Decorator / Bathrooms / Refurb - Gary Skinner - 07572 588222

[swhenderson]

Hi all,

I just wanted to echo all of the positive reviews here and say that I would wholeheartedly recommend Gary Skinner (07572 588222) for any refurb work you need doing. Gary and his team are that rare thing: reliable, communicative and great at what they do.

Much like Sam Joanna in the post earlier in this thread, we had experienced some cracking on the walls over the hot summer in 2018. We'd established that they weren't a sign of anything more serious but as they were larger than your average hairline cracks they were making the place look quite rundown. We tried a quick fix with some filler last winter but the cracks returned quickly - and so we knew if we were going to try doing it again we needed someone who would do a better, more professional job.

Following recommendations on this forum we contacted Gary who quickly came to assess the problem and managed to fit us in around other jobs. The job turned out to be bigger than expected, as Gary uncovered some substandard work done by previous owners which was making the cracks much worse/much more likely. Despite the increased scale of the job, Gary pushed on and finished the work promptly at a reasonable price. Alongside a high quality finish, Gary is great at keeping you updated on progress, which is not something I've often seen in a contractor.

I would highly recommend Gary to anyone looking for reliable, great quality refurb work - and will certainly use him again for any future work we need doing.

[Muley]

Another recommendation for Gary.

First off, my mother in law has a flat that had been trashed by previous tenants and it needed to be redecorated asap, ready to be let out again. Gary pulled out all the stops, even working evenings and weekends to get it ready. It was all done in a matter of days and looks fantastic.

We then got him back to repaint the front of our house. This turned out to have some nasty unexpected surprises, with a lot of the plasterwork in the porch blown and damp brickwork underneath. He stripped it back to the brick, treated the damp, replastered and redecorated everything, all looking good as new. Cracking job.

I?d have no hesitation in recommending Gary- he?s has a ?can do? attitude and does great work at a very reasonable price.

[Bradders]

Gary has come to our rescue again, twice.

A couple of weeks ago he came out on a Sunday lunchtime to sort out a blocked kitchen drain and again at very short notice, today he is repairing our box gutters after we noticed some water ingress in our flat. I can only reaffirm our previous recommendations for his work which is always of a high standard. He is completely trustworthy and reliable and a good bloke

Best to get him on his mobile - 07572 588222.

[Morri]

Hi, Gary did some work for us recently - he managed to fit us in even though he was very busy. He came and did a great job. He made some great suggestions and did it all really neatly. I would definitely recommend him.

[MKandE]

Gary and his team did a great job of work inside and outside our house pre Xmas.

Kitchen renewal, groundworks and decorating inside and out.

He stuck to budget, achieved a good quality finish, addressed problems as they arose and carried out unforeseen works.

Thanks Gary.

[aaronsonenfeld]

Hi all - wanted to add my recommendation for Gary and his team, who recently installed a bathroom light for me (along with re-filling and re-painting the bathroom ceiling). Found his details through the EDF, he was always timely with messaging, and came round to take a look at the job within a couple of days, despite being busy on other jobs. Work was done to a high standard, would definitely use him again for all kinds of decoration.

Thanks Gary

[mikei]

Gary and his team recently refurbished a fair section of our flat, consisting of:

- Striping, filling and painting multiple doors

- Removing and replacing skirting throughout

- Fitting a new engineered floor

- Sanding, filling and painting walls and ceilings

A refurbishment is messy work, and Gary did his best to try and ensure that the rest of the flat was kept tidy, also making sure to clean and tidy up at the end of each day.

Gary was in constant communication so that things were understood and problems resolved quickly.

He has a keen eye for detail looking for a quality finish and trying to spot issues ahead of time.

It took a little longer than expected but that was mainly down to a combination of the Christmas and New Years period, along with the birth of his child and the prolonged unloved nature of the flat.

Overall it?s a marked improvement and I?m very happy with the finish.

Thanks Gary!

