Barratt Construction

One of our concerns was that the construction project would severely disrupt our live. We just had completed painting and decorating the house and were not looking forward to having another - major - project. Peter and his team delivered - they built a double (!) trapdoor out of plastic to prevent dust to escape into the rest of the house. Throughout the project the impact on our live was minimal. The doors and the balcony look stunning and the quality of the workmanship is very high. We would use Peter anytime again and have referred him to friends who have large projects.

Peter proved that he can not only fix a roof but has a aptitude for climbing.  We were very happy with his work and have given him a much larger job ($20-30k) subsequently.

The entire experience with Barratt during this project was excellent.  We met with David and Peter who outlined in detail their understanding of the project and provided useful suggestions where appropriate.  We asked for references, which were willingly and cheerfully provided.  Our research of these references returned glowing reviews of the Company and its work.  Barratt's proposal was not the most expensive nor was it the least expensive.  However, we choose them because we felt that Barratt was the best value for the price, and because all of their customers seemed extremely pleased and impressed with their work.  Their professional work ethic and excellent finished product proved us correct  and we are extremely happy with the decision to use them.  The quality of the work performed was superior from start to finish.  We highly recommend Barratt Construction for any renovation project and will definitely use them again.

I have had a lot of work done on my house over the last 35 years and bar none, this is the best experience that I have ever had.  Peter and his crew were endlessly patient about answering questions, informing me about issues and getting back to me when I called or emailed.  As it turned out, more framing was necessary then anticipated for which I was not charged.  The majority of the work was done in 2 weeks.  The renovation looks wonderful.  The crew was neat and kept the work area clean.  

Peter and David came to my house late one night in response to my frantic call about a plumbing problem which their plumber fixed the next week.  I was very grateful for their quick response.  Even though I saw pictures of the broken pipe and the holes that they had to make in the wall, you would never know that work had been done there.

Overall, our experience was good. We've used Barrett before for some smaller projects, but this was our first big remodel. It took longer than we expected, but these things always do. If something wasn't the way we wanted it or there was a problem, they would always fix it promptly. They even had someone come back three times after the remodel was finished to fix a leaky shower pipe. Early in the remodel, when the whole room was gutted, one of the workers had his foot go through the bathroom floor, which is also the living room ceiling. He cleaned up the mess and they patched the hole. But along with patching the hole, they also repaired a water damaged part of the ceiling near the hole at no extra charge. When they were tiling, they found that we had bought the wrong kind of tile for one part of the job, so they went to Lowe's and got a replacement, even though it was our responsibility to buy materials. This kept the project moving along because we didn't have to wait until we had time to go to Lowe's ourselves. We could tell that they wanted the job to be done well and for us to be happy with it, which is not something you can say about every contractor.

I had a number of jobs that I needed to have done on my 100 year old row house, including having some wood flooring pulled up (because of an HVAC issue below) right at the top of the stairs. He came over- gave me a good quote (I think it was $500) and said not to worry about finding more wood to replace it- he knew where to find TONS OF THE STUFF. He also said he would just charge me when he came to put the floor back down. He also gave me some song-and-dance about how "all he did was help take care of people's old homes". He said he could it up right then and did- replacing it with a piece of plywood for the meantime.  Long story short- the HVAC was repaired and I called him to come put the wood floor back down and he didn't call back. I emailed- nothing. Called again- nothing. I probably left at least 5-6 messages and emails- nothing. It is now over 6 months later and I still have a huge hole a the top of my stairs. I have had plenty of other contractors over to look at the job but they don't have matching wood- and THIS GUY TOOK MY WOOD FLOOR WITH HIM. So what am I supposed to do? I have NO IDEA WHAT HIS PROBLEM IS! HE NEVER EVEN GOT PAID FOR COMING OVER THE FIRST TIME- you would think the guy would want his money and would come back and finish the job. I am BAFFLED. And I still have a huge hole at the top of my stairs. 

