Tim & Julie Cottage of Raunds - October 2011

Just thought we would write and say how pleased we are with the work you did on our conservatory.  The new roof is fantastic:  it stayed nice and cool during that heatwave and is nice and warm now the weather has turned.  Your team did an excellent job of the refurbishment and the whole thing now looks like new.  It’s unusual to find such neat and tidy builders nowadays, so we would certainly use you again for future works.  Thanks again for a job well done.

Stuart & Abby Rose - August 2011

Just a quick letter to say what a pleasure it was to have you and your guys working on our extension.  We were initially apprehensive of going ahead with an extension at all, having heard horror stories from friends and family of other firms.  Despite contacting four other builders you were the only one to call me back when you said you would, arrived at my house to give a quote when you said you would, and even after we agreed to go ahead with you, you contacted us a few days later saying you could improve on the original quote.  You gave a completion time of 16 to 20 weeks, which was spot on, despite delays in materials beyond your control, and again the horror stories of messy builders were not the case with Westcott, who swept up and tidied up at the end of each day.   All of the guys that worked on our extension were very approachable and happy to explain any questions Abby and I had about any aspect of the build.  The quality of everything from unseen groundworks to the skirting finish was excellent.  Despite the contract we signed saying that work would take the form of an eight hour, five day week, a number of times work continued well beyond to finish rather than downing tools bang on four.  We have had a number of people in the village commenting on how lovely the build looks and a number have asked for our recommendations on hiring Westcott, and we have no hesitation in doing so.  We are now looking forward to many happy years enjoying the fantastic extra space you have created for us.  Once again, many thanks.

John Messenger of Woburn Sands - May 2011

Beryl and I would like to thank Westcott developments for the recent building works.  As you know, we have had a bad experience with builders in the past, and we would just like to reiterate that you have more than made up for this.  The extension is even better than we could have imagined, and the whole experience has been a very happy one for us.  Every single member of your team was friendly, courteous and trustworthy, as well as professional.  Both you and Les were very keen that we were happy with every stage, and it was a huge help that both of you were always at the end of the phone to discuss any issues that arose.  We rarely waited more than half an hour after sending a text before we had a reply or a call back from one of you.  We would both be more than happy to show any prospective customers your work, and as you know we are hoping to have you back at a later date to do more.  Once again, thank you so much.

Katharine Partridge of Turvey - February 2011

We first asked Ian and Les from Westcott Developments to give us a quotation to refurbish the former shop which came with Pear Tree Cottage, in December 2008.  For reasons which make no sense now, I picked another builder for the contract, mostly because he was local.  After nearly a year of broken promises, lies, deceit and shoddy workmanship on the part of the other builder, I phoned Ian and asked if he would come and put the refurbishment job right.  We had lost our tenants in the cottage itself because of the disruption, so decided to take the plunge and have it extended with a view to living in it ourselves.  Despite my mistakes, Ian and Les were thoroughly decent about taking on both projects.  Both buildings are listed and our previous builder had fallen foul of the planning and conservation people at the council, so there was a lot of tricky negotiation with them.  I also had to call in an independent surveyor to assess the remedial works to the former shop, as the roof installed by the previous builder was slipping.  Les started first on the stonework and his craftsmanship was nothing short of superb - admired by everyone who has seen it.  Meanwhile Ian dealt with planning, conservation, building control and the specialist workers we needed to pull both projects together.  He seemed to think of everything and managed to get everyone to agree as the projects progressed.  He consulted me where necessary and because I had so many problems before Westcott came on site he knew I wanted to be hands-on.  He emailed, texted and phoned me, although with hindsight I should have just left him to it!  All the men who worked on the cottage were competent, careful, polite and thoughtful.  They all made an extra effort to ensure that everything went well and were happy to talk things through with me.  Norman, Ricky, Stuart, Doug and all the team - I’m in danger of missing out a name - I would recommend them to anyone.  The former shop had been left half-finished and much of what had been done by the previous builder had to be re-done (and paid for again) so it was difficult to assess and price the work, but Ian brought his quantity surveying skills and sense of humour to bear and we were all happy in the end.  I had lots of extras which I had not dared to put on the original spec but I was so happy with Ian and Les’s team that I asked them to quote for all the extra touches I would normally have sorted out myself.  If you come to see the cottage you will see that the outside is still a mess, but this is because we have been waiting to sell our house before moving in and want to sort out the garden then.  We are delighted with the end result and I am in the rare and fortunate position of being able to recommend a building contractor. 

