My neighbour on the Leighlinbridge road had a crowd in from somewhere up the country a few years back to do his gutters and fascia — and they did a fine job on the day, I'll give them that, but within eighteen months the brackets were pulling away from the soffit on the north-facing side of the house and he had water tracking back behind the fascia board. He spent the guts of two summers trying to chase them up about it and got absolutely nowhere. I was watching all of that unfold while our own guttering was quietly getting worse — the front of the house is a 1970s semi that we extended out the back in 2004, so you've got old cast iron at the front still holding on by the grace of God and the newer stuff at the back starting to sag in the middle and pool during heavy rain. We'd been meaning to get it sorted for years if I'm honest, kept putting it off the way you do. My wife eventually said enough and I asked around at work and Pat's name came up twice in the same week, which I took as a sign. He came out himself, had a proper look, didn't try to up-sell anything we didn't need, and the quote was fair. The lads who arrived to do the job were tidy workers, no messing about, they were done in a day and a half and the place was left clean behind them. The new guttering and fascia boards look the part and everything is sitting exactly as it should. Whether it holds up better than my neighbour's experience is something only time will answer, but I'll say this much — the standard of the finish alone already puts it a cut above what I saw across the road. Would use them again in a heartbeat.

What struck me most was Paddy himself arriving out to have a look before anyone else set foot on the property. I've had fellows over the years who'd send a young lad with a clipboard and you'd never clap eyes on the man in charge. Not so here. Pat walked the whole roof with me, explained what he was seeing, and didn't rush a word of it. A straight-talking man. I'd have no hesitation recommending him to any neighbour of mine.

Used Barrow Valley Roofing across two of my commercial units in Laois — Pat and his lads were on time, priced it fairly, and the finish is clean. Only minor thing was the lead time before they could start, which pushed my schedule a bit, but that's more demand than anything else. Would use them again without hesitation.

If you want someone reliable who actually shows up when they say they will, Pat is your man. Between work calls and school pickups I had no time to be chasing a roofer, so the fact that he kept me informed throughout meant a lot. The job was done neatly and the roof has been solid since. I would absolutely use Barrow Valley Roofing again and already have a neighbour asking for the number.

Pat and his crew are who I'd go back to without hesitation — solid reputation, and they earn it. The repair itself was done neatly and they cleaned up after themselves, which not everyone bothers to do. My only gripe is that pinning down a confirmed start date took a bit of back and forth. Once they were on site, though, no complaints. Reliable, experienced, and straightforward to deal with.