Peter came and took all measurements, asked all questions, and gave me a quote. He stuck to that initial quote throughout, except where I asked for a few changes, about which we had pre-agreed on costs. ( Some were my initiatives and some were beyond his control such as - surprise! the ceilings between the two rooms we were joining together were not even! He asked if I wanted it stepped (free) or if I wanted it re-hung ($$$) or if I wanted them to grade it slightly so that it would not be completely level but would look even to the eye ($).  I picked the middle cost, and appreciated that the options were all laid out for me.)  He and his crew showed up when they were supposed to, didn't show up when they weren't supposed to, and were courteous and pleasant at all times. They always contained the mess. They were also especially patient when it came to some materials delays (materials that I had ordered) and worked their schedule around these disruptions. They were accommodating and considerate of pets and kids, making sure they did such things as turned water back on, even if only temporarily and even if it had to be un-done the next day. They never tried to up sell me on anything, but Peter did have some great suggestions as how to finish the tile, proper heights for things, observing sight lines, etc. Super mellow team. Of course I was mellow right back, and I do think that makes for a better relationship with a contractor. If you expect things to go perfectly all the time, you are simply unrealistic. Just a great overall experience! Happy to provide additional details...

Peter Tatchell, the boss, is a perfectionist and takes pride in his work. If you are unhappy with anything, he comes in and makes sure it is exactly right. He stands behind his work. I have been more than pleased with his work and his employees are reliable, courteous and skilled. I have worked with a number of contractors and Barratt Construction is by far the best. I trust them and I have always been pleased with their work. They have taken on some very difficult projects and have made them work. I have a beautiful house now because of them. If you need a construction firm to do your house, I recommend them highly! In fact, I loved them so much I had them come and do some renovation work at my business, where I was the CEO. So, they jumped in and did some major business construction work and it was great.

The experience from start to finish was excellent. From the first meeting there was attention to detail and a focus on doing the job right. They team was courteous and friendly. The price was right. But the most impressive part was the speed with which they did the job. Nine days, start to finish. There was a clear plan and visible progress every day. Immediate response on any question or concern. A quality job in a timely fashion.

Let me begin by saying that my choice of Barratt Construction was one of the best decisions I?ve made for my home and I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone who want quality workmanship with good attention to the small details or use their services again in the future. The renovations that were completed have not only greatly improved my home?s appearance, but also its value. I have received many complements and inquires from neighbors, friends, and passersby. The work began on the date agreed upon, late October 2010 and was completed in a timely manner in early December 2010, a period of approximately 36 days. The contract was clear and concise, and any concerns and questions I had were answered to my satisfaction The gentlemen in charge, Mr. Peter Tatchell and Mr. David Jackson, were very helpful and informative in the initial meeting, appraisal and estimates, and during the choices for materials, cost and construction. They regularly took the time to explain every step in the construction process to my understanding. When a problem was encountered they would not hesitate to inform me as to what was wrong , and give me options as to the best way to solve the problem to keep on schedule , and if necessary would wait for me to return home from work to make sure I understood the problem. At the completion of the job I was given ample time to inspect the work and if any thing was not to specs it was addressed and corrected. The crew that was on site, I found to be polite and very professional. and since the completion of work both Peter and David have come by to make sure everything is still acceptable

First and foremost I will say that dealing with Peter (owner/manager) was a very good experience. He genuinely wants to give you the result you want and will do what he can to work with his team to make that happen. NOTE: I did some demolition in preparation for the work and also as things progressed removed electrics (interior & exterior) that were in the way in order to speed the work and reduce my costs. Originally the assessment for the work to be done was much smaller because it did not include doing the siding work. I wasn't sure I had the money to tackle that job at the same time and so the original estimate was around $14k for almost everything but that. When we got into the job, it turned out there was more rot around the old windows than Peter had prepared for and so we had to rebuild all the framing. This led into it being a cost issue to "repair" the old siding outside or just go on with a full re-siding I wasn't really prepared to do (mentally or financially). Ultimately we worked out a way to get it all done, and while I was not happy with how that played out (money) it was not any fault of Peter's as far as I'm concerned. I knew that part of the house was a can of worms, so at some level I was prepared for it. The work moved along pretty well, though there were some hangups with the reframing and plumbing as well as some troubling electrics that should not really have been an issue (was supposed to just be a straight shot from the box for new dryer, but somehow other things got involved). The employees definitely worked hard and were always on time. They did need a good bit of direction and guidance from Peter, but mostly things ended up being done very well. The only waiting (a week or so) in the process were when windows were being made/shipped and the same for doors. I know I have an eye for details and I know I had a long list for them to take care of when wrapping up the work, but they dutifully completed all my requested tasks (baseboard under new door frame was not solid, calking around missed spots on windows, clean up some carpet damage, etc). While the detail work (edges, flashing squareness, framing exactness) was not excellent, the macro work was very well done and the job on the outside looks very good. I did not have them do interior finishing work (drywall, trim, etc) since I did not have the money at the time nor did I have a full plan in my head for how I wanted it to look, so I can't comment on that type of work from them. I would definitely hire Peter and his crew again for "macro" (large/rough) work, though for more precise detail work I would likely look for a someone else. I was overall pleased with the end result and feel the value was good (in the DC market). I was very pleased with Peter's interest to get me the result I needed.

