With a background in carpentry and experience in design, plumbing and electrical work, Les Dennis isn’t your typical landscaper by any means.
After selling their family home in 2001, Les, his wife and their three children took on an incredible project in Malawi which involved designing and building an entire children’s village and incorporating housing and community care.
Passionate about supporting developing countries, Les and his family stayed in Malawi until 2008 supporting other projects and fundraising for those that needed it the most.
After returning to the UK, Les worked as a sound installation specialist for listed buildings and churches until deciding to set up his own building and maintenance company Bright River in 2019.
Using his vast knowledge and experience in the building design sector, Les honed his skills to become a specialist in composite decking and garden design and now runs an incredibly well-respected company with the support of his son Jon.
With their design expertise, Bright River provide bespoke 3D designs and tailor-made solutions for their customers which ensures most of their business is received through word of mouth.
Despite being in high demand, Les is still very much involved in his charity ‘Hope for the Nations Children’s Charity’ and now acts as their CEO where he is rolling out many more projects into other countries such as providing solar kits to widows, schools and hospitals in developing countries with limited or no power through the charity subsidiary, ‘Kwattswap’. If you want to get involved visit www.kwattswap.org
Based in St Albans, Les works with many local clients across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and areas of North London.
In Spring this year Les was approached by a client with quite an unusual requirement involving a buried circular deck which had become tired and in need of replacing. Taking around eight days to complete, the team had the complex task of constructing the deck outside of the hole before placing it into position.
The existing wooden deck needed replacing as the sub-frame was rotting out due to a lack of air flow. To prevent the same situation happening again a composite sub frame was constructed which could withstand any wet or damp environment.
Millboard PlasPro was used for the circular sub frame and built in quadrants before being lowered into position and finished with Millboard Antique Oak. Wiring work was also undertaken to incorporate deck lighting.
Precise measurements were needed from start to finish and a router was used to cut the Millboard into the circular shape and then finished with Millboard flexible edging creating a seamless finish.
The result was a beautifully bespoke social space featuring fire pit and seating area, all built to last and to be enjoyed all year round.
Les said, “I use George Davies Turf for all of my Millboard products as they provide consistent quality and the team are incredibly helpful and friendly. I know I can get hold of things quickly if I need to, even if it’s just one board and this type of service is vital to me.
“We work on high-end bespoke designs, we don’t compromise and we will never work with cheaper products. We take our time to get it right and the quality is really important to us. I think this is why we like working with George Davies Turf as they have the same standards.
“At Bright River, we think about what’s going to look nice and fit in with the existing surroundings and we make a design to fit the garden style, whether that includes informal curves or structured lines – it’s our expertise that people value and we’re proud to offer that next level of service.”
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