A Warm Welcome to Paul Barker Building Services
Paul Barker
Welcome to Paul Barker Building Services Ltd.
I’m Paul Barker and I have 33 years experience in the building trade. This time has been spent mostly in renovation works in both the residential and commercial arenas. All of the guys working for me and myself take a genuine pride in not only the end result but in the way we get to it. We undertake wherever possible to make the nuisance of having to have tradesmen in as trouble free as possible.
We understand that this is your home and that work should be carried out with a common sense approach to noise, dust and an acknowledgement for your safety and security during the period of works.
We offer a service that will meet the highest of standards in both workmanship and in customer service.
We will be able to offer a structured and predetermined time plan whilst remaining a sense of flexibility as the work progresses. We will always do our best to accomodate change for whatever reason this change has come about.
Our team have been working in a whole range of exclusive houses and also have worked on projects with the Samaritans where the essence of sensitivity is paramount. We have accomplished both large and small commercial projects with the understanding of keeping work production for the client at full capacity whilst maintaining the need for Health and Safety to all parties.
I have always found it easy to work alongside other parties including those offering professional services such as structural engineering and planning. It is always useful to have a team around where there is an existing harmonious working relationship.
If you feel these services may fit your criteria then then please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Happy Customers!
“We were delighted to have chosen Paul Barker as our contractor to undertake the refurbishment and upgrade of our manufacturing facility in Oxfordshire. Understanding of our need to continue manufacturing throughout the build period, Paul had a flexible and realistic approach to organising the work. He and his team are pleasant, polite and professional.Paul readily provided solutions for unforeseen challenges and we are very happy with the results!”
Nicola Dent
CEO
Optical Filters
It’s not just the money.
I read with great sadness about Cyril Jenkins 88. This gentleman died in Bristol just a few months after getting ripped off by cowboy builders. I hate this term because they are not builders they are just scum who have no building ability. In fact they are just thieves that is all and it would not matter what ploy they used to trick him.
They got £7000 out of him in cash to fix a tile. It is irrelevant to know whether or not he needed any work doing at all because they robbed him. It is not just the money though it is the pain and embarrassment that continues after the event.
When Cyril realised what had happened he stopped eating and became ill and passed away. He and his family lost more than money. These guys got caught and have been sent to prison for nine months - whoop a de doo. The implication of their actions are far greater than money and nine months.
I will never understand the motivation of these sorts and most builders I know would be equally ashamed of what is carried out in our name. Cyril who, as I read, was a successful business man in his time has lost the edge as he got older. That cannot be a crime for goodness sake doesn’t everyone lose a little ability as the years roll on?
Surely the price to pay is too high when we think of how many people like Cyril are out in the world. As more pensioners are living longer and on their own we need to come down harder on the people who take advantage of them. As family, friends and neighbours we need to keep an eye out for them.
I have of course often worked for customers of Cyril’s age and older. I make the point as carefully as I can to include relatives or other parties known to the potential customer. It is a difficult balance between looking after the elderly and taking over their lives or taking away the independence of course but we have to try. To ignore the guys that have been turning up in the unmarked van or not wanting to get involved creates a perfect climate for the rogues.
I feel like I beat the same drum but it is the continual beating that will create the rhythm of fairness in the long run. We need to go back to referring tradesmen, help in the community and informing the Police. They cannot help unless they know of these suspicious activities. An honest builder or any other person going about their job or profession will have no worries about being checked up upon. I always make sure neighbours know me and the team in advance wherever I can. Its all good housekeeping. We need to take action now before we all know a Cyril and live to regret doing nothing.
I sincerely wish Cyril’s family all the best for the future and my heart goes out to them.
What a waste!
Rubbish
I was looking today at my yard. from the car, well I had to it was raining! I thought it would be nice if it were perfectly tidy and clean and perfect. Well it’s not - ok! With all the good will in the world it never is as organized as you want it. I did visit a friend of mine’s yard as well today and mine in comparison looks as clean as a surgery! His was a real mess. Perfectly good materials were ruined or on the way to ruin. When we talk of saving the planet I wonder just how many perfectly good products and materials end up costing someone a fortune to skip, filling landfill sites with things that could be of use to someone.
I was talking to the guys concerned and telling them of the stuff I used to get given to me to send to Romania. I used to scrounge all sorts of plumbing fittings, paint by the lorry load that had been mixed to the wrong shade, bath suites with a small scratch on them. They all work perfectly but can’t be sold. Do we really know how lucky we are? Romania, then the Haiti earthquake as I write, everything has a value to someone. Don’t throw it give it to someone else. If it ain’t broke don’t throw it - recycle it or Freecycle - search online for details to allow people to recycle to each other unwanted items for free. What a great idea. If in our little part of the world we can save some of this rubbish then we really can make a difference.
