Have you ever dreamed of designing your own home to your exact specifications? – Or maybe your worried that construction or development companies will only work with big budgets?
Charles James Developments is a dedicated construction company offering a professional and friendly service, they also cover all aspects of project from design to completion.
Their team, including architects, engineers and quantity surveyors will assure you get the finish you desire for the budget you want.
They provide professional tradesmen in all areas who are fully qualified and highly trained into turning your vision into reality.
They offer a bespoke building service that puts your ideas first. They keep things as simple as possible for you throughout your build, without compromising on delivering first-class results for you & your home.
They are an experienced, ambitious and passionate organisation based in Cardiff covering South Wales and South West of the UK.
Rosie Harris from Style of the City takes time to talk to Managing Director Dean Abraham;
When did you start Charles James Developments?
I started Charles James 4 years ago. I had my own company, along with my friend Will who also had his own company and was doing a lot of work for me. We decided to go in business together and make a go of it between the two of us. The name Charles James comes from his middle name Charles and my middle name James.
What are you doing at the moment that is separating you from the competition
What we offer is a bespoke building service. The customer can come to us with a design of a project, then also as an example, they can pick their tiles, their kitchen and also their lighting. We could then source and supply everything, so it’s taking the hassle completely out of building. Furthermore, woman haven’t got to drag their husbands around tile and kitchen shops on weekends. They can simply come here, give us pictures and ideas of anything they like and if we do not have it here we will source it from the supplier. Moreover, we are F.C.A (Financial Conduct Authority) approved, so we can also offer finance to the customer, I don’t know of any other building company currently offering this service.
Give me an example of some projects that you are working on or have worked on?
At the moment we are working on 7 jobs, including; Pontcanna, Cyncoed and around the corner from our office here on Wellfield Rd. Subsequently,we have got 16 jobs in the planning which we haven’t even priced yet. What’s more because we have our own architect, we are named on the drawings. Our diaries are really busy and booked up for both next year and this.
Your based on the high street in Wellfield Rd is there a reason for that?
I am constantly thinking about how we can better ourselves and differentiate from competitors. Most building companies are based on industrial estates and nobody walks onto an industrial site, unless you go in there for a reason. I considered that if we are on the high street then we are in the public eye, people walk up and down this street and it’s a place for anyone to come and see our work. If customers need to get hold of us they can just come in very easily as we have a base. It’s also here so that a client can put their trust in us and actually know where we are.
What advice would you give to someone who wants to have a refurbishment in their home?
Firstly, I would give you a realistic budget and obviously try and stick to that said budget. We can try to work with any fiscal amount while also trying our best to help people achieve what they really want within their own personal budget. Secondly, we would sit down with someone together with their ideas. Initially I would like to go to their property and take a look, also to get some measurements and then go over what they would like to achieve. Thirdly, we would compile a bespoke package to match their said budget. Furthermore, I am always striving to be current and trying to stay ahead of the game. For example; “what tiles are currently in fashion”? At the moment people hexagonal tiles are in fashion-however, we know that this might not be for everyone. Lastly, there is nothing seemingly that we cannot do –even if someone comes in wanting a swimming pool, we will try our best to do the job.
You can pop in to see Dean or a member of his team Monday-Saturday 9am-5PM To discuss your development needs;
You can find Charles James on 13 Wellfield Road, Plasnewydd, Cardiff CF24 3NZ
