engineers which he corralled to making an amazing new space for living indoors and outdoors. Christiaan always had great ideas that not only improved the build but also kept us within budgets. Christiaan has a wide ecosystem of specialist contractors which were also a pleasure to have on site as we lived at home throughout the whole build. It was also a pleasure to deal with Lisa in the back office where nobody question was a bother. Christiaan sticks to his word and if something needed attention this was always done and responded to quickly. Thanks and yes I would highly recommend.

D&C Kids TV

In 2017 Christiaan and the Fresh Approach Team completed a large double story extension plus internal work on our semi-detached house.
From the first call/email Christiaan's response to discuss the project was quick, turnaround for a quote speedy and then accommodating to discuss how to get it in our budget. When we suggested that we source some of the materials to keep costs under control, he was fantastic in dealing with 3rd parties.
Throughout the build he not only project managed the project but also us! Telling us when the team needed certain things delivered and what was coming up in the build. Let's just say he was very patient as we were weren't the most organised.
We agreed a payment structure which we were all happy with and amazing when it came to the final bill.
One example of the team going over and above was that we wanted a vaulted ceiling which wasn't in the original plans. Christiaan liaised with the structural engineer and sourced the measurements and stats before going ahead and building exactly what we wanted. Top notch!
We were so glad that we chose Fresh Approach and the final outcome of everything completed internally and externally has been of an exceptional high quality, I would highly recommend Christiaan and the team to anyone looking at taking on a building project!

Sarah Melrose

We have completed two projects with Christiaan. The first was a second story extension to enlarge a master bedroom/ ensuite and add a bedroom in our last house. The second project was a two storey extension but we trusted Christiaan as we had worked with him before.
He worked flawlessly from our plans, letting us know if there were any changes along the way. He is very knowledgeable and offered us a lot of helpful advice whether it be sourcing interior materials or offering different pricing options. His communication was excellent.
His quotes were reasonable and he checked and informed us of any changes which is vital when doing such a large project!
The quality of his work was very high and his team were very hardworking. The project was completed in the expected time frame, which was incredible.
Chris is polite and a pleasure to work with so we would highly recommend Fresh Approach..

Lisa Palmer

Chris and his team were exceptional from start to finish. Having previously had a poor experience with builders in London I was skeptical from the outset however Chris was approachable, professional and extremely knowledgeable throughout our build. They completed a rear kitchen extension for us which was on time and within budget (apart from a few extras which we added). Any issues we encountered along the way were highlighted to us promptly and a solution was already in motion so there was never any added stress. Highly recommend! Thank you Chris and the team. ps. Our residential extension went that well, Chris also did some renovation work at our business.

Jacky Fairfax

Chris Paul of Fresh Approach completed a project for us in May 2019. The project consisted of demolishing a poorly-designed 1990s extension to our 1908 house, building a new kitchen-diner, installing a utility room and bathroom in the previous kitchen area, removing the old staircase and installing a new one and building a new patio in the back garden outside the new kitchen-diner. Chris saw the work through from beginning to end, from organising the drawings and planning permission application to the completion. His 'Fresh Approach' is his concept of customer serrvice, which is second to none. He responds immediately or nearly immediately to any query or issue raised by the homeowner.. He employs a 'right-hand man' and about four labourers on a permanent basis and gets the best out of them because he treats them well. He researches the best local contractors for the plumbing, electrical, flooring, windows roofing and decorating work and they like working for them because he pays them promptly and responds promptly to any queries (contractors told us that this is rare!). The finished work is of a very high standard and if there are any snags (we had a leak because of a problem where the flashing of the new roof joined the old wall of the house), Chris sorts it out incredibly fast and with no bother at all to the homeowner. We love our new space and are very happy that we chose Fresh Approach.

Susan Voskar

Christiaan and his team built our extension, including a bedroom and bathroom for my mother-in-law, a large kitchen and a utility room. They were a pleasure to work and I always knew I could trust Christiaan to do his utmost to make everything run smoothly and for the work to be of good quality. Christiaan takes great pride in his work and looks after his clients throughout and beyond. I would strongly recommend Fresh Approach Design & Build Limited as an excellent local company.