Peter Faulkner of Geddington - January 2011

I write to confirm that Westcott Developments have been working on a major renovation, converting a two-bedroom house into a four-bedroom luxury home, working as the main contractor.  The existing property was taken back to bare brickwork, with new floors, walls and roof constructed.  The quality of the workmanship has been to a high standard, Ian and his team have been approachable and flexible when encountering the inevitable changes that come with a project of this size and complexity.  I would have no problem recommending Westcott Developments to carry out any project of a similar nature. 

Lee & Theresa Watts of Harrold - January 2011

As our property is now all but complete, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you have done and achieved to build us such a beautiful home.  As you know, we are first time self-builders and both Theresa and I work full time.  Building a 4 bed detached stone barn from scratch was daunting in itself and we always knew that the decision of which builder to instruct would make or break the project.  Fortunately, we struck gold first time.  This project had a number of challenges, including tricky access to the site, demanding neighbours, stringent planning conditions, building in conservation area, involvement of archeological experts in the ground dig, architectural design flaws and engineering design.  Any issues, though, were quickly overcome by both of you being proactive and problem-solvers.  Rather than simply convey the bad news that the engineers’ design was wrong or that the architects plans were seriously flawed, you always had a solution up your sleeve.  The same goes for your subcontractors, in particular Richard the carpenter who did a fine job on our roof, which I know was very tricky, and Norman the ground contract foreman who seems to know more about most things than pretty much anyone.  You have managed the site particularly well despite some neighbours who would test the patience of a saint.  I think Les in particular will be particularly missed by the local Harrold community.  Hardly a person walks down the footpath which borders our house without stopping to have a friendly chat and some banter with Les.  Quite how he’s managed to keep to building deadlines I’ll never know.  In respect of the quality of the workmanship on our home, I couldn’t be more pleased.  Les in particular deserves great credit for his stonework. I’m almost getting bored by the number of people who stop to tell me how great our house looks and that the stonework is terrific.  Personally, my wife and I are fussy and like a high specification finish.  Prior to embarking on this project we did a lot of research right from the type of stone to use down to the pointing of the stonework and we looked at a number of houses built in the same stone.  None of them has stonework anywhere near as good as ours, which gives me a sense of pride which money can’t buy.  Overall, I can’t praise you enough and if I were ever to undertake another project like this or even build an extension, I would be straight on the phone to you without hesitation and I’d say the same to anyone who asked me to recommend a builder.  Thanks for everything.

David & Eileen Watford of Finedon - May 2010

Westcott Developments have completed the conversion of our 1960’s design-award winning two bedroom bungalow into a 4/5 bedroom house.  The project was not straightforward but we are very pleased with the outcome and with how Westcott Developments tacked the work.  We are delighted with the completed result.  The close matching of the brickwork of the original 1960’s bricks to those of 2009 was particularly pleasing, due to the high standard of workmanship of Mr Les Chambers.  The new conservatory was also a really successful element of the project.  The internal conversion was more complicated and caused more problems.  The communication between sub-contractors did not always lend itself to a smooth period of internal improvements, BUT everything was sorted out and the internal conversion has been completed to our total satisfaction.  The outcome of the project by Westcott Developments is very pleasing and we are very satisfied with the results and they are definitely UP TO THE JOB!!  We thank all the team for their hard work.

Eileen and Ernest Morris of Harrold - March 2010

I write to tell you how very pleased we are with the double glazed windows you recently installed in our cottage.  We are impressed by your professionalism and attention to detail in the planning and in the work involved.  We also wish to thank your two young men, Ricky and Dan, for the care they took in their work, for their friendly and respectful attitude, and for so arranging things to cause only the most minimal disruption for us.  A very good experience all round and one that we can recommend to others.

