New Build Home, East Kent

“We found Vernacular Homes when my wife saw an advert for them and liked the look of their projects. The contractors we were due to start work with had just announced their prices were to increase significantly, and they were not helpful when it came to mitigating these costs. Not only that, but their communication was poor, they had no particular ideas for the build, and they’d charged a lot already before we’d even broken ground; we just had no faith in them, so we looked elsewhere.

“Working with Vernacular Homes was completely different. With them, we felt like we had an expert in the room. The planned basement was the most expensive part of the build, so they suggested scrapping that idea and going up into the roof instead, and so they changed the design and planning for us. They gave us lots of choices and great advice. We always felt reassured by them and that we were being given direction and help.

“Right from the beginning, we were always told what the plan was: there were no surprises. I hugely underestimated what was involved in the project management side of the build but it all just happened seamlessly. We were always informed about what the next stage would be, and when payment would be due. Every member of the team was a pleasure to deal with. They suffered what we sometimes felt were stupid questions and always made us feel that nothing was too much trouble. We just had huge confidence in them.

“They’re a fantastic family company and the quality of the house is brilliant. Some time after living here, we had a few snags with the windows, so I got in touch with them. They hadn’t actually built these themselves, but they came in and looked at them, and decided that as there was an issue with one window, it might happen to the others too, so they fixed and repainted every single one, which was brilliant. The fact that you can just make a call and they’re there, reinforces what a great company they are.

“We’ve lived here for some time now and we often talk about the house and how lucky we feel to live here. My favourite thing about it is the view from the kitchen diner. There’s nothing really about the house that we would change.”