Having been a homeowner in the DC area for almost 6 years, I can honestly say that this is the best experience I have had. Peter and the small team that he leads not only produced fantastic work, they also made this big project a lot easier to endure than it would have been for us and the two kitties. Since we do not have the luxury to own multiple properties in the area, we had to stay in the condo during the project. The team arrived on time at 7:30 every morning and worked diligently until 5:30 and made sure they cleaned the premise to the best of their abilities so we did not have to come home to a mess. While the project hit a slight hiccup towards the end because of the custom work, which was not at all Peter's fault, he made sure that he was there to manage the sub-contractors and that we were happy with the outcome. One example was that when we were not happy with the floor material that we purchased, (not through Peter, which made him even more amazing!) Peter agreed to meet with the wood company and convinced them to send us replacement material for free. If you are looking for a contractor that take pride in his work and will make sure that his clients are happy at the end of the day, Barratt Construction Services and Peter Thatchell will be the best choice you make.

Working with Barratt Construction was great. Peter came out twice before work started, once before we confirmed we wanted to work with Barratt and once after. In between he responded to a number of questions by email or phone and was consistently thorough in responding to all of our questions. The work took six days to complete. The team from Barratt showed up every morning exactly within the same time window (7:30 - 8:00), arriving the first morning of the job almost to the minute. They were very professional and respectful. They also kept the job site clean, although our entire ground floor is de-constructed so that wasn't a priority for us but still very much appreciated. We were the type of customer that wants to be involved in all the details, check in on the work, confirm measurements and such, which the team figured out pretty quickly and handled well. When issues or questions came up, they checked in with us, which was excellent. There was one little hiccup when we noticed that even though the window frames were perfectly straight, the pocket for the weights were too small in some places. We noticed it late in the day after the team had left, so let Peter know by email. He arrived first thing in the morning where we talked out the options and the team went to work fixing it. It's almost inevitable that some issue or other will come up in this type of work, so much more important to us was that it was handled exactly as we would have hoped. The work team on-site and Peter all seemed to work together quite well, with a lot of respect. Peter would stop by regularly to check in with the on-site team lead, which provided a good opportunity for us to participate in the approach to work being discussed. Having two knowledgeable people talking out the options was, we thought, ideal. We appreciated the responsiveness, knowledge and approach to work of the Barratt team and will be contacting them in the near future as there is plenty of work that remains to be done.

Peter (the owner) helped me to envision upgrading the front of my row house. Everything had been neglected by the previous owner and I decided we needed to revamp it. Peter's crew were meticulous in building a completely new porch. He suggested we use Fypon to create a more finished look around the windows and doorway (this place was a wreck before he started). The crew were well organized - they had a roofer and carpenter concentrate on the areas that required expertise. I feel like I now have a porch that will stand the test of time and that brightens up the street. The front door and windows look far less generic and yet, are still in keeping with the architecture. I highly recommend this company.

Peter was great, and we trusted the work we had done. They worked hard to give us a good product. They were willing to try to lift the floor to make it more even but were still very cautious about causing any structural damage, which I really appreciated. I felt I could trust that they wouldn't damage the house in any way. My only complaint is that I didn't feel the workers cleaned up very well afterwards. There was a lot of dust leftover after the work and a few unfilled cracks in the plaster. We probably could have asked Peter to have them come back and fix these things when he came for the final inspection, but I didn't feel it was worth bothering over. The work was done well, and we were happy with the results.

Barratt Construction workers were punctual, polite, and very neat. They finished quickly and contained all the work to the bedroom so the project caused very little disruption to our day-to-day routine. The work is impeccable and exactly what we asked for. The walls and ceiling look so perfect that I've almost forgotten how bad they looked before. We are using Barrett again to remodel our bathroom because our experience was so positive. The price was reasonable, and they have been very willing to work with us and give us alternate options when possible so that we can stay within budget.

