About Us

We Are C J Smiths

We are highly trained team of professional builders with

one sole focus on building your dreams into reality

CJSMITHS

OUR STORY

Where It All Began

Welcome to CJ Smiths, where our journey in construction and building began in 2010.

From the outset, Craig Smith our founder, embarked on this venture with his vision and determination.

He started as a one-man team, his career initially involved subcontracting for a kitchen company and taking on small jobs through ratedpeople.com, an auction website for building work.

These early projects were modest, but each one was a step towards his goal of tackling larger, more complex building work where he envisioned CJ Smiths to eventually be.

2012 The Year For Change

By 2012, CJ Smiths was ready to take on significant challenges. We expanded our services to include full house renovations, unique house extensions, and loft conversions, marking the beginning of a new chapter.

Our focus on quality and detail quickly set us apart in St Albans. This was made possible by Craig growing a passionate, skilled, and driven team. Our growing expertise in the industry allowed us to form invaluable connections.

Whenever a unique job required a specialist, finding the right person was never a challenge. We also developed a close working relationship with St Albans building control, assisting our clients through the often complex and frustrating planning permission phase.

Building Community Trust

2013 was a milestone year for CJ Smiths. We undertook projects for neighbouring properties, establishing a new level of trust that led to a trend of repeat business within close-knit communities.

By 2016, we were frequently working on multiple projects on the same street, including six major building works on a single street!

A standout moment came in 2017, when we began an impressive series of over 20+ projects completed on Sandpit Lane.

This flurry of activity not only showcased our capabilities but also cemented our reputation in St Albans.

Our Heart Of Home

You’ll find our headquarters still remain in this beloved city where all the meticulous planning takes place. Here, you’ll often find Ralphie, the family dog, keeping Craig company in the office and offering a helping paw!

Our commitment to the St Albans residents, the city where Craig was born and the city he adores, remains unwavering. He has continued to focused all of CJ Smiths building work in the St Albans area, contributing to the community that supported him from the beginning.

CJ Smiths local involvement extends beyond construction; we are now the proud sponsors of the London Colney football team and we actively support local charity events.

Our Future Promise

For many years, CJ Smiths thrived with almost no online presence, relying solely on word-of-mouth recommendations.

This in itself spoke volumes about our quality of work and our commitment to genuine customer care – values that were evident across all of our social media platforms.

CJ Smiths future is clear; to continue its tradition of outstanding construction work paired with the highest level of customer care for the residents of St Albans. That was our promise back in 2010 and remains our promise today!

Thank you for considering CJ Smiths for your next building project. Together, let’s build something remarkable.

Testimony

Client Testimony

What Our Clients Say About Us?

Feel free to read more about what our previous clients have said about us designing and building their vision.

    
 
 
        
   HK Buono 
 2023-06-22
 
 
  Had my garden renovation nicely done. Staff are attentive, sincere, efficient and knowledgeable. Able to answer to all my doubts and give constructive advice when facing contingent issues. They also clean up the place at the end of the project, no follow up cleaning needed.

One good builder with integrity, knowledge, expertise and efficiency. Will definitely call them up for my next project.

Highly recommended.
  
 
       
   Deepak Anand 
 2023-06-03
 
 
  Assigning Craig to manage our life long dream of creating a big kitchen/living room (90sqm) was one of the best decisions we ever made. We got in touch with Craig 1 year in advance of works commencing and from the get go Craig scheduled an initial meeting to discuss our plans. Leaving the meeting Craig gave us new ideas and put no pressure on signing and was happy to work around us.  Having visited several existing projects and received great customer feedback, we knew Craig was the builder for us as the quality of work was just exemplary. Craig saved us 5K by urging us to allow him to project manage the build and true to his word, he was on onsite multiple times per day, making sure everything was perfect. Along the way, we did encounter some problems, due to the existing condition of the garden but Craig always had a plan to work around them and not change designs with little or no change in cost. Craigs team are highly skilled, clean and respectful. They always tidied and locked up at the end of each day which left us worry free. One great trait about Craig; he treats his jobs like his own home and if he’s not happy with it,  the project does not move to the next stage.  It is no wonder he is respected in St Albans as a 5star builder. We will 100% be onboarding Craig again to do our 2nd story and driveway in the future. A big thankyou to Craig and his excellent team.
  
