Jo Chappel
Anton renovated my home in Melbourne. I found Anton on the internet. The company sounded very appealing, and they sounded to be just what I wanted. The building process was very thorough and very honest. Anton, the owner and the builder, went through the project and plan that I had. He was very straight-forward and straight down the line with what the project involved, so the communication flowed. He was very happy for me to ask him questions that might have been rudimentary for him. Nothing was too much trouble. The main thing for Anton was that we both understood where each other was coming from. From that, we developed a strong foundation of respect that endured throughout the duration of the project. The attitude of the management was always very positive and very proactive, even when he struck road-blocks as happens with every single project. Whether it be resources or materials not coming for extended periods of time, or weather-wise – if we have a huge downpour and he can’t work that particular day – Anton always put a positive slant on it. He thought outside the box which sometimes led to creative solutions that worked in our favor at the end. The communication between Anton and myself was good. Whenever anything comes up, Anton will always try and contact you by phone. I found on-site meetings at the start of the day, where he’d communicate exactly what was happening, to be very advantageous. Anton’s attention to detail looked nothing less than the best. He’s creative and he’s a craftsman. The quality of Anton’s workmanship is second to none. You can’t fault it. There were many challenges that were totally unpredictable and all of them beyond his control. He turned adversity into a positive feature. I definitely would recommend Anton to others, and I actually already have. People who I have recommended him to have had positive experiences, have recommended him to others in turn, and so forth and so on. Probably one other thing that I would like to say about Anton is that he has great integrity. He enjoys the process from the creative side and the challenges it brings. It’s not just monetary for him. Believe it or not, he has a passion. He personalizes the experience and throughout that his passion comes through. The other thing, too, is that since 2008 he’s become very aware of sustainability and this has perhaps become a great strength of his. When he’s building a home or doing a renovation, he will always think of the sustainable attributes.
“We would highly recommend Anton and his team from Calm Living Homes for home renovations. We immediately connected with Anton during our first meeting with him and he remained an effective communicator throughout the build. Anton worked with us to design the best possible layout within our existing floorplan in order to keep the renovation costs down. What they achieved was a complete conversion of a dysfunctional and tired 1950s weatherboard house into a modern open plan living home, whilst still retaining the original character of the home. Each of the trades that worked with Anton were very professional, resulting in an absolute quality build. We love our new home!”
Gavin curtas
Anton is a visionary with many great ideas for renovations. He has a team of professional and friendly tradesmen who strive for nothing less than perfection. They take great pride and professionalism in their work with an outstanding result. I highly recommend Calm living Homes to any person wishing to renovate or build.
Jo Chappell
My name is Jo Chappell and in the capacity of owner builder I employed Anton Engelmayer of Calm Living Homes on two large projects over an 18-month period. The work involved extensive renovations and an extension to my existing home. In my role as owner builder, I came to trust and appreciate Anton’s high standards, natural aptitude, and professional conduct in relation to all areas of building. Anton encouraged a team ethos in relating to others on site. His sense of humour, coupled with a thoughtful approach to co-workers was a motivating factor in driving the project to a highly successful conclusion. Anton is to be commended for his ability to encourage self-efficacy amongst co-workers. This is an outcome of his ability to engage in active listening as well as making the most of every opportunity to learn from others.
Anton consistently reflected upon, evaluated, and modified the progress of the project as well as his own professional performance throughout the course of the day. He was highly organised, reliable and was consistently engaged in planning ahead. The project was completed on target but would have been ahead of time if not for the inclement weather. Anton proved his extensive experience in the quality of work he produced. He approached problems with a resourceful and positive attitude and was never defeated by challenges that needed to be confronted or was able to anticipate and avoid. Anton’s confidence in his abilities was a testimony to his unquestionable building experience, knowledge, and resourcefulness. His attention to detail was also outstanding.
