A good number of buildings here have offices on some floors and families on others, sharing a stair and an entrance. That arrangement produces a particular set of frictions, and most of them are about timing rather than about the work itself.
Two sets of hours in one building
An office wants noisy work outside its working day; a family wants it during theirs.
Those are exactly opposite, and in a shared building somebody has to be considered first.
So we ask who is above and below before agreeing a time, rather than suiting whoever booked us. Mid-morning usually suits both worst and offends least; early evening suits the office and not the family. It is worth thirty seconds of asking to avoid a complaint that outlasts the job.
The shared stair and entrance
The common stair, the entrance door and any landing window belong to everybody and are maintained by nobody, which is why they are usually the worst-kept things in the building.
A quote addressed to one occupier for a shared item almost never gets agreed.
So we write those differently: the item, the price and the split set out plainly so it can be circulated. That is generally what unblocks a landing window that has been broken for two years.
Getting materials past everybody else
Everything comes up a shared stair past other people's doors, including glass.
So we carry it up in one run rather than in stages, and we never leave a panel standing on a landing where somebody's children go past.
Where getting a long panel round a turn needs the stair briefly clear, it is a few minutes, and it is worth telling the other occupiers beforehand rather than doing it while somebody is trying to get past with shopping.
How the job works
- Tell us about the jobSend a few photos, rough sizes and what you need. Use WhatsApp or the form. For a repair, a short video of the door moving helps a lot.
- We call you back in about 2 minutesWe confirm what you need and a time to visit. Where we can, we give you a rough price on the call.
- We come and measureWe measure the opening and check the walls, floor and ceiling around it. Anything made to size is made to these measurements, so they must be right.
- You get a written priceIt lists each item, with GST as its own line. If anything about the job changes, we tell you before we go ahead.
- We fit itYou approve the price and pay the advance. Our own team fits the work, checks that every door and window opens and closes properly, and clears up. Most jobs are done in 3 to 4 days.
