Macpherson offers value for money in refurb programme

Macpherson Trade Paints is helping FSG Property Services of Milton Keynes and Connect Property Services of Houghton Regis to deliver valuable cost savings for the Aldwyck Housing Group , a not for profit social housing provider managing over around 8,600 homes across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
FSG has recently secured a contract to carry out an extensive programme of property refurbishment for Connect, a joint venture between Aldwyck Housing and Connaught Partnerships, established to manage the repair and maintenance of Aldwyck's housing stock.

Under the 12-month contract FSG is providing directly employed skilled labour to completely refurbish over 900 kitchens and bathrooms in occupied tenanted properties in Luton, Dunstable, Waltham Cross and Stevenage. In addition to electricians, plumbers, tilers, floor fitters and decorators, the contractor also has dedicated customer liaison officers working closely with Aldwyck Housing’s tenants to minimise disruption while their properties are being refurbished, and to ensure the smooth running of the project on each estate.

Before the work commenced Aldwyck Housing asked Connect to review all its plans and specifications and to propose ways to achieve significant financial savings without compromising the quality of work that was to be delivered. One of the recommendations made by Connect in consultation with FSG was to put forward Macpherson Trade Paints for the project.

Scott Hughes, Contracts Manager at Connect Property Services said: “We were able to reduce the budget for our client by sourcing a number of fittings and accessories more cost effectively but it was on the decorating side where we were able to show the biggest potential cost savings of all, by proposing Macpherson Trade Paints for all interior decorating work.

“FSG’s decorators were already used to applying Macpherson coatings and assured us that they delivered consistently good results. Very competitive terms were secured for the main coatings we needed for Aldwyck’s properties, which were Macpherson Gloss and Undercoat, Vinyl Matt and Vinyl Silk.”

Work is already underway on the Hilltops Estate in Luton where there are a total of 54 bathrooms and 35 kitchens to be refurbished. FSG is ripping out old kitchen and bathroom units, rewiring, plumbing in new sinks and sanitary ware, tiling walls, laying new slip resistant floor vinyls and last but not least, decorating walls, ceilings and interior woodwork with Macpherson coatings. The coatings are being applied in various shades as each tenant is able to exercise choice over their interior decor and floor finishes and select from an agreed palette.

Scott Hughes says he is pleased with the way the work is progressing: “FSG have got off to a great start. Their operatives are interacting professionally with the tenants, minimising their impact on each household as much as they possibly can, and so far, they’ve hit all the customer satisfaction targets that we’ve set for them.

“In terms of the work that has already been completed the standard of finish achieved in the kitchens and bathrooms, including all the paintwork, is very high indeed. By bringing Macpherson Trade Paints into the supply chain FSG have managed to achieve great results at a significantly lower cost than anticipated which is great news for us and even better news for Aldwyck Housing and their tenants.”