[andrewsavill19]

Hi all, another recommendation for Gary and his team. He recently completed works to our house in Forest Hill consisting of:

- Large new stud partition wall (incl. decorating)

- Complete redecoration of living room & kitchen

- New electrics for lighting in stud wall and living room & kitchen

- A few small bits & bobs (e.g. mastic finish to kitchen worktops)

All works were completed to a very high standard. Gary has a real eye for detail and he personally made sure everything was of a very high quality.

Gary coordinated the whole job, which at times involved 5+ guys from his team. He kept me well updated on how things were progressing and quickly resolved any questions or queries.

From my first contact with Gary, works had started in about two weeks. And overall I'm pleased with how long the job took to complete (about 3 weeks).

His team were great at tidying up after themselves, and they went above & beyond to keep the place as tidy as possible for us.

Overall, we're really pleased with the job and would highly recommend Gary and his team.

Thanks mate!

[Mountain walker]

Hi

We needed some internal plaster repair/replacement to one of window bays. We found Gary through the forum. He responded quickly, gave us a sensible price, and managed to fit in doing our relatively small piece of work around larger projects.

The job included removing the plaster, sealing the exposed brick, replastering/skimming and then lining.

Gary and his mate Darren did a good job and always left the place clean and tidy. They left the bay lined and ready to re-paint.

Next time we need anything similar doing we will contact Gary. Recommended.

[granholme]

Echoing other peoples comments here - found Gary via this thread and he's done a great job over the last few weeks fixing the half arsed new build kitchen and garage door installation done by the original builders.

Clean, tidy, sensibly priced and great attention to detail - will be our first port of call for future work

[HRF]

And another recommendation for Gary from me. Him and his team did a great job prepping and re-decorating our hallway under difficult circumstances. Hoping to get him back to do our reception rooms!

[Budgie]

Hi

Another recommendation from me for Gary Skinner. I had a relatively small job for external decoration of a side passageway, including repainting tricky steps down to basement front door, side walls and windows. Discovered a few problems in progress such as rotten window frames and shed door that needed replacing, all of which Gary sorted. Friendly and very communicative eg checking additional costs with me before doing the work, reasonably priced and very tidy - they even hoovered the pathway to clear up debris!

[fabricedavis]

Hi,

Another recommendation for Gary Skinner (07572) 588222. I had a few builders come round and give me a quote for making good external render, rainwater goods and fitting a new window along with a complete new bathroom in an old flat. The prices varied dramatically, but Gary understood what I wanted and gave me the confidence he knew what he was doing and would do a good job. I paid a small deposit to get the worked booked in and Gary started as agreed. Gary paid attention to detail and gave me updates as the work progressed. He spotted issues and provided solutions and sensible prices to resolve these. Once we got inside the bathroom, there were lots of problems with the existing structure, but again Gary came up with good solutions and gave me choices to resolve these. As Gary was there, we ended up having extra works done which Gary was happy accommodate. The quality of the work is excellent and we were very happy with the finished product. I would strongly recommend giving Gary a call if you have any work that needs doing.

[neilbis]

Hi

Another strong recommendation for Gary Skinner (07572 588222) and his team. Gary's team came and worked on our house on either side of Lockdown. They truly bust a gut to make sure that the decoration on the upstairs bedrooms were completed, working right up to the last day before lockdown, so my family would actually have somewhere to sleep! Then after Lockdown, they came back and knocked through a wall, plastered the opening, and finished the decoration downstairs. They also fitted a new loft hatch, and laid down boards in our loft. All of the work they did was high quality, and Gary and his team are really nice people to have around the house. The cost is reasonable, and above all, Gary makes sure you know exactly what you are paying for. Thank you Gary

[Londonmark99]

And another recommendation. Second time we've used Gary and another excellent job decorating two children's bedrooms to a very high standard. Gary did everything he could to fit around our timing and the quality of the work is very high. As others have said, cost is also very reasonable. Many thanks Gary.