Mr Morgan and Miss Fisher of Nottingham - January 2010

Westcott Developments have recently successfully completed the replacement of our existing timber windows at our family home in Nottingham.  After a number of visits from many of the well known national window companies, we were left a little unsure of what we could achieve with the prices and quality of the products that are currently being offered within the market.  Their window, thermal, glazing, product knowledge and advice were a great help as we were able to exceed the quoted specification from the nationals and reduce the outlay.  We settled on an ‘A rated Energy’ Rehau 706 window suite to reduce heat loss for the short and long term and reduce sound egress into the home, and PAS 23-24 Composite doors for high security.  The survey and installation programme was agreed and adhered to throughout with all the works being completed neatly and swiftly by their installers to minimise any disruption to the family.  We would like to commend Westcott who assisted us throughout the experience, keeping us fully informed of the progress or changes as they arose.  We would highly recommend Ian Barry and Les Chambers to our fellow professionals looking to undertake work to their property or maybe considering extensions, self or new-build projects, as their industry knowledge and project management is second to none.”

Anthony Storr of Raunds - November 2009

Westcott Developments have just completed a large conservatory and other work for us.  They have remodelled our ground floor, including creating a fitted kitchen/diner and have put a new window in our gable end.  The work has be done, following the agreed schedule, to a very high standard.  In each case, it was carried out efficiently and the site was always left tidy.  Liaising with Ian, our Project Manager was never a problem:  he talked to us regularly and whenever we needed to talk to him he was either at the end of the phone or called back or visited us in no time.  The team of Ian, Les, Paul and others have been extremely helpful in discussing and suggesting alternative options and have been really flexible, accommodating and painstaking in dealing with our not-infrequent changes of plan.  Their attention to detail, reliability and general approach make it a pleasure to recommend them.  Best wishes, Tony.

Janine Sherman of Wavendon - November 2009

Westcott Developments have recently completed a new build project for us in Luton. The project brief was to; construct a new three bedroom property adjoining an existing end terrace ensuring it looked as if had been there all the time. Working from only one construction drawing and liaising directly with Luton Building Control Ian and Les were able to complete the project without any problems whatsoever. We dealt with the service connections such as electric, water and gas with Westcott providing service trenches and liaison with their engineers. We would like to commend Westcott who assisted us throughout the project and gave advice during pre-construction and the build without us being on site during the main build. They completed all of the internal finishes such as carpets, decoration, kitchen, bathroom installation and external works such as reinstatement of the rear garden fencing and parking hard standing. We would highly recommend Ian and Les to anybody looking to undertake work to their property or maybe considering a self or new build project as their industry knowledge and project management is second to none. To this end we are discussing with them our next project, a new build bungalow in Flitwick, Beds.

Mr K Wilson of Nottingham - November 2009

I have just had Westcott Developments complete the design, manufacture and installation of my new ‘Edwardian’ gable fronted conservatory at my home in Nottingham.  Ian and Les helped me plan and choose the most suitable design and ensured that I was fully aware of all the current regulations and products that were available, and liaised with Nottingham Council to establish the planning issues.  After looking at the options, I decided to have high performance glass in the roof rather than the standard polycarbonate, which thank God I did as it’s wonderful - ‘Cool in the summer and warm in the winter’.  We also had to have some re-positioning of drains and landscaping works carried out to get the conservatory to work in the space provided, but once the installation programme had been set and agreed the lads completed everything neatly and as fast as possible.  All the works were overseen from start to finish, covering all the trades.  In addition to the construction of the conservatory, they carried out the plumbing, electrics, plastering, ceramic tiling, carpentry and decoration.  I would like to thank Ian, Les and their team of high quality tradesmen and would be happy to recommend them to any of my family, friends and colleagues.

Mr Tony Storr of Raunds - October 2009

Westcott Developments have just completed a large conservatory and other work for us.  They have remodelled our ground floor, including creating a fitted kitchen/diner and have put a new window in our gable end.  The work has been done, following the agreed schedule, to a very high standard.  In each case, it was carried out efficiently and the site was always left tidy.  Liaising with Ian, our Project Manager, was never a problem:  he talked to us regularly and whenever we needed to talk to him he was either at the end of the phone or called back or visited us in no time.   The team of Ian, Les, Paul and others have been extremely helpful in discussing and suggesting alternative options and have been really flexible, accommodating and painstaking in dealing with our not-infrequent changes of plan.  Their attention to detail, reliability and general approach make it a pleasure to recommend them.

