Dennis and Simone

We cannot recommend Reform Construction highly enough.

Gerard approached the build of our house in a collaborative and supportive way. He listened to us and to what we wanted. He suggested, guided and supported us to make good decisions. At the same time he had firm ideas about what would work and what wouldn’t.

Gerard set high standards for himself and his team. He skillfully managed his workers and subcontractors, ensuring the quality of their work and that the project stayed within budget and finished within the agreed timeframe.

Gerard is creative and his workmanship and attention to detail was impeccable. Our house is now incredibly beautiful and a pleasure to live in. We appreciate it every day.

Thanks Reform Construction.

Deb

Gerard Murphy is not your average builder. For one he drinks soy lattes, and doesn't listen to builders rock FM radio. AND more importantly he has the eye of a craftsman, and cares deeply about the work he does.

Gerard value added the plans from our architect and problem solved on our renovations on a number of key areas.. His training and skill are impressive and he and his team are a pleasure to have around. Again rare qualities in a builder.

I highly recommend him for any work, and in fact wish we could get a commission from all the times we have recommended him to friends and colleagues. The word on Gerard Murphy is out!

Gary & Beth

We had a great experience working with Gerard and his team. Communication was good and we always felt up-to-date with the status of the project. Gerard was very willing to work with us in order to meet a high quality standard within a set budget. We receive many positive comments about our renovations and would have no hesitation recommending Gerard and his team.

Architect Joel Farnan

Gerard won a tender on a residential project we designed, he came highly recommended. After visiting the site early in the process and also near the completion, I can testify to the high standards of workmanship I witnessed at the site. Even in a pre completion state, the site was organized and the unfinished workmanship bore out a high level of scrutiny.

Flashings were of an exquisite quality, the waterproofing was thorough and properly detailed and the carpentry was excellent.

The owners of this property chose to procure this project via a cost plus contract and they report that Gerard is organized and reports accurately and regularly on the financial progress.

As such, I have no problem recommending Gerard for future residential building projects. He is clearly a good craftsman who takes pride in his work, uses his head and has an even temperament. Furthermore, he brings an artisans eye to his work, which is rare.

Moira

Gerard from Reform Construction approached the renovation of my home in a very cooperative and constructive manner. He was willing to listen to and suggest ideas. He was proactive with solving problems, even when they arose during the build. He was always willing to explain if and why some idea would work or not, but willing to tackle some quite demanding construction which demonstrated his building knowledge. Gerard has a great sense of style and creative drive which always guided the process.

Gerard and his team showed amazing craftmanship, skill and an eye to detail, and were always considerate, going the extra step when needed. Gerard liaised with and carefully supervised sub-contractors. I think of him as the tradie whisperer.

I found Gerard to be scrupulously honest and fair, and always conscious of containing costs.

The final result is a lovely, well-built and beautifully designed renovation which is such a pleasure to live in every day.

Glenda & Michael

The architects describe the five-month job as one of their "smoothest" ever. Nothing went wrong. There was never a raised voice. No disagreements. And the high quality of the work was maintained throughout the project as Gerard and the architects worked closely together, sharing their enthusiasm for fine craftsmanship and design.

Gerard’s qualities as a builder include:

• Excellent workmanship: Close attention was given to even the smallest detail.
• Sense of design: Gerard’s excellent sense of design gave him the ability to work closely with the architects to produce superior results from both design and construction perspectives.
• Honesty: Despite our house being more than 160-years-old, there was no blow-out in building costs. The project was completed within our personal budget.
• Character: One of the qualities that Gerard brought to the project was his character. He was always enthusiastic and it was always a pleasure (and a laugh) to be in his company. One of the side benefits of Gerard’s genial personality was that all of our surrounding neighbours clearly liked him (at least three told us that).
• His selection of tradespeople: Gerard has the ability to gather quality specialised tradespeople; they obviously enjoy working with him and do their best for him.

This is being written more than two months after returning to our renovated house. We have not found a single fault. In fact, we are continually finding examples of fine workmanship and attention to the smallest detail that we hadn’t initially recognised.

Agatha & Mitch

Gerard and his incredible team brought integrity, craftsmanship, care, sensitivity and skill to our domestic renovation.

Some basics - Gerard and his team were always prompt, worked beautifully as a team, maintained a clean and safe worksite, were sensitive to the peculiarities of site and neighbourhood, were clear about contractual and budgetary conditions and always brought humour and kindness to the site.

Some waxing lyrical - Working intuitively and closely with us, Gerard guided both us, and his staff with elegance and grace. Ultimately our wonderful house is a collaboration between us and Gerard, realised by the depth of skill of each of Gerard's employees. Gerard and his team also had a respect for the site that is highly unusual - both its living and non-living inhabitants; its existing heritage architecture and our vision for its future. This sensitivity is an integral part of a sustainable and ethical business, and necessary when working on domestic renovations, as they can be quite quite stressful times.

Gerard is an artist and a craftsperson, with architectural understanding, building knowhow and managerial finesse and he surrounds himself with the finest of builders, carpenters, stone-masons and an extended family of quality electricians and plumbers.

Our house is real, it is felt, it is built by hand, it is contemporary and loved and living more and more everyday.

Thank you Gerard and re:form.

Jo & Tim

We were introduced to Reform by friends whose renovations impressed us very much in their design and quality. Our friends spoke very highly of Gerard Murphy and the Reform team emphasising Gerard’s attention to detail, integrity, people and project management skills.

For our build – major renovations to the rear of a 90 yr old Californian bungalow – we wanted some flexibility to identify areas for savings and adjustments as we went along. We therefore entered into a ‘cost-plus’ contract with Reform as we were confident we could trust Gerard to do the right thing by us.

We are so glad we did this, as we realised some major savings on elements of the build that would not have been possible with a fixed price contract. Moreover, Gerard had some great practical suggestions for improvements to the architect’s designs, some of which saved us money, and others that added a bit, but significantly improved the final outcome. One of Gerard’s many great strengths is his eye for functional design and his ability to work between the client and the architect to find solutions to design problems that may only become apparent once you get down to bringing life to the architect’s drawings.