Artistic Block Paving

Jul 9th, 2018

Testimonial is lengthy but necessary to fully provide context. I aim to give readers an understanding of the extent of challenges faced as well as insight into our approach & how we overcame them with the firm we partnered with. Living in an area of Shirley thats believed to be situated on the site of an historic river & having had a couple of flooding near-misses (for which insurers state were exempt from cover); the most recent of which occurred in June 2019, it was time for affirmative action. The amount of rainfall on June 10th was the ultimate catalyst when it poured for what seemed like nearly 24 hours straight. An amber warning for London & most of the Home Counties saw the closure of roads, bridges & even underground tube stations. Bringing this a little closer to home, I returned from work at around 11pm to find both our rear garden & front drive completely submerged under nearly a foot of water. The public roadside drains were overflowing, unable to cope with the deluge from the biblical torrents with vast swathes of asphalt also disappearing from sight. Luckily; our thresholds were not breached but it was evident that a lot of water was now sitting under the house potentially soaking the foundations. Research began to find & engage a suitable land excavation contractor. We found many with good reviews & having made a shortlist, interviewed 8 different firms, finally settling on & going with Artistic Block Paving; a Wallington based firm established in the late 90s. Its owned by Simon Goodman who joined the trade as a teen working for a paving company where he learned the trade & honed skills for over a decade before branching out on his own. First meeting in July, Simon (& his trusty Vape device);assessed & provided a no-obligation quote. Arrived on time; my first impression was one of confidence, informed by a wide breadth of practical experience. I was keen to impress upon him just how serious the issues were, leaving out nothing. I even showed him a number of videos captured during some of the worst instances in the past. Though obviously astounded by the amount of water & drainage issues, he remained unphased by the potential enormity of the task ahead. We discussed business & operational terms along with a schedule of works from which a comprehensive written quote was constructed & promptly provided via email. Work commenced on the 14th OCT with a 2 week lead time but on day 2 we hit our first major challenge. A one foot deep clay excavation revealed an old man-hole full to overflowing with water & debris. This discovery along with heavy rain halted all work & a drainage specialist had to be engaged to investigate & assist; day 2 was a wash out. Day 3, Simon liaised directly with the firm of our choice (Drains Ahead Ltd); he & Tom got down to the business of diagnosing the issues & promptly fixed them. Camera survey, full jet clean & drain out & we were ready for work again on day 4. One of the benefits of working with Simon is that despite being the boss, he is always very visible & totally hands-on, being fully involved in all aspects of the actual job. He doesn't just direct, he drives the project WITH the client. At no point were we ever left feeling any request for clarification or action was too much trouble & his attention to details important to us as clients, provided immeasurable peace of mind. Simons' professionalism & warmth is a trait that runs through his whole team from Callum, to Jake, to right-hand man Rick & fencing sub-contractor Gary; with whom he's been working for around 2 decades. 2 weeks ended up being 4 but that was only due to bad weather & amount of water that had to be dealt with. Work completed to the highest standard & on-budget. Any extra work & decisions were always discussed & agreed in advance. Extremely pleased with the outcome & would highly recommend Artistic Block Paving to anyone seeking a trustworthy & professional contractor. Thanks Simon Pops - The Humble Host
Nov 4th, 2019