Anton’s interpersonal skills were excellent. When changes needed to be made, he was always able to approach the issue in a diplomatic fashion, citing reasons clearly and giving invaluable advice. Likewise, when I had issues to discuss no matter how trivial, Anton always made my ideas valued. Anton displayed an aptitude for current building standards and legislation which was invaluable to all that were involved in the project His imaginative and creative flair coupled with his knowledge of the latest building products never ceased to amaze me. The result in so many areas of the home is individual and captivating. I have no hesitation in recommending Anton Engelmayer in his capacity as a builder. His performance and conduct are of a high professional standard. I have full confidence that he will be successful in all future ventures.
Attila H
We have a period home, circa 1910, and our builder did a ground floor extension of approximately ten by six meters. He also built two bedrooms, a theatre room, and a full suite bathrooms upstairs for us. I’d describe the building process with Anton as very professional. His attention to detail was excellent. As for his advice and opinions that I took on board, he would talk me out of things that I mistakenly thought were the right things to do. In hind sight, I’m glad he did. Obviously, I began to rely on his knowledge and experience from previous builds. It was very, very good. In regards to the attitude of management, they were very diligent, very aware of our needs, and very positive at all times despite the frustrations that come with adding a new building onto a 110 year old building. His attitude was excellent most of the time. He motivated his employees very well. He treated them exceptionally well, in contrast to the way I’ve seen other builders treat their employees. It was almost like being a part of a family. We actually lived on site during the building process and for three and a half or so months, these guys were here every morning. They really respected the conditions that we tried to live in, and what we tried to do as well. So, we’re more than impressed with his employees. There were a couple of small issues and oversights, but there was no level of blame and the issues were possibly because of my involvement in the process as well. Overall, it was very good. He was very thorough from when he held meetings prior to the build commencing, up to his phone calls at the end of the day after everything had wound up and everyone had gone home to plan the following day. The communication factor was very, very good and we always knew what was going on. I did a little bit of on-site work after the building commenced. I did a bit of painting and a little bit of the detail work. He would more than chastise me for work that I had completed that he wasn’t happy with, and not such requested, but more demanded that I do it again if he was going to put his name against this property. So, his attention to detail was outstanding. For responsiveness, he was very open to suggestions and feedback. Overall, he was very good at understanding what we wanted or required, and if it wasn’t quite right, he would make it fit. So, he was quite good. We completed what was potentially a nine month build in just thirteen weeks, from shovelling soil out back beginning on June 1st, to basically the builders packing up and leaving thirteen weeks later. I was very impressed with the time-frame. Within that, we had some unforeseen delays with a neighbourly issue, but it was more than I could have asked for. The employees had a high level of autonomy. There were unstated rules on the job, everyone knew what they were doing at all times, and it goes as a lot of credit to his behalf. He was very good at the management I would definitely highly recommend him & his team.
Courtney
Calm Living Holmes recently renovated our home and we are thrilled with the result. We were on a tight schedule and the job was done quickly, efficiently and professionally.
Anton, together with his team of tradesmen, were a pleasure to work with. They were friendly, skilled, trustworthy and full of excellent advice and ideas. It was important to maintain the character of our 1950’s house whilst giving it a modern twist and Anton definitely achieved this result. He is very passionate about all his projects and it shows in his work. He has a great rapport with all his tradesmen and we were lucky enough to have a great working relationship as well. I would highly recommend Calm Living Homes if you are looking to renovate your home.
Thanks to Anton and his team our renovation was completed to a high standard, on time and within budget during 2014. Anton took great pride in our job and was always contactable during the life of our project. He is committed to his projects and works with reliable project managers, quality tradesmen and well researched suppliers.
Our renovation involved the following:
– Working within heritage overlay planning requirements.
– Adding a first floor with 2 bedrooms and a family bathroom.
– Ground floor kitchen, dining & living area.
– Ground floor bathroom, laundry and butler’s pantry, pool, landscaping and shed.
Our specification included integrating our pool into our renovation, polished concrete floors, hydronic heating and quality cabinetry.
Any challenges that arose during our renovation were quickly and effectively resolved by Anton. We would enthusiastically recommend Anton to anyone thinking of renovating or building. Our recommendation would include involving Anton in the decision making process during the design phase because we think his experience and ideas would add value & sustainability to any job. We very much enjoy living in our renovated family home.