Thank you would have done!
A little while back when I was young and nimble……. OK ages ago then, I was on an external decoration job with Vic my old cohort. Vic was a great character when working with me. In a previous life he had worked for Champion spark plugs. For Vic it was always a challenge getting up in the morning proof came to us when there was an old photo of the Champion head office building. On the main wall was a big clock and the time on it was 9.15 am. If you look carefully you could see someone running to get into work….. yes Vic! The camera doesn’t lie eh.
Back to me being nimble: Vic and I were working on this job when I in the front of the house heard a noise. It was a kind of tapping noise. I could not work out where it was coming from. After about three or four bouts of this tapping I looked at the house opposite to where I was. There was an old lady in the porch tapping the glass whilst she was laying on the floor. She had not got the key to open the porch door and the front door had shut behind her leaving her trapped with no windows there was no air and she was nearly passing out.
I sprung into action and got a ladder went to the side gates got over them and got a ladder around to the back garden. I put the ladder up and then got a roof ladder over as well. This went up and hooked onto the ridge tiles. I clambered up on to the main roof to the dormer window at the rear of the property. The fanlight was open. I managed to open it up and reach around to open the main window. There was a lot of ladies perfumes and bottles on the dresser. I somehow managed to get the dresser clear and get myself into the window and over the dresser.
Meanwhile the school backing onto the rear garden had drawn a bemused crowd watching my ”milk tray” ad copycat antics! I got in and ran downstairs and opened the front door from the inside. A gasp of air came from the old lady in the porch. She then grabbed the keys for the porch door opened the door muttered she was late got in her car and drove off leaving me standing there.
To say I was bemused, bewildered and not sure what to do was an understatement! I looked at Vic and we were both aghast and didn’t know what to do now. Still we didn’t have too much time to discuss it as the police turned up to help us! To be fair, I could not have made this lot up could I? What old lady was trapped in this porch they asked? Well she’s gone I replied. What leaving an open property with you just having broken in through a window in front of one hundred witnesses?
It was only my client who came over to verify my role in all of this that shortened the line of inquiry! Help old ladies again mmmmmmmmmmmm of course I would, but only in bungalows!
Top Tips 1
If you have a floor up for any reason to do work, think about insulating under the floor as not all heat is lost upwards.
Ok, so I lied…..
It is not something to shout about but please read on and consider what you would have done in my shoes.
Many years ago when I was a slip of a lad (how many years ago?!!) I worked for an old gentleman called Mr. Lawton, he was 89 years old. I remember his age clearly because he told me so many times. It was the middle of Winter and the weather was freezing, my writing this is inspired by the snow outside and the temperatures recently reaching minus 18 degrees around here!
He had an old boiler chugging away and getting no where fast. We did a gutter repair and were sitting drinking tea with him. He was always smiling, a fault of old people with nothing else to do but enjoy a young guys company! I have always been friendly to my older clients but this guy really was a gem. He would crack jokes and offer more tea than a true professsional could handle!
In moving a few roof tiles I noticed that he had not a scrap of loft insulation in the house. Incredible to think of that now, no insulation was there, but not uncommon in those days. You can tell a builder’s age by what he thinks the recommendation was. Often 25mm was all that was put in with a “that will do the trick” comment. Now we laugh at these paultry amounts.
I mentioned to Mr. Lawton that he had no insulation and he acknowledged the fact but he genuinely could not afford to have it put in. I also mentioned the fact that there were grants available and that the local authority would pay to have it put in because he was a pensioner. He was horrified and turned a little cross with me. His pride would not let him sponge off of the state for such an amount. I argued that he was entitled and that they would not pay if it wasn’t his rights to claim. He wasn’t having any of it and we left with a soured relationship.
I was determined that he should have this and started contacting the council. I got through to the right man in the council and explained the problem I was having getting him to accept what he thought was charity. The council were happy to do the grant and process it. I had no choice, I went to Mr Lawton and met the council man at his house. I then turned into Alec Guiness and turned on my best and sternest stance. I explained to Mr. Lawton that it was now the law to have insulation and that without it he would be breaking the law and could be liable for prosecution if he failed to comply. With a wink to the council man, he now chipped in with the Laurance Olivier version and we won the day and got our way. In the end Mr Lawton had to agree as an upstanding law abiding citizen could not defy the authorities after all!
We did the deed and insulated his loft and duly got paid with the grant money. He now had a house that could be kept at least to a comfortable level. I was so pleased that I had lied to him and won the battle and felt I was justified in doing so. When his neighbour was talking to me at the end of the job, his nephew turned up as well. We were all pleased at the outcome and feeling satisfied that justice had prevailed when I mentioned the fact I was not going to leave an 89 year old man in the cold like that. They both laughed at me. When i asked why they were laughing they let me in on Mr Lawton’s secret….. he had been 89 since longer than anyone could remember!