[Lisleen]

Recommendation for Gary and his team. I?d echo what other posters have said about attention to detail, constant communication on what was happening, friendliness of all the members of the team we had in the house for different jobs and how clean they leave everything.

We had three quite different jobs done and are very happy with the quality and finish of all:

- set of bespoke painted bi-fold doors for an odd shaped opening between our living room and dining room

- complete ripping out of understairs and previous hall way cupboards replaced by bespoke cupboard system

- installation of new water line for a plumbed in fridge which involved running a channel under existing lino

The finish on all 3 jobs is lovely and Gary is perhaps even more eagle eyed than we were for tiny snags which he remedied.

Will be using him for future jobs.

Vicky

[scwedge]

Wanted to leave another positive review for Gary! He and his team prepared and painted our downstairs (including stairs) and sourced and fitted a new chair rail to a very high standard. The communication was great throughout, as was the tidy up after the job, and Gary made sure that the deadlines we had were met. Would definitely recommend and use again!

[Biggers]

Another great review for gary and team. He rendered external front and back brickwork and did a truly great job sanding and painting sash windows back to original standard. We needed some additional window rot sorting as well as some brick pointing he noticed and as has been completed to a very high standard on all aspects. Friendly team and accommodating to needs as we have a 1 year old. All round great service at decent price. Was happy to fix other small items along the way which we appreciated.

[Ellied]

Gary and his team did a fantastic job knocking through a bedroom fireplace for us. It was a slightly more complicated job than we initially thought (no lintel, chimney full of old rubbish) but Gary sorted it out with ease at a good price. Would highly recommend him and he'll be our first port of call for future jobs.

[MR. A]

Another recommendation for Gary and team. Despite other work he was able to come in and do a paint job on one of the lounge walls. Finish was excellent and very reasonable priced. Very professional. Highly recommended.

[ritah]

Gary did a great job of organizing the work for our roof fix and gutters replacement. He kept me posted on timings and the job was reasonably priced. Would recommend!

[Trunklayla]

I?d like to add another recommendation for Gary. I found his number (07572 588222) on this forum and was impressed by all the great reviews.

I contacted Gary about a problem with some damp coming through our windows.

Gary got in touch with me immediately and came around for an inspection, straight away he discovered what source of the problem was.

Gary and his lovely team have completely sanded down and repainted our windowsills, have totally cleaned the brickwork and repointed the entire front of the house leaving it looking immaculate, they have also fixed a long-standing problem with the roof and guttering and repaired an internal wall where damp had come through. Our house is now water tight and our damp problem has gone.

Gary has been excellent, he is very knowledgeable and explained all the processes and work needed. He project managed everything and brought in all the different tradesmen. He also gave regular phone and text updates. Oh, and all for a very good price.

I would definitely use Gary and his team again in the future.

[oliviacj]

Another recommendation for Gary and team. They recently built us two sets of alcove shelves, and renovated two bedrooms in our house, including re-plastering, re-building a stud wall, painting etc. Gary is clearly experienced in dealing with similar Victorian terraced houses, which was really useful when we discovered issues with the original plastering. His team are all really friendly and his network of contacts in all areas of the trade is extensive. Very pleased with the result.

[cw_1984]

We found Gary on the ED Forum and from day 1 Gary was in touch discussing and explaining all the finer points of the work we were talking to him about. Gary's team have just finished the first part of a bigger piece of work, bespoke alcove shelves and cupboards dowstairs, picture rails, and alcove wardrobes upstairs, we are really happy with the results, and also with Gary's extensive knowledge and network of contacts. Many issues have been fixed through Gary such as our plumbing issues and sources of various bits of damp. Thanks Gary and team.

[lhow1988]

Another recommendation for Gary. I needed someone to fit a new kitchen worktop and some appliances (sink, oven, gas hob, etc.) and found his number (07572 588222) through this thread and sent him a message. He was very quick to reply and could not have been more helpful. He clearly explained all the details of what was required and the time frame it would take. And the end product is even better than we'd hoped.

Would absolutely recommend giving Gary a call for any work that you require.