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Peter & Margaret C... Ile of man British Isles Construction Plus My wife and I decided to contract Construction Plus to build a house for us on a plot of land that we had bought in Le Vigan, near Gourdon. We have received excellent service throughout the project: 1. Language difficulties Our initial concern was that neither of us speaks good French, and as a result we thought that we might experience difficulties. This was not a problem. Didier Vandewynckele and other people in the company speak very good English and have been able to make sure that we have understood every part of the project. 2. Choosing a design We looked at various designs supplied by Construction Plus, but none of them provided exactly what we were looking for. However, Didier discussed various possibilities with us and took us to see a number of properties under construction. This gave us a better idea of what we wanted. Construction Plus converted our ideas into detailed plans. After further discussions and some further alterations a final proposal was prepared for us, with an estimate of costs. There was no charge for this service. 3. The building specification A detailed specification was provided and fully explained to us. It was the most detailed specification that we have received from a building contractor and much clearer than those that we have received from builders in England. Everything was itemised and details were included of all the materials to be used and of the allowances to be given to us for choosing tiles and bathroom fittings. It was only when everything had been fully explained and agreed that we committed ourselves to the project, and signed the contract. 4. Costs The building programme was subdivided into six stages each of which was subject to a stage payment on completion of the specified work. We were given details of a small number of possible extra costs, for example if extra digging was needed. There were no hidden costs and we knew exactly what we had to pay at each stage. It was reassuring that payments were made on completion of each stage and not in advance (which has been the case with some English building projects) 5. Progress We were given an estimate of the timetable for the project (subject to weather etc). We were also informed that Construction Plus would be subject to a penalty if the building was delayed beyond a given date. Construction Plus have kept to the timetable and provided us with progress reports. We have visited France at three monthly intervals, and have had meetings to discuss progress and arrange the deadlines for us to identify the position of switches and sockets and to choose floor covering and fitments. Any queries that we have had in between our visits have been dealt with promptly and efficiently by telephone or email. 6. Quality We have been impressed with the quality of the build, and the fittings. The allowance for choice of tiles and fitments has enabled us to choose items of good quality from the suppliers recommended by Construction Plus. 7. Completion We are looking forward to the completion of the project in March 2007, and we have every confidence that it will be completed on time We commenced this project with some anxieties. Past experience in England and the Isle of Man has shown us that construction rarely goes as planned. In addition we were concerned at our inability to speak French well, and our lack of knowledge of French regulations. We need not have worried! The service that we have received from Construction Plus has been exceptional. Their standards are high, and we believe that we have got good value for money. In particular we are grateful to everyone at Construction Plus for their willingness to meet our wishes and their patience in working with people who are learning to speak French. We would recommend Construction Plus to anyone seeking to build a house in France, and have done so already. We would be pleased to show anyone around our house and answer further questions. Peter & Margaret C... Ile of man British Isles 3rd December 2007
We were very lucky to have friends living near Gourdon who recommended Construction Plus to us. We initially purchased our land through a local estate agent and after good advice we approached Construction Plus in December 2004. Without an appointment we simply walked into the Sarlat office to view the styles of houses we hoped to be able to afford ! We were greeted at the office by Didier and he was very happy to spend time with us and show us the styles of houses that Construction Plus could build. The whole process was explained to us very well as Didier speaks excellent English, something we found a tremendous help as our French is quite limited. After we made our decision to "go ahead" with employing Construction Plus to build our home, we were given frequent updates from Didier regarding the process of planning permissions and time estimates. We were advised at the start that the whole building process would take about 10 to 12 months so we knew not to expect our house to be built any quicker. One of our happiest moments during the process was when we had to meet with Didier and other Construction Plus staff at our field to mark out the position of the house, just to double check that it was going in the right position before the concrete foundations appeared. The staged payments system was excellent for us and a much better process than in the UK. We had very good contact from Construction Plus and when the time came to choose roof tiles and render colour we were chauffeured around the beautiful Dordogne countryside by Didier until we found the tiles and colours to our liking. On another visit we were again driven around by Didier to bathroom and tile showrooms to make more choices and then spent an afternoon with Alain planning where each individual light switch, wall socket and light fitting should be positioned . We always found the staff at Construction Plus to be very warm and friendly and prepared to listen to our requests and offer some very sound advice. Any appointments made were always kept and the staff always turned up on time! As the build progressed we were kept updated with emails from the company and finally in July 2006 12 months after the foundations had been laid, we were handed the keys to our beautiful house. At no time did we feel that we needed to complain to the company and we look back regularly at events over the last 2 years and only have very happy memories of our contact with Construction Plus. The quality of the building work is excellent and the landscaping done at the end of the project is highly commendable. We would highy recommend Construction Plus for their friendly, approachable, professional and personal service. Sarah and Paul BURN ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cormeilles en Parisis le 06/08/08 Messieurs bonjour
Nous tenions à remercier toute l'équipe pour avoir concrétisé notre rève !