 
       
   Hannah Franco 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  Craig and his guys did some work in our garden for us and completely transformed it. We couldn’t be happier with the quality of work. The guys working for Craig were polite, punctual and respectful. I will be going back to Craig for our next house project.
  
 
       
   Siddika Walji 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  Thanks Craig for creating a beautiful outbuilding at the back of our garden. It looks stunning!
  
 
       
   Rebecca Hopkins 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  In the last couple of years we have used CJ Smiths to build us a house from scratch and also to completely renovate and extend our current home. We have been absolutely delighted with the service we have received and have recommended CJ Smiths to many friends and family. Craig and all of his team are professional, friendly and trustworthy and my family have always been pleased to have them working in  our home. They are extremely tidy and mindful when working in a home with children, so we’ve never had to worry about any sharp edges/power tools being left around for little people to find! We have also never had to worry about builder’s bad language around the kids as they are all family men and are a pleasure to have around. The jobs have always been finished to a high standard and Craig is completely transparent when it comes to timings, costs, payment schedules and any delays that might crop up due to unforeseen circumstances like weather etc. The team works quickly and efficiently and you will actually miss them when they’re gone!!! Especially Terry the chippie who is completely wonderful and will even make a fuss of your dog and let it out for you if you need him to! 100% recommend CJ Smiths to anyone!
  
 
       
   Natalie Atkins 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  We have used Craig and his team for 3 home-renovation projects now, the last of which being July 2022 - we are looking forward to the team completing a 2-storey side extension for us later this year.

- Trustworthy
This is number one for us. They do what they say when they say they will do it and at the price agreed. Additional costs were extras added on / changed by us during the project.

- Friendly
Craig and his team have all been friendly and a pleasure to have in the property. They are polite and respectful and we are comfortable with them (especially as we have young children around).

- Tidy
The team tidy up at the end of each day and leave tools safely out the way.

- Quality
Work completed by Craig, his team & contractors has been to a high standard and where there has been a snag list, minor issues have been addressed promptly.

-Communication
Craig is available to us throughout each project by WhatsApp or phone. It helps having a central person to coordinate with all parties.
  
 
       
   Robert Quinn 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  Highly recommended…
We recently used CJ Smiths for an extension and full house renovation. From the first meeting, to completing the project, we found Craig and his team absolutely faultless. The project was on time but for unavoidable weather delays. There were also no surprises from a budget perspective. Anything that required an “extra” or a design change was met with a pragmatic response and always a mutually agreeable way of resolving - refreshing in a world where most things are viewed as a problem. Nothing was too much hassle for the CJ Smiths team, who always went above and beyond to ensure we were kept informed of every small change or decision that needed to be made. We even mildly miss the busy house when everyone was on site. A huge thank you to the entire CJ Smiths team - we are delighted with the end result and would highly recommend them to anyone embarking on a renovation.
  
 
       
   Philip Tam 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  CJ Smiths is a great choice for anyone looking for quality workmanship and friendly service. They pay attention to every detail and deliver excellent results. Their prices are also very reasonable for the value they provide. I was very satisfied with their work and would highly recommend them to anyone. CJ Smiths is the best in the business! 👍🏼
  
 
       
   dale Anthony 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  Great service - very reliable friendly builders!

We had our garden room built in St Albans by Cjsmiths, we found that the level of advice and service was a cut above the builders we have used in the past. During the planning phase, they answered all of our concerns and together we were able to plan and create the perfect space we wanted.

The team were very polite and respectful during the build, cleaning up the site daily and treating our home and garden like it was their own!

We are incredibly happy with the final result, it was completed on time and to a very high standard.

We highly recommend Cjsmiths to anyone looking for builders in St Albans!

Thanks
  
 
       
   Ryan Smith 
 2023-06-02
 
 
  Outstanding job! Craig and his team completed an loft conversion for us at the beginning of this year and we couldn't be happier. We were so impressed by his level of professionalism from the very start. He managed our expectations and gave us a realistic timeline for the loft conversion to be completed, which ended up being very close to his estimate.

We highly recommend C J Smiths for anyone looking for a loft conversion or building work in general. We will definitely be using C J Smiths again in the future. Great job!