Barratt Construction

Better that expected

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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.

We were under contract for a home that we knew we wanted to do significant renovations on, but had no clue how much they might cost. Before our inspection contingency expired, we decided to try to get a contractor to come out to give us some kind of rough idea as to what we might be looking at cost-wise to do the kind of work we wanted to do on the property. After a little bit of research on Angie's List, we contacted Peter with Barratt Construction for this purpose. We were under a significant deadline, but Peter agreed to come out at no charge to go over our construction plans with us. Even though we hadn't even purchased the property, Peter was willing to spend nearly 2 hours of his time with us, taking copious notes and asking lots of questions along the way. He was extremely personable and easy to work with--low stress and even keel. In 3 days, he had a pretty detailed (non-binding) estimate for the work we wanted to get done: moreover, his prices seemed reasonable. He was even available on short notice for some follow up questions! I hope when the time comes, that Peter's available to do the work! He was an absolute pleasure to work with!!!

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.

Excellent. Peter was very thorough and professional and was obviously very knowledgeable. I decided to go with another company solely based on the price.

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.

Peter was excellent from the start. Professional, easy to get a hold of, and gave good ideas as we walked through our property. We went with another contractor strictly on the fact that he was not licensed in VA (where the house is)...although I wish he was. Would have hired him in a heartbeat.

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.

They were excellent. The guy did all the points that we asked him to. My husband is the expert on whether it is in with the bottom line compared to others. He didn't seem to be blown away, so I guess the estimate was reasonable. I had nothing to compare it to at this point because he was the only one who came in with an estimate so far. It took a few weeks after our initial request that they come and do an estimate, but there were 3 blizzards one after another. From the first time we talked to set up an appointment and when he finally made it here was over 2 weeks and that was all because of the weather. He was responsive and he was right on time. We haven't used them yet, but they are definitely in the running for this job.

No idea as simply did not bother so send a quote as promised.

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.

Peter came out to my house and evaluated the problems we have been having with moisture and water in our basement. He methodically looked at all the problems in detail and provided rational steps to eliminate possible causes of the problems. I would highly recommend Peter to anyone who is unsure which steps are needed to take care of foundation or moisture problems in basements. His visit will surely save me money.