The one thing I want to note specifically is how mike handled communication throughout the job. Every update came when he said it would. Quoted a start date of the following Tuesday, showed up Tuesday. Said the work would take two days, it took two days. No chasing, no wondering whether someone had forgotten about us. For a repair job on storm damage — ridge tiles and a section of flashing that had lifted — that kind of predictability is genuinely useful. You can arrange to be in, you can plan around it. Proven Roofing are not the first contractor I've used, and the communication alone puts them ahead of most. Overall, it was a straightforward job handled in a straightforward way. Would use them again without hesitation.

The chimney itself is the thing I keep coming back to look at, which sounds a bit daft I suppose, but when you've had a crumbling old stack sitting up there for the guts of four years, you notice the difference, you really do, the whole front of the house looks tidier for it, more solid somehow, like the place has been given a bit of its dignity back, if that makes sense at all. Mike and his lads from Proven Roofing did the rebuild from scratch more or less, new flaunching, the lot, and I have to say the finish on it is very clean, very neat, you wouldn't be embarrassed showing it to anyone. I had a fella out two years back, a local sort, he took a deposit and then you'd see him maybe once a fortnight if the wind was right, nothing but excuses and damp weather and one thing or another, so I was a bit cautious going into this, but these boys were up and at it and done inside the time they said. The only thing I'd say, and it's a small thing really, is that the communication between visits could have been a touch better, a quick call to say they were coming the following morning would have saved me waiting around on one of the days, but look, the work itself, the actual chimney, the way it stands now, you couldn't argue with it. Four stars from me, and I'd have no hesitation putting their name about.

The relief when I saw that roof finished — I cannot tell you. My mother is in her eighties and the old roof had been worrying me sick for two winters. Mike was so straightforward from the start, no nonsense, and the price was more than fair for the standard of work. The slates are beautiful and it all looks so solid and right. Forever grateful to Proven Roofing. Would recommend them to anyone without a second thought.

The one thing I will say about mike and his crew is this: they showed up exactly when they said they would, both times. I run two commercial units out past Ballincollig and punctuality is the thing I notice first with any contractor. Tradespeople being late costs me money, simple as that. Proven roofers were on site at the agreed time on a Tuesday morning with no chasing required. Same story when I had them back for the second property a few months later. The valleys on both buildings were done to a proper standard and the invoice when it came was clear, itemised and matched what was quoted. No awkward conversation afterwards, no vague line items. For a business owner that matters as much as the quality of the work itself. I have already passed mike's number on to two other people I know in the area, one of whom has since used them. That is about as strong a recommendation as I give for anyone. Would use them again without hesitation.

What I will say is this: punctuality on a job of this nature tells you a great deal about a contractor's overall discipline. Mike and his man arrived at the agreed time on both days, without any prompting on my part. I have dealt with tradespeople over many decades and I regard timekeeping as a reliable indicator of how seriously a company takes the work itself. Proven roofers did not disappoint in that regard. I would have no hesitation recommending them to anyone in the county.