HAVING just been crowned Scotland's Best Extension and Conversion Company at the Scottish Home Improvement Awards, there seems to be no ceiling to the success of Sawmill Contracts.

Launched only five years ago by skilled joiners Michael Daniel and Ryan Martin, the business has grown quickly to a staff of 14 who carry out all sorts of building work across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

While the award is for its exemplary extensions and conversions, the company also works on new build housing, full restorations and office and shop refitting.

The growth of the company is all the more impressive considering that it has been mainly through word of mouth.

“The business has just grown arms and legs,” said Michael who joined up with Ryan to launch the firm after growing tired of working for other people. “We certainly did not expect it to take off as quickly as it did by any means.”

The pair started work on an extension to a friend’s house and neighbours in the street were so impressed they asked for extensions too.

“If we finished one house on the street, the next one would want done because they had seen the work,” said Michael. “By the end of the first year we just seemed to be doing jobs one after another in the same streets.”

Sawmill Contracts is a member of Edinburgh Trusted Trader, backed by Edinburgh Council and Police Scotland, and is also a member of the Association of Master Tradesmen, a Trade Association that provides local vetted builders nationwide. With a strict vetting process their aim is to drive up standards within the building industry, setting a bench mark of excellence that all building companies can aim to achieve.

“Any client that chooses to work with us now and in the future can have complete confidence that we will finish each and every project to an incredibly high standard,” said Michael.

The company offers a wide and full range of services including building, roofing, joinery, plastering, plumbing and bathroom renovations, decorating, project management and new kitchens.

While clients can potentially organise and oversee or do some of the work themselves, hiring Sawmill Contracts can save a lot of stress and expense, as the company offers a professional service based on experience, knowledge, expertise and up-to-date equipment.

The team offer a bespoke service so any room or build can be designed exactly how the client wants, giving peace of mind knowing that the job will be well done and delivered to the highest quality and standards.

“We also offer the benefit of managing your renovation project from beginning to end, from the design and planning stage, during the build, through to decorating and snagging.” said Michael.

“You have one point of contact and we manage the paperwork, the team, ordering and delivery of materials while keeping you fully informed of the progress of your project.”

The business has grown particularly quickly in the lasts couple of years after both Michael and Ryan put down their tools to spend time overseeing projects and bringing more work in.

The fact that people are deciding to stay put and extend their homes rather than move has helped.

“There seems to be a common desire for more living space rather than bedrooms,” said Michael. “People don’t want the expense and bother of moving house, especially when they are unlikely to get more living space so it makes sense for them to invest in an extension.”

The company also specialises in restoring listed buildings after an architects’ firm asked them to take one on.

“We have done quite a few grade A and B listed buildings and we like the work,” said Michael.  “We shared our first one on social media and that led to other people getting in touch with us as there are quite a lot of listed houses in central Edinburgh and other businesses don’t seem to want to touch them for some reason.”

At the moment Sawmill Contracts is working on a Georgian townhouse which had been split into two flats in the 1960s and is now going back to being a townhouse.

“Instead of being a couple of two bedroom flats it is going back to a three bedroom house with more living space and it is looking really good,” said Michael.

Up until now the firm has been operating from an office in Dalhousie Business Park near Bonnyrigg but is in the process of moving to a new office in Bonnyrigg town centre.

“It is just off the High Street as we want to be a bit more visible,” said Michael.

He expects the new award will help the business grow still further and he is also keen to continue the company’s dedication to charity work.

Over the years, Sawmill Contracts has sponsored local football and rugby teams and Michael has also spent time and money helping Project Stedfast, a Boys’ Brigade project to build a school in Kenya.  He has been involved with this since he was a teenager in the BBs, at first raising money for the project, then flying out to work on it.

Now he is a leader in the BBs himself, running a section in Bonnyrigg on Friday nights as well as sitting on the executive for Edinburgh and Leith Battalion of the Boys’s Brigade.

“I don’t think it matters if you have an extra £5 in your bank or if you have an extra £100,000 in your account - you still need to  be giving back to somebody,” he said. “There is always somebody worse off, somebody in need.

“I think I have carried that forward and I would help out any way I can for anybody at any time.”

It’s a philosophy that permeates the business too, with all the workers at Sawmill Contracts dedicated to producing the best outcomes possible.

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