How the Dakar Rally is making your staircase the star – Abbott-Wade is driving home renovations in Scotland
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Kinghorn has a background in home improvements and knows that having some adventure in his life helps add to his skills at work.
He is just back from completing the Dakar Challenge, driving 5,000 miles in an old car from close to his home in Edinburgh to the Senegal capital.
He drove a Skoda Octavia with 130,000 miles on the clock across Europe and North Africa, including deserts in temperatures ranging from minus 1C to 45C. The reason he used an old car is because the charity which organises the challenge sends them to auction when they arrive in the Dakar, often seeing them end up as taxis.
“It was epic,” Willie says. “We had to get towed the last 200 miles because the car went up in the desert and then came down nose first. It was definitely a challenge.”
After the adventure, work took on a different meaning. “It was stunning passing through all the countries but quite sad in Africa because the poverty was horrendous. When you see the issues that other people have it makes you realise how lucky you are.
“That makes you more relaxed at work and able to work better.”
Willie is at the forefront of Abbott-Wade’s expansion into Scotland and is working across the country.
And when it comes to staircases, he is just as passionate as he is about driving challenges. “If people are doing home improvements they look at kitchens and bathrooms. But normally the first thing you see on entering a house is the staircase – improving that can really transform your home.”
A family company with a proud history and expertise
Abbott-Wade was started in 1996 by close friends Mike Wade and Craig Abbott, both high skilled and experienced craftsmen. They worked for 10 years on all aspects of home improvements, as well as commercial properties, and realised a specialist service was needed. They then built a business focussed on bespoke staircases, their supply, design and installation.
That family business now operates nationwide from its base in Cheshire. As well as Mike and Craig, many branches of the family are involved, as well as a collection of dogs regularly in the head office.
Craig said: “Everyone from my dad to my cousins make this a great team to work with. Most of them have dogs, which we love, in fact it can be like Crufts in here sometimes!”
Craig believes their firm’s work really is game-changer when it comes to home improvements, and it is their attention to detail, as well as expertise that counts. “We do complete staircase builds, or renovations. All our work is pre-finished – either stained or lacquered – so you don’t need a French polisher or decorator, once we are gone the work is complete.”
Find out more about Abbott-Wade’s work here.