The builder
About ERCO Home Improvements
ERCO Home Improvements is led by Ercan Okur, a builder with 29 years on the tools. The business is based in Chingford, E4, and works across north and east London.
Ercan Okur
Trained from the foundation up
Twenty-nine years of building work, previously based in Sheffield and now working out of Chingford across London. Over 200 completed projects across renovation, extension, roofing, plumbing, tiling and commercial fit-out.
The reason for working across that many disciplines is not versatility for its own sake. It is that the joints between trades are where most building projects come apart — the electrician who finishes before the plasterer arrives, the tiler waiting on a floor that was never levelled. When one person is responsible for the whole sequence, those gaps do not exist.
That approach limits how many projects can run at once. It is a deliberate trade: fewer commissions, each one properly attended to.
How a project usually runs
The first step is a look at the property and a conversation about what you want from it. For most enquiries that starts with photographs sent over WhatsApp, which answer more questions at an early stage than a phone call does, followed by a visit if the project is one we can take on.
Work is then quoted in writing, broken down by stage rather than given as a single figure. That matters more than it sounds: a staged breakdown makes it clear what is included, what is provisional, and where a cost could move if something unexpected appears once the property is opened up.
On site, the sequence is set before work starts and the property is protected before anything is stripped out. Where you are living in the property during works, the programme is phased so that a functioning bathroom and kitchen are always available — that decision is made at the outset, because phasing a project after it has started is one of the more expensive changes you can make.
At the end, making good is part of the job rather than an afterthought. A project is not finished when the last fitting goes in; it is finished when the property is clean, the snags are closed out and there is nothing left for you to chase.
Questions
Working with us
How many projects do you take on at once?
A limited number. The working method depends on one builder being present on site rather than rotating between jobs, which puts a natural ceiling on how many commissions can run in parallel.
Do you use subcontractors?
Specialist elements that require registration — gas work, for instance — are carried out by registered engineers. The general building, plumbing, tiling and finishing work is carried out directly rather than passed along a chain.
Will I get a written quotation?
Yes. Work is quoted in writing before it starts, broken down by stage rather than given as a single figure, so it is clear what is included and what is not.
Discuss your project
Send a message with a few photographs and a description of what you have in mind. You will get a straight answer about whether it is something we can take on, and roughly what it involves.
Or email info@ercohomeimprovements.co.uk