“Once I’m on a job I treat it like I’m working on my own home.”
Meet Neil McDonald, a builder with a personal touch and an eye for detail. From the start of our conversation, I hear a man who’s justifiably proud of the excellent work he delivers and still gets satisfaction from a job well done. “I’ve been in the industry all my life; I love my job and wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
He started straight from school on the old YTS scheme, followed by college and an apprenticeship and now owns and runs his own company, ENMAC. He has clocked up over 40 years in construction, and I ask him why people choose him as their builder.
“If people want to know about the quality of my work, I suggest that they talk to my previous clients. That will tell them everything they need to know,” he said. “I have former customers who I can pop in and see for a cup of tea and a few who have become close personal friends and I love that.”
He runs one job at a time, which means a hundred percent dedication to that one client for the duration of the project. “Me and the team are on site every day, five days a week, which means I can be the client-facing contact all of the time. It’s me who the customer initially meets and discusses the project with, and if they want to talk something over or change anything during the job then I’m always there for a chat. Customers like that we don’t disappear and do something else and that I’m always around.”
Something I’m sure that customers also appreciate is his strict rule about leaving a clean and tidy site at the end of each day. Even clients’ neighbours have commented how neat the area around the house is and often approach him about quoting for a job.
A typical job for Neil might be a house extension and knocking down an internal wall or two to create a large kitchen living or dining room. At the moment he’s in Bosham, finishing off on a complete house refurbishment, including a loft conversion, new floors, kitchen and all of the redecoration work. He’s used to doing the finishing touches, including the painting and decorating and even laying carpets and says he prefers it because he can leave the house looking exactly as he’d want it to.
When I finish a job and the homeowner shakes me by the hand and thanks me, that means the world to me.
He tells me that he rarely takes a day off and laughs when he adds “there’s no point, when I do the phone doesn’t stop ringing!” That Neil is a grafter is in no doubt, but he also gives a lot of credit to his wife, without whom he says he couldn’t do this job. When I get home there’s always more quotes and paperwork to work through, but I try not to let it take over, and my wife helps me get the work-life balance right.”
When he’s not on site you might find him in the garage tinkering with his Lambretta, working on his daughter’s house or entertaining one of his four grandchildren. Portsmouth born and bred, you’ll sometimes find him in the stands watching a Pompey match.
Discover more about ENMAC or find them on Checkatrade.