Days after moving into our single family home, my wife and I discovered a large area of rotted sill plate and band board that was visible from inside the crawlspace. Unfortunately, my large 12' x 30' deck had to be removed in order to access the area from outside the house. I did most of the demo myself to save some money. Barratt Construction removed the last portion of my deck that I did not get to. They used heavy duty jacks to jack up my house where it had fallen due to the rotten sill plate and band board. They replaced the rotted wood with pressure treated lumber. During the process, they had to "sister" 14 joists that had rotted on the ends. In addition, I had them repair a small crack in the foundation. Peter Tatchell and Barratt Construction were a joy to work with. I was extremely impressed with a number of factors about Barratt Construction: 1) Communication - Peter listened to my concerns and addressed every one. He answered all the questions that my wife and I had regarding the work they were doing - mainly about lifting our house. As I had just purchased the house, I did not have a lot of extra money to spend. Peter and I discussed ways for me to do much of the deck work myself and save money. I think this is where Barratt Construction really stood out. Good communication prevents mistakes and makes the job go smoothly. 2) Punctuality - Peter was right on time for the initial appointment to provide a quote, and he and the crew were on time both days of the actual project. Can't beat that! 3) Quality - Peter told me from the start that he would probably not be the cheapest, but he prided himself in quality work. He used quality materials as well. When it came to the structure of my house, I was more concerned with getting a quality job than saving some money. The crew worked well together and they worked hard. It was 90 degrees and humid and they took few breaks. During the lifting of my house, Peter stood with me in the room being lifted to watch for any cracking or other problems - there were only a few small drywall cracks that I will be repairing (pretty good considering my family room was lifted by 1.5 inches!) 4) Cleanliness - The area under where the crew was working was muddy. Every time they went into my house, they wore the "booties" over their shoes. In addition, they kept the work area clean by picking up trash as they went. They paid carefully attention to collecting the old nails/screws/bits of insulation. I was very appreciative of this since I have two young children who like to play in the back yard. All of the trash and rotted wood were removed promptly after the job was completed.

See description above. Barratt Construction normally does not perform "service call"-type work, like this, but Peter T. agreed to help me, in view of my previous experience, and his extensive knowledge and experience with European hardware and plumbing ensured the removal and installation went like clockwork.

The living room and dining room of our 100 year old Four Square have been hard to heat in winter since we moved in. Dust seeps in around the old sashes and street noice is ever present. After viewing a similar up-grade at neighbor's place (fixed double glazed replacing dingle-glazed double hung windows) we took a chance. The price included five massive units (ca. 2.5' x 6'), three interior double-glazed storms (ca. 24" x 24") covering smaller hall-way window we wished to preserve, and 12 small double-glazed front door light inserts replacing single panes of glass in the old door. When all the materials were ready and in place, the owner and his crew of three *very* experienced carpenters showed up one Monday morning. All windows were in and finished by Friday -- good thing, since the temps were still in the 20s and 30s. Only delay was finding the appropriate exterior finishing caulk color. No subsequent problems with the windows. In addition, his crew reset a bathroom tub spout and rebuilt the front doorway to make it tighter and more air-proof.

After talking with several other contractors, I selected Barrett Construction based on price and reputation. I felt (and still do) that the pricing was very fair and the work was excellent. They did what they said they were going to do, when they said they were going to do it and for the price that they originally quoted. I was especially impressed at how clean they keep the work space and controlled all of the construction dust. Peter Tatchell of Barrett was extremely responsive throughout the project and made many suggestions that saved us time and money. I liked them so much, I am now hiring them to do a fairly big project at my home.

The work was done extremely professionally. I did not have to chase after them, as I've had to do with other contractors, asking when they were going to show up next. The job was done mindful of safety, esthetic's and keeping within budget. Really, one of the biggest things for me is I just didn't want it to take forever. They kept their focus on my job and did it more expeditiously than 90% of the companies out there would have done. Thanks!

The biggest advantage to Barratt Construction is that Peter created the plan and his company did the work; the other structural engineers we contacted only did the plans, so we would have had to find our own contractors. Peter was very patient about explaining what they needed to do and very helpful in working with us to create a plan that both fit our budget and seriously improved the support in our basement. He and his workers also really went out of their way to make sure everything was right, and they cleaned up well! We definitely would use Barratt Construction again.

Peter was one of several contractors who gave me a quote to reinstall the hardwood floor in my kitchen after a water leak. Although Peter was my favorite, I unwisely chose another contractor to save money. When the first contractor messed up my floor, I called Peter back and asked if he could fix it. Peter was very helpful in advising me on options for the repair, and although the repair was a much smaller job than the original project, he agreed to do it. Peter was able to repair the mistakes without reinstalling the entire floor, which I didn't think would be possible and saved me a lot of money. I am very happy with the result. My only regret about the entire experience is not choosing Peter for the original job.