Mrs Wing of Kempston - July 2009

My name is Michelle Wing and I am writing on behalf of my Father, Roland Lacquiere, who employed Westcott Developments to build a two-storey extension to his house, which included a self-contained ground floor flat.  From the outset of our meeting, both Ian Barry and his partner Les Chambers, dealt with us honestly and courteously, permitting us to view previous houses they had built and chat to the owners.  Their previous customers’ recommendations persuaded us to continue with them.  Work began in November and their teams worked extremely hard, we couldn’t believe how quickly the work was completed.  They explained and solved any problems that arose promptly.  Our Mum had terminal cancer, which was why we were having the extension built, so she could have a wet room with full disabled access to the ground floor.  During the building work whenever the noise got too much for mum, Les and Ian’s team were always quick to stop and continue with some other job instead.  Most of the time, you would hardly know they were working, as they were so quiet.  They were very compassionate to our situation.  We are only too pleased to recommend Ian Barry and Les Chambers to anyone wishing to have any building work done.  We are also happy to have any of Ian Barry and Les Chambers’ prospective customers visit our premises to view the finished extension.  Thank you.

Mrs Karen Johnson of Bedford - May 2009

Westcott Developments (Ian and Les) have just completed a fairly complex building project on my home lasting several months.  It involved 3 different sections, including a vaulted roofed bedroom with bathroom, a large kitchen extension with bespoke glass panelled roof, and a separate upstairs extension over the garage.  From the outset, I was impressed with Ian’s attention to detail.  He and Les came on a number of occasions to clarify the plans prior to quoting.  As a result the quote was accurate and incurred no extra and unsurprising costs.  Ian was particularly helpful and knowledgeable about the glass roof and what could be achieved.  I was a little concerned about project managing the job as I work full time but I needn’t have worried.  Ian project manages everything and we liaised regularly by phone with on-site meetings when necessary.  He brought in the necessary labour for the various jobs and there were never times when nothing was happening.  He always kept me informed about what was happening.  Building is by its nature a messy business but all of the people who work for Ian and Les were conscientious about leaving a tidy site.  I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Ian and Les.  I am thrilled with my finished house.  Their attention to detail, and just going that extra mile to make it as smooth as possible and ‘right’ for me, is to be commended.

Mr & Mrs Johnson of Raunds - December 2008

We would be grateful if you would pass on our thanks to all members of the team employed during the works, for a good job well done.  Thanks very much.

Angelo Bartoli of Turvey - November 2008

A quick note guys to thank you both and your team for making the above experience smooth and enjoyable.  Maria and I were very apprehensive about doing an extension (having heard some horror stores from close friends) but were pleasantly surprised with our positive experience.  We were especially pleased with the professional and friendly approach from your whole team (painter, tiler, electrician, plumber, window fitter, roofer, plaster, brickie, et al).  Nothing was too much trouble and their attention to detail surpassed our expectations.  We will have no hesitation in recommending you to our friends.

Nigel and Sue Preece of Desborough - June 2008

I am writing a letter of recommendation and am happy to do so.  I would recommend your firm to anyone who is considering having building works carried out.  One hears all too often of ‘dodgy builders’, but my wife and I have both been impressed with the way in which you have handled our requirements.  The work has been carried out professionally and to the highest standard.  All trades have been friendly and polite and attended site when they were meant to or phoned to explain why they were delayed.  The whole thing has run smoothly under your capable hands and I have been able to leave things to you and not worry.  The contract finished in good time despite the delays in the early stages due to weather conditions and problems when demolishing the concrete roof.  We were saying just the other day how fortunate we were to have had your firm do the work.  Payments were made in stages and there was never any bother or hassle.  From the help you gave in the initial stages in getting the planning approved to the final finishing touches, you have given complete satisfaction.  Thank you, we wish you well.

Rebecca Taylor of Burton Latimer - June 2008

We would be happy to recommend Westcott Developments to anyone considering a home improvement project.  In an industry where it is increasingly difficult to find a reliable builder, we were very impressed with the turnaround time of their quote and the detail it contained (having had some very poor experiences elsewhere).  We have particularly been impressed with the way that the project has been managed (garage conversion and extension), which is thanks to Ian Barry who regularly kept us informed of updates, progress and involved us (where necessary) in any decision making.  He did his utmost to accommodate all of our wishes and ensure that attention was paid to the details - such as matching things to existing furniture and fittings.  Whilst you expect an element of disruption with any building work, we were very impressed with how this was kept to a minimum and that any major work (such as removing walls) was done at a time convenient with ourselves.  Any final snagging items have been readily addressed, which is a testament to their high standards of workmanship.  We would have no hesitation in considering Westcott Developments for any future work or recommending them to family and friends.