Page 19 - Pemberton traffic

From: Paul Brown-Constable studio@graffiti.biz Subject: Re: Mitre House
Date: 24 October 2012 at 18:37
To: Christopher Leigh Pemberton clp@sw12group.com
Bcc: Segar Karupiah segar_9@hotmail.com, Paul Brown-Constable studio@graffiti.biz
Thanks Chris -
I'll contact Marbleshine and get a quote but a look at their www would, I'm afraid, indicate a high cost as like the four others I've had inspect and quote, they do a very pro grind and polish - next time you're in Peter Jones (or indeed John Lewis) check out their staircase - identical in every respect to that at Mitre House and my conversations with their property manager confirmed that even they couldn't polish to a pristine condition and expect to keep it that way - they just scrub and wash it down regularly along the lines of the test clean I did 6 months ago.... anyway, thanks for input and I'll advise Marbleshine's quote and report.
As regards other points in you reply -
A £35,000 budget spruces up Mitre House to an impeccable degree of maintenance, painting 2 colours throughout, new lighting incl. emergency, clean floor to a more than acceptable level, communal windows stripped and repaired, new interior of lift car with mirror..., various tidying ups of as you say, the various woodworks, most notably the main front door area, tidying up meter/fuse box cupboards, renovating brassworks throughout, replacing and tidying up all Lessee front doors including matching brass door furniture and various added improvements to the common parts, notably the hallway - mail boxes, table etc -
All in all, straightforward, admittedly cosmetic, improvements as opposed to simply throwing one colour, two coats throughout for under £4500 and a few things that need fixing for another £5000 max - ie, if no one wanted the place jazzed up, we could do for £10-12k all in.
But, and I'm the first to agree, if our previous Agents did just the minimum as outlined above, the bill would, by the time they'd got involved with surveyors, project managers, added percentages and contingencies, be three times that - so, we can prove that for that three times, we can do a splendid job with 5 times the improved elements - but and I repeat, predominantly cosmetic - those cosmetics, though, are not worth £60k as then you're right back to one contractor making a fortune from simply sub-contracting anyway, plus the usual fees, contingencies etc etc - we can get away with £35,000 odd because thank god somebody knows what they're doing - in this case three of the directors of MHM Ltd - and although you are now mooting a simple stripped down approach, I'm still for doing properly for £5k but not £60k - but you might find allies for a far cheaper minimum job - but I doubt it.... four flats are now sub-letters and guess what their agenda is?
Where it all fell apart was not in any way on costings, but simply style - and as you rightly say, whatya expect with 9 or more views etc.... my answer to that is simply there's a pecking order - at the top are those that live here on a daily basis and call it home and certainly those that have lived here longest (Flats 2,4, 7 (me) and 8 (Lisa via you) - secondly those that have recently arrived (Flats 1, 3 and 9) of which Flat 1 and now 3 are sub-let and not live-in daily resident owners, whereas Flat 9 are live-in owners but regrettably have caused most if not all of the problems with very strong ideas of what they want and expect - and, then adding Michele to the mix, that's where the problems are - and only there.
Michele is outvoted on every aspect by her three fellow directors who all remain resolute to all of Management's ideas, costings and style, both decorative and managerial.
Were you to approach Michele & Flat 9 with your one colour and a tart up here and there, you'll better understand where the problems lie. If you approach them with an opinion that Management's budget of £35,000 seems far more affordable that Michele's £60k, you'll again come up against far more personal reasons why that is not acceptable. Your final hurdle will be coloured dustbins versus traditional black, brass lanterns v Tiffany lighting, warm colours as opposed to neutral, pro-clean floor versus clean and polish, black lift doors and cage as opposed to a subtler bronze, etc etc etc - in short, Flat 9 beats Michele hands down when it comes to the dissatisfaction with each and every suggestion, unless it includes brass lanterns and the look of, as they insist, the classic Sloane Square townhouse look with the Sloane Club as their favoured example - IO lean more to the Chelsea Arts Club, or the Pheasantry, as was, years ago - ie Chelsea for what it's known, and more especially the Kings Road, arty, imaginative, bohemian, unique - it ain't, regrettably, the smartest address in town, opposite McDonalds for crying out loud, but still could be made to look sensational with a bit of imagination, which I have plenty of - and trying to turn it into the Sloane Club's pseudo chic would be like trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear -
I rest my case - you start your canvassing of Flat 9 (and Michele), but get some fatigues and a gun as you'll need 'em - and let me know the result... if you survive..!
All the best, Paul
Paul Brown-Constable / Mbl: +44 798 33 33 543 on behalf of the Directors of