Voici quelques photos la notre maison finie ! ( Tout du moins extérieurement !!)
Très proche du dessin initial de David !
Nous sommes très content de cette réalisation aboutie avec succès !
Nous sommes également très satisfait de vos prestations et ne manqueront pas de vous faire de la pub !
Merci encore d'avoir mené à bien cette construction avec des contraintes de délais assez court !
Un grand remerciement pour les terrassiers qui ont vraiment contribué à la touche finale et qui ont su mettre la maison en valeur !
Bonnes vacances à tous
Cordialement
Philippe H. Le Paillé 24250 DOMME
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Didier Van de Wynckele Construction Plus 29 bd Eugène Leroy 24200 Sarlat France 30th August 2007 Dear Didier and Alain, We would all like to thank you very much for the fantastic house you have builted for us. The house has exceeded our expectations by a huge amount, we feel that what you have created for us is a dream come true. Your attention to detail is exeptional and we had assumed that the items within the budget would be basic, however the quality of the fittings is a very high standard certainly not basic. The process was at no time stressful but in fact a pleasure. We actually enjoyed the visits to France to view the progress and the communication via email in Franglais with you and your staff. We would also like to thank all your colleagues that we have dealings with Séverine, David, & Cyril. The Workmen that we met on site were all very polite and helpful too. We felt the design process was very high tech and the CAD drawings you provided are an absolute reflection of the final result. The initial changes we requested to the design were provided immediately. We had initially had quotes from two larger companies but your planning process was far more superior and efficient. The planning application was absolutely no problem for us as you handled everything including the extra regulations of the Architecte of Bâtiments de France. Once again, we are totally delighted with what you have created and thank you all. Should you require a testimonial or wish to show your work to potential clients we would be pleased to oblige. We have many photographs from start to completion. On our return to UK, we will post you a CD with all the photographs for your records. Once again, Many thanks, Marc, Deborah, Benjamin & Harriet S........... 46350 Payrac France LIVING FRANCE feature. Written by Catherine Higginson (March 2008) Why we choose a new build Carol and Geoff Fletcher are equally pleased with their decision to choose a new home. This is actually their second purchase in France. Carol explains ‘we moved to France in 2002 and bought a ‘second hand’ home. In fact, the house had only been built in 1999, so it really was a case of ‘one careful owner’! We were very happy there but in 2005 we decided we needed more room. We looked around for a while but were unable to find anything that suited our needs. The properties were either too large or too small, with too much or too little land, or simply too expensive. We had always wanted to build our own home and it seemed like the ideal opportunity. We were slightly dubious having heard a few horror stories, but we had a company recommended to us – Construction Plus – based in Sarlat and they have been absolutely excellent. They allowed us to completely re-design the interior and add extra features to the exterior. This was fantastic, as it has enabled us to design the house of ours dreams. The only thing we might have done differently is to have a wood fire back burner installed for the heating and hot water’.Their single storey home is large (188 sq m), light and airy. They have two bedrooms both of which are en-suite and the master bedroom has a dressing room too. With a large kitchen and a small utility room, the property is completed by a very large lounge with three double width glazed doors. They are impressed with the standard of construction and level of insulation. Carol says ‘the house is wonderfully cool in the hot summer months and warm in winter. This makes it very economical to heat. The process was made easier because the construction company arranged the connection of all the services, fosse septique, electricity and so forth. We just organize a telephone line. The price included a fully fitted kitchen and utility room, including all appliances, fully tiled and well equipped bath and shower rooms, plus a stone fireplace. What we found really helpful was visiting the offices of Construction Plus and being able to see all the different designs. Then the Sales Director took us for a couple of days to view various designs at different stages of construction. This was invaluable as we were able to finalise the design we wanted and gauge the quality of the construction. Although we were able to choose exactly what we wanted, even down to the chimney design and the colour of the drainpipes, the companies were very good at advising us. As a result, we have ended up with a wonderful home that is easy to keep clean, economic to run and free from unwanted wild life. Construction was slower than we would have like, due to bad weather, but it was well worth the wait. We would have not been able to buy a ‘second–hand’ property of the same quality at this price and we would definitively buy another new home. Carole & Geoff FletcherDordogneFRANCE
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