"I would like to state that we are highly delighted with the work done, and very much appreciate the diligence, commitment, and attention to detail shown by you and your team"
Julian Coates
Combe Down
"We were a little apprehensive at first as to the impact on the daily family life of such an intrusive construction project. However, throughout the development we found Roland & his team extremely accommodating and personable; and by the time of completion we found ourselves saying goodbye to group of guys that we’d all come to know and like.
The vault and basement conversion carried out by Newmans has completely transformed the house; creating a bright, contemporary living space from what was previously a dank and gloomy storage area. In fact this level has now become the ‘heart of the home’
Roland’s experience with historic buildings proved invaluable in working with Bath’s Historic Environment Team, and led to the resulting conversion being both contemporary and sympathetic to the existing building. His technical ability was immediately put to the test at the start of the project when a natural spring was unearthed during the first day’s excavation. However, an innovative engineering solution was soon applied, redirecting the stream and allowing the work to recommence. The membrane waterproofing system proved to be exactly the right application for such a wet environment (the existing vaults were originally too damp to even use for storage) – it is now four years on and there’s still no sign of a breach in the protection.
All in all, we found Newmans flexible, reasonable & professional in all our dealings with them; we were delighted with the results and went on to use them in a number of other projects. I’d thoroughly recommend them if you are thinking of converting or refurbishing your historic building"
Phil Lecomber
Lyncombe hill
"We live in a Grade 2 listed property just outside of Bath. Newman’s have carried out 2 substantial pieces of work for us, in 2005 and 2007. The first job involved installing a wet room and a new bathroom and reconfiguring a bedroom. We also had cupboards built, in keeping with the old style of the building and had rotten joists strengthened and under floor heating installed.
The second job, this year, involved completely renovating a 2 storey section at the rear of our house. We needed a new roof and the floor was lowered by 2 feet. Large oak sliding doors were fitted downstairs and French doors upstairs, to look out on what is a fantastic view. An oak floor was fitted upstairs and the whole place was decorated. The work also involved building a large paved terrace on very sloping terrain.
We employed architects to see us through the planning process but after that dispensed with their services, choosing to project manage ourselves with much involvement from Roland Newman.
We have been delighted with the work that has been done. Roland worked from the drawings which often did not give much detail, and achieved fantastic results. He is a very good problem solver and keeps in very close contact with his customers at all stages of the work. He is a very pleasant and honest person to do business with. He understands the importance of good communication and makes himself very available. He enjoys the challenge of working in old buildings and is thus sympathetic to the final look.
His staff are punctual, pleasant and respectful of property. We had no qualms leaving them alone in our home and this year actually left the country for 2 weeks whilst they got on with the job.
Roland has high standards of workmanship and oversees his men at the crucial stages. He also has great ideas – for instance he helped us round the issue of how to install a 42” TV in a recessed fake wall….ideas that do not come naturally to us! He has also been very involved in very small details like door furniture and works hard to advise on the right choices!
Our house has not been an easy one to work on because of its age – no wall is straight….there is damp….and externally the pointing is crumbling. Having not done significant work on our home before this we have been impressed with the degree of collaboration we have had with Roland.
We would recommend him highly and ourselves look forward to employing him in the future!"
Brigid Devlin and Tim Cook
Englishcombe Village