The moral is that he who lies last, lies the longest!
Youth & Enthusiasm!
After me bleating on about us old hands needing to keep up with the changes it was good to be asked from my newest recruit. He came and asked me if he could finish his course that he was half way through when the company he was working for went under. I like this sort of spirit and I will help in what ever I can do to make it work for him. Even if he leaves me at some stage if he can go with a course under his belt and a bit of experience from us as well then it will be time well spent.
Go for it Josh and good luck.
Never Stop Learning….
Damp
Although I have been in this business for a little while now there are always new things to learn. With my present company and my previous family firm, dampness has always been an issue. It comes from everywhere like it or not. It is an old problem with old solutions. We know they work and therefore there is no more to say on the subject - it’s sorted.
On the other hand we are always looking for longer lasting solutions that can be provided at a cheaper cost in a safer and cleaner manner of delivery. So whilst we should not throw out all of the old methods, we must take a look at new methods and materials and integrate them where we can.
Triton Chemicals my supplier for such products are at the forefront of solutions and run training courses for their customers to get first hand knowledge of how and why new products have been evolved. With clever techniques, new base materials and a superb knowledge of the industry, Kevin Dodds the man at the helm of new innovation guided a few of us through waterproofing and managing water coming through concrete and basements on a course just before Christmas.
With a heavy leaning towards getting the thinking caps on at the design stage being the preference for efficiency and costs, there also refurbishment solutions for your basement, cellar and ground floor needs. As this is written we have just witnessed a few weeks ago another bout of devestation in Cumbria this time from the months rain in a day causing havoc. Whilst we should try and rectify the environment, the long term solutions cannot help those in Cockermouth with 3 metres of water cascading down the High Street and flooding everything in its path. The ground floors in reality need to be considered as basements in these times and prevention would have saved misery and millions of pounds.
Have a look at the Triton website for technical details, but if the misery that floods cause can be eradicated or limited then investment needs to be addressed to where the problems are. There are many areas in the UK with seemingly continual warnings from the environment agencies to floods.
After the TV cameras have gone the people of Cumbria will be working at rebuilding the community for years to come and getting straight with the fear that if it happens once then a repetition is possible. Take advice take action and be prepared are the rules of engagement. Remember it costs to have a better house protected in a more reliable way, it is not free and don’t leave it to luck.
As for the construction companies, we need to keep up with the new systems. Our customers will pay for our research and commitment to getting the best available in the present day. Progress will only happen when the better products and systems will become the norm rather than a special. If we are to offer guarantees and want people to recommend us then learning more is the key. Builders have to put aside the “I have always done it this way” mentality and expand their thinking. The manufacturers are spending millions in new testing and technology to advance building systems and the way of communicating to us so how made are we if we do not take advantage of their expenditure to further our own businesses. The courses are invaluable way of showing you are serious about improving your skill set.
I have sent others as well this year on all sorts of courses, damp, rot in wood, sanding courses with Bona and painting and filling courses with Repair care systems. Get trained, get paid, get referrals, it is a simple business process.
What can we do next?
Police Alert!
Happy New Year!
I was talking to a client today whilst he was going through the ever more complicated procedure of getting into people’s houses legitimately and sorting out the alarms. This one is peculiar to say the least. I relayed to him about my father and his brush with the law.
Many moons ago in the long and distant past when not everyone in the world was honest, there was a spree of burglars in our local area going around as builders. A variety of scams were inflicted on mostly elderly and vulnerable people. Posing to be the local authorities or the gas board with very good identity cards and even phone numbers to ring. When the number was called a partner in crime assured the caller that all was well and to let this man into the house.
Next thing is the money goes missing the jewelry is down the pub and all of the mementos are gone for ever. One elderly lady who had fallen victim to such an event did the right thing and called the Police. On the same day she called my dad in to look at some work that needed doing. He turned up at the appointed time and rang on the bell. Two men jumped upon my father and wrestled him to the ground. My dad was not a slight man and within seconds he had turned the tables on the men and had one by the throat and was kneeling on the other. It was only then that the men revealed that they were policemen and were lying in wait for a man coming back for cash for a job he said he had done but had left her house in ruins.
Of course it was the right thing to involve the police but she should have perhaps told them of a genuine caller. The good news is that the man they wanted was a little late and so ten minutes later they managed to get the right guy and he was prosecuted accordingly with a slap on the wrist. My father got an apology from the two officers but he felt bad at the fracas even though he was the innocent party!
