I want to start with a massive thank you to both Ben and Jak for designing and building our extension/renovation. Our 5 kids were quickly growing out of sharing rooms with one another, and I was growing sick of not having an office to work from home, but now everyone’s happy. The kids love having their own bedrooms, and we love having a proper office and a dedicated library space.

Jak blew our minds right from the beginning. When we first contacted Smith & Sons, we knew exactly what we wanted and we told them we wanted to add a second storey to our home. Jak did his research, and had already designed our home almost exactly the way we wanted it, but to exist on a single storey, saving us a LOT of money. We made a few modifications to the original plans, but it didn’t matter how many times Jak had to redraw his plans to accommodate these changes, it was never a problem, and it was always done very promptly. Jak also handled all approvals and certifications with the council, taking a huge weight off my shoulders.

Then it was time to build. As stressful as it can be to go through any renovation project (especially when you’re a 7-person family renting a 3 bedroom house for the duration!), Ben made the process quite easy. We were kept informed every step of the way, given opportunities to see our new layouts and make changes to them before it was too late to do so, and we were even allowed regular site visits so that we could keep up to date with how things were progressing. Apart from a few minor variations that we chose to make, the entire project was delivered on budget. There were a few delays along the way that couldn’t be helped, but we were allowed to move in at the end of our lease, given that the only thing that hadn’t yet been completed was exterior painting - Ben knew what our timelines were, and everything was carefully planned to ensure that we would be home before our deadline no matter what.

In summary, we are all extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with Jak and Ben, and look forward to doing so in the future when we do our next renovation. It has been a pleasure, and we love our new